Saying Grace. from Roy. Worship and Lectionary For November

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1 the saint mark messenger the newsletter of Saint Mark Presbyterian Church November 2013 Worship 9:30 and 11:00 AM Church School for all ages 9:30 AM Saying Grace. from Roy Stewardship is the word that many Church people associate with the annual Fall fundraising campaign. The pastor cranks out the Stewardship Sermon that better be a home run for the sake of the budget. Some appreciate it, others dread it; either way it happens in the Fall and is quickly done. The truth that we are coming to embrace is that Stewardship is about the whole of life, including our financial life. In this understanding, the giving of your money to support the ministry of the congregation is a reflection of your relationship with God and commitment to the work of the church. Money is a mirror reflecting one s values and dearest obligations. It is not the only mirror, of course; our actions are another. Yet, giving a portion of our money to support the Church is surely one way in which we express both our gratitude to God and our sense of belonging to the community of Christ at Saint Mark. It is not an onerous duty but actually a sacred opportunity to participate in the work of a people committed to honoring God with our worship and our service to others. At Saint Mark, we believe this Stewardship can be summed up by Jesus call to love God and love neighbor. Our annual budget supports this call with our support for pastoral leadership in worship, pastoral care, administration, Christian education and ministry in the community. It also supports this call with our local and global partners in missional activities. In order to love God and neighbor, our buildings and grounds require constant maintenance. This too is supported by our financial offers. All of it together pastoral leadership, missional service, property enable us to live out Jesus call to love God and neighbors. This is a gift. One more thing: each of us gives proportionate to our ability to give. We do not all have the same income. Whether you are the young person starting out or the older person with larger income, each of us is given the opportunity to give to support the work of God s people at Saint Mark. Saint Paul urging his fledging congregations toward generosity and joy in giving said, God loves a cheerful giver. This is Stewardship. We will dedicate our financial pledges in worship on Sunday November 3. I ask you to give generously to the glory of God and the ministry of the Church. Worship and Lectionary For November November 3: Spirit and Service Sunday One Worship Service at 9:30 AM; Communion; Consecration of Pledges All Saints Celebration Hab. 1:1-4,2:1-4; Ps. 119: ; 2Thess. 4:1-4, 11-12; Luke 19:1-10 November 10: Hag.1:15-2:9; Ps. 145:1-5,17-21 or Ps. 98: 2Thess. 2:1-5, 13-17; Luke 20:27-38 November 17: Isa. 65:17-25; Isa. 12; 2 Thess. 3:6-13; Luke 21:5-19 November 24: One Worship Service at 11:00 AM; Jer. 23:1-6; Luke 1:68-79; Col. 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43

