OUR MISSION STATEMENT TO SPREAD THE GOOD NEWS OF JESUS CHRIST TO ALL GOD S PEOPLE BY WORD AND ACTION. 02 WEEKLY SPANISH MASS AT ST. MARKS STARTING OCT 5TH 03 SEVEN SECRETS OF SUCCESSFUL STEWARDS 05 HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH MINISTRY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT 07 40 DAYS FOR LIFE Wnged Lon THE OCT O BER 2 013 St. Mark the Evangelst Catholc Church Women s Guld Fundraser 4th Annual Book Sale October 11th, 12th and 13th 9 a.m. 7 p.m. 1602 Thousand Oaks Dr., San Antono, TX Hardcovers $1 Paperbacks 50 - DVDs $3 CDs $2 Come one, come all, come buy huge range of books sorted for easy searchng Call Velma Spruel Wllams 210-416-5563 for more nformaton Please drop off your donatons of books, CDs and DVDs n the Narthex of the old church. You wll see a Women s Guld sgn. PROCEEDS TO HELP BUY NEW HYMNALS n ge n a o hy y u s e t g p al r e r n u a c d o l b La el rt gr st F b v h gn o o H a C re Sp B H Tr Fo Save the Date Everyone from the young to very wse, s nvted to partcpate n our annual Mnstry Far. On Sunday, October 27 after all Mass tmes, we wll fll St. Francs Crcle wth fun, food, musc and of course nformaton about our wonderful mnstres. We have over 50 mnstres here at our parsh. From Bble Study to Youth Mnstry, and ACTS to Qulters, you are certan to fnd a way to get connected wth your parsh. St. Francs Crcle <<< October 27 >>> After All Mass Tmes
St. Mark the Evangelst to Begn offerng weekly Mass n Spansh Begnnng on Saturday, October 5, 2013, St. Mark the Evangelst wll offer Mass n Spansh at 7:00 PM. We nvte all nterested persons who wsh to serve n lturgcal mnstres of Lector, Extraordnary Mnsters of Holy Communon, altar server, and Usher/ Mnster of Hosptalty to contact Catherne Lopez at 494-1606, extenson 315. We also nvte any persons nterested n musc mnstry (sngers, gutars, trumpets, etc.) to contact Dolores Martnez at 494-1606, ext. 316. San Marcos Evangelsta ofrecerá Msa en español Comenzando el sábado, 5 de octubre, 2013, San Marcos Evangelsta ofrecerá la Msa en español a las 7:00 de la tarde. Se les nvta a personas nteresadas a partcpar en mnsteros ltúrgcos Lectores, Mnstros de la Comunón, acóltos, ujeres/ saludadores. Favor de ponerse en contacto con Catherne Lopez llamando al 494-1606, ext. 315. Tambén se les nvta a personas nteresadas en el mnstero de la músca, ya sea como membre del coro, o que tocan algun nstrument (gutarra, trompeta, etc. ). Favor de onerse en contact con Dolores Martnez llamando al 494-1606, ext. 316.