2 November 2013 Saint Mark Messenger 2 Stewardship Fall Campaign 2014 Budget We seek to be a community where spirit and service come together. Can you/will you STEP UP your giving for 2014 to support Saint Mark? This past June, the pastor accompanied eight of our youth and 3 adult volunteers to Kentucky to repair homes as part of the Appalachian Service Project (ASP). This mission trip became a profound spiritual experience for all who participated. The youth were exposed to one of the poorest counties in the United States. They witnessed the beauty of the mountains juxtaposed to the environmental destruction of mountaintop removal of coal. The ASP team served and fellowshipped with people who dealt daily with conditions that those of us who live in Montgomery County MD do not experience. The full costs of this trip were not supported by the annual budget. Will you STEP UP to allow these types of projects to flourish? Saint Mark facilities are used extensively by the community at large, mostly at reduced rates. At least 4 AA groups meet here weekly, along with Parkinson s support groups, NIH orchestra and choral groups, the Maryland Youth Orchestra, Girl Scouts, Bethesda Garden Club, Living Springs Community Church, and a McLean Bible Church group. Many other service groups and community hold periodic meetings or events in the Education Building. As a result, maintenance costs of the facilities are increasing, particularly as the education building ages, and several significant repair projects are scheduled for the next year. Will you STEP UP to help maintain those facilities? Saint Mark supports many mission projects (local and global) through direct financial support. Our direct support mission budget has remained flat for the past several years, yet the need increases. Members have stepped up with in-kind donations (foods, school supplies, etc), but more direct funds will allow us to develop additional projects (such as the Cameroon Well Project or the Crossways Project). Will you STEP UP to support these mission activities? Pledge cards will be mailed to all members the week of October 21st and we will consecrate our pledges in worship service on November 3rd. Christian Formation Church school is alive and thriving! We are collecting an offering at Church School for Manna Food Bank's Smart Sacks program. We will help provide elementary school children who are at risk of hunger with healthy food to eat on the weekend. Sunday Morning Adult Forum Series for November Back by Popular Demand: Rev. Margee Iddings!!! Join Margee with other Saint Mark members and friends in a surprising and exciting exploration of "Bad Girls of the Bible!" Who are these "bad girls" anyway?! What do they have to tell us today? Expect and prepare yourself for some revealing answers to those questions and many more!! Sundays November 10, 17, and 24 at 9:30 in Room 105. All are Welcome! New Adult Education opportunity We are working on starting a new Bible Study for adults at 9:30 AM. This group will meet weekly for conversation and introduction for scripture. If you are interested in leading or participating, please let either Pastor Roy or Pastor Shelby know. Pledges last year totaled $534,991. These are challenging times for many. If you are able, will you STEP UP your pledge by 5 or 10% so that we can reach a pledge goal of $570,000?

3 November 2013 Saint Mark Messenger 3 Youth Group The Youth Group will be all kinds of busy in November! Check out our calendar and join us for fellowship, service, spiritual growth and study. November1: No school for Montgomery County, lunch with Pastor 12:00 Noon at Chipotle Georgetown Square. November 3: SMPC, 5:00-7:00 PM November 10: Chili Cook-off, 12:00 Noon November 17: SMPC, 5:00-7:00 PM November 24: Advent SMPC 12:00 Noon Youth Group Chili Cook-Off Pull out your recipes and fire up the stove! After a one-year hiatus, the Youth Groupsponsored chili cook off is scheduled for NOVEMBER 10 after the 11:00 AM worship service. Bring out your best meat or veggie chili recipe to share. Entry forms are on the bulletin board in the atrium. There will be winners in a variety of categories. A free-will offering will be gratefully accepted towards funding summer mission trips. Advent Festival The annual Advent Festival will be November 24, starting at 12:00 noon. We'll participate in all kinds of different activities like cookie decorating, greening the sanctuary, wreath-making and assembling hygiene bags for Interfaith Works. A simple meal will be provided. Local Mission Saint Mark Habitat for Humanity Build Day Saturday, October 26 at Maple Hill The Maple Hill Townhome Community is a construction project at 9000 Emory Grove Road in Gaithersburg, MD. This is HFH-MC s first new-construction project since HFH-MC will build 19 townhomes on 2.9 acres of land. Each townhouse will have 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms with a garage on the first level. All homes will be sold to applicants earning less than 60% of the Area Median Income. HFH-MC purchased this small, infill property from a private seller in December of The site has been developed and construction is underway. Currently they are working on interior framing for the first set of townhomes; most likely we will be working on this. In total, the project will cost about $4.8 million, or approximately $250,000 per unit. The day will begin at 8:30 AM and will end around 3:30 PM. They have a new online registration system. Please register using the website: This registration goes over the dress code, times, and location, and the electronic waiver each volunteer needs to fill out. This significantly cuts down on registration on site and allows for the group to get to the fun stuff! If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please contact Tina Moulton at gtacmoulton@verizon.net for their FAQ sheet that goes over important information for the day. Bring any work gloves or hard hats if you have your own. We can have up to 25 volunteers and we still have room for more volunteers so ask a Saint Marker to join you or bring a friend. Table Talk Saint Mark-ers of all ages gathered to share a meal and worship God in creative ways at our first Table Talk. A great time was had by all! Mark your calendars for the next one on November 13 from 6:30-8:00 PM when we will discuss Thanksgiving. A meal will be provided and freewill donations accepted to help cover the cost. Spirit and Service Sunday, November 3 One Service of Worship at 9:30 Ministry Meetings at 10:30