Seven Secrets of Successful STEWARDS Secret Four: Have an Atttude of Grattude Wthout soundng lke some knd of dtz, good stewards are constantly aware and amazed by what they have been gven. How lucky I am! easly comes off ther lps and s radated n ther faces. V.A.S.E. VICTIMS ASSISTANCE SAFE ENVIRONMENT TRAINING The Archdocese of San Antono s uncondtonally commtted to the protecton of chldren and youth wthn our communty. In order to assure the chldren and youth are protected from harm, t has been mandated that all adults who mnster to chldren must receve abuse preventon educaton. It s also mandated that all chldren and youth enrolled n relgous educaton or n Catholc Schools be traned n abuse preventon. The archdocese has developed Safe Envronment Tranng for chldren, youth, and adults. The Archdocese of San Antono alone cannot protect all chldren and youth; t s mportant that all Catholcs ensure that we are followng the mandate of Jesus, and Let the lttle chldren come to me. All adults, ncludng parents, are encouraged to receve Safe Envronment Tranng at your local parsh or Catholc School. Chldren and youth need trusted and lovng adults n whom they can confde any concern or fear. Our next tranng sessons are Thursday, September 26 and Thursday, October 24 n New Legacy. The Sexual Msconduct vdeo wll be shown at 6:30pm and the V.A.S.E. tranng wll begn promptly at 7:00pm. Any adult, n any mnstry, who comes n contact wth chldren should attend ths tranng. Please RSVP to Brenda Mreles n the St. Mark Youth Offce at 210-494-1959 x333. Secret One: Gve untl t feels good. Genune, thought-out stewardshp s not about pan or depleton. Stewardshp s most deeply about pleasure and ncrease. If you thnk about t for just a moment, you realze how good you feel when you are generous, when you are dong somethng that makes a dfference n someone s lfe. That s what underles good stewardshp, whch makes t actually qute natural n our lves. Secret Two: See not oblgaton, but opportunty. Love or good stewardshp can t be demanded from a person as an oblgaton. There s no vtalty, no lfe when actons are lttle more than a command performance. Secret Three: Gve to Specfcs Good stewards dslke and rghtly so generc appeals. Good stewards also are less generous and rghtly so f they do not know to what or to whom ther generosty s beng drected. That s why good stewards gve and gve generously of themselves and ther means to ther parsh. PRIESTHOOD SUNDAY Secret Fve: Share varous gfts at the rght tmes Good stewardshp s not a calcfed formula or a specfc recpe: To four parts tme, add two parts talent and sprnkle three parts treasure over the top and serve. Not at all. At varous tmes n our lves, we wll be more able to gve of our tme, our talents, our treasure. Secret Sx: Realze God wll pont the way Stewardshp s n our hearts, but lke any other dscplne, good stewardshp takes tme to nfuse our total beng. And so the operatve word that the good steward uses s: Relax! God s wth us on ths journey. He wll pont the way. Secret Seven: See stewardshp as a sprtual act If you thnk about t for a mnute, the realzaton sets n: God doesn t actually need us to return anythng to hm. It s all hs anyway. Good stewards see ths love relatonshp as a sprtual act. It s an offerng to God that n some small but real way mrrors Chrst s own lfe and a way to return the Father s great love. Excerpts from Catholc Update: Seven Secrets of Successful Stewards, by Paul Wlkes, s used by permsson of Francscan Meda. www.francscanmeda.org. 2005. All rghts reserved. In October 2013, Catholc parshes throughout the Unted States wll show support for ther prests wth prayer, celebraton and dalogue. The last Sunday of October s desgnated as Presthood Sunday, a one-day celebraton of the presthood organzed by parsh lay leaders and coordnated by the USA Councl of Serra Internatonal. Presthood Sunday was establshed n 2003 to provde a way for Catholc communtes to express apprecaton for the devoted prests who serve them so fathfully despte recent negatve attenton n the meda. Such a celebraton s ncreasngly relevant n lght of the declnng number of prests n the U.S. Only about 4,000 of the 19,000 parshes n ths country currently have more than one prest. Many prests serve two or more parshes by themselves. Presthood Sunday s coordnated and sponsored by the USA Councl of Serra Internatonal. Serra Internatonal s a worldwde Catholc organzaton of lay men and women dedcated to promotng vocatons to the presthood and relgous lfe. More than 10,000 members n over 280 clubs are actve n the Unted States. The USA Councl s avalable at (312)201-6549 or at www.serraus.org. The USA Councl offce s based n Chcago.