4 November 2013 Saint Mark Messenger 4 Quill of the Clerk In its stated meeting for October, the session: Read and discussed John 3:16-17 and discussed the two words which best captured what the church meant to each of us. Approved a downward interest rate adjustment to the Eagle Bank Loan to Saint Mark from 5.5% to 4.95% per annum (upon the payment of a one-time processing fee of $900) Heard from Welcoming Ministry about a new membership brochure that will be available to distribute and to take in the atrium. Heard from the Personnel Ministry team that the Office Administrator Position is vacant. Received a report from the session members appointed to authorize disbursements from the Emergency Loan Fund that a gift (the first $1000 of such a loan is to be treated as a gift pursuant to the Emergency Loan Fund Policy) of $856 had been approved to assist a member of Saint Mark who is experiencing financial difficulties. Alison Dewey, Acting Clerk of Session Personnel Ministry: The Office Administrator Position is vacant once again. The Personnel Ministry Team is working to fill the position as soon as possible. Please bear with us through this transition time. Piano Duo Concert at Saint Mark On Friday, November 1, 8:00 PM, Junko Saito and Dmitri Nazarenko will be performing a concert of piano solos and duets, plus one trio with our own Jeff Doenges. The concert will be held in the sanctuary on our fine Schimmel grand, and is free and open to the public. A reception will follow in the atrium. The program will include works by Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky, and Rachmaninoff Third Quarter Statements The third quarter financial statements have been mailed to members who made pledges to the operating budget for If there are any corrections or changes that need to be made, please contact Connie Long, pledge secretary. Saint Mark Book Lovers Book Lovers, our Saint Mark book discussion group, meets the second Monday of the month at 7:00 PM throughout the year in the parlor at Saint Mark. Everyone is welcome! The entire list is on our website. Please Note: here is no December meeting! Here you can find a home for your heart and an opportunity to serve Regardless of race, class, marital status, sexual orientation, ability or disability. November 11: And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini January 13: Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brene Brown

5 November Saint Mark Messenger Planned Giving Consider naming the church as a beneficiary in your will or living trust. The gift could be a set dollar amount, a percentage of your estate, the remainder after other gifts are made, or part of the estate left if designated heirs are deceased. A will represents a person s final wishes and intentions. After providing for your loved ones, please consider one final testament of faith through a bequest in your Will or living trust that provides enduring support for our vital work. For many of us, this will be the most significant gift we will make our gift of a lifetime. Think about the part you want to play in our church s future. You have the opportunity to support this ministry in many ways. Naming the church as a beneficiary in your estate plan, or making an endowment gift, can assure your continued participation in this ministry far into the future. To learn more about including the church in your estate plans and how your legacy can supports its ministry directly or through one of the Endowment Trust funds, please contact a member of the Planned Giving Committee Laura Brouse-Long, Tom Champion, Lee LaRoche, or Joe Piff or the pastors. Make sure you consult with your professional financial, legal, and tax advisors. The next Messenger deadline is Thursday, November 21. Please articles to ellie@hagner.org or put in mailbox #11 in the office. Saint Mark Presbyterian Church Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, MD office saintmarkpresby.org The Rev. Dr. Roy W. Howard, Pastor pastor@saintmarkpresby.org; direct dial The Rev. Shelby Etheridge, Associate Pastor associate@saintmarkpresby.org direct dial Office Administrator office@saintmarkpresby.org direct dial; Jeffrey J. Doenges, Director of Music, jjdoenges@aol.com Ellie Hagner, Editor and Webminder ellie@hagner.org Youth Group Painting Bowls for Interfaith Works