Fath Formaton at St. Mark the Evangelst Kcks Off!! Over 800 Youth n Attendance!! Women n the Catholc Church By Cathryn Montemayor : 2013 Scholarshp Wnner : Attendng Unversty of Texas n Austn My Catholc fath has been a bg part of my lfe for as long as I can remember. I go to church wth my famly every Sunday, partcpate n mnstres, and follow the church s teachngs. Somethng that I ve always wondered s why women don t have bgger roles n the church. If I could change one element of the Catholc Church, I would allow women to be deacons. I understand that there are multple reasons and tradtons started by Chrst that may dsagree wth women beng deacons, but there are two man reasons for why I beleve n ths change. The frst reason s that God created all humans equal, therefore women should be able to more closely partcpate n the Mass. Second, our church tradtons have always remaned, for the most part, n the past, however I beleve that there are possbltes for changes to accommodate our changng world, all the whle keepng our fath ntact. Because I am a strong young women, I do not completely agree wth the role the church has for women wth regards to the Mass. I beleve that women are just as capable as men are to assst and carry out the Mass. I have not found references n church doctrne sayng that women are sprtually nferor to men. Although Jesus dscples were all male, there were women relgous leaders n the early Church and n the Bble. St. Paul mentons some of these women leaders n Romans 16. One of the frst mentoned was Phoebe, a deacon and leader who carred Paul s letters to the church n Rome. By ctng Phoebe frst, Paul affrms the leadershp of women already n place n ths Church. Mary, Jesus mother, and Mary Magdalene were also leaders. Personally, I beleve that the practce of male only leaders s a bt outdated. Although our nherent belefs reman the same, our world has changed tremendously snce the tme of Jesus. I beleve that our Catholc relgon can be expanded by allowng women the opportunty to use ther talents and strengths as deacons.
Hgh School Youth Mnstry Needs Your Support! Traffc Control DADS Mnstry - We need some dads to volunteer, to arrve a lttle early and stay a lttle later, around 8:20 pm to 8:45 pm. You wll help wth traffc control, as over 250 teens leave LIFE NIGHT and converge on the parkng lot at the same tme. Call us, so we can work out the detals. Envronment Mnstry - Every week LIFE TEEN and Theology of the Body have themes that we would lke to have prepared n our hallways, the gym and New Legacy for teens as they enter on Sunday - to help drve home the Gospel message teachng. Our frst year of LIFE TEEN we had elaborate envronments, and I remember over hearng some teens say I can t wat to see how LIFE TEEN s dressed up ths week. We need a team of parents to gather the supples each week and spend some tme puttng up the envronment before 5:00 pm Mass. Our Teen Leaders wll be happy to help. They just need someone to make a plan and work wth them. Call us and we can work out the detals. Hosptalty Mnstry- Ths s a very mportant job. Rena Buley s our pont person. You would greet teens as they enter the gym and help them sgn n, and fnd ther name badges. You would also help our teens to feel at home, acknowledged, and mostly, loved wth your smle and support. It s so mportant to our young people to know when they show up, that someone knows ther name or notces when they have mssed. You wll also let the youth mnsters know f teens seem sad or out of sorts. Ths s a great job that only takes about twenty mnutes, two or three tmes a month, after the 5:00 pm Mass. Call us and we wll connect you wth Rena. Phone Call Mnstry - We have two needs. The frst s we constantly need help makng phone calls to our teen famles for remnders or collectng nformaton. Ths can be done from your home. The second s a project to call all our Mddle and Hgh School famles who are regstered n our parsh, but are not attendng Fath Formaton. We would lke to call them and fnd out why? Maybe, we can offer them some nformaton to help them regster. Both thngs add a personal carng touch nstead of just sendng emals and post cards. If you can help n any of these areas, please call Brenda Mreles n the St. Mark Youth Offce at 210-494-1959 x333. Attenton!! Chldren Ages 7-13 Who Love to Sng! St. Mark s s formng a permanent chldren s chor. The Chldren s Chor wll mnster at the 4:00 p.m. Chrstmas Eve Mass and once a month at the Saturday 5:00 p.m. Mass. Rehearsals wll take place on Mondays, from 5:00-6:15 p.m. n the Church. The frst rehearsal s Monday, October 21. Deadlne for regstraton s Monday, October 14. To regster, please contact the Musc Mnstry Offce : Dolores Martnez 494.1606 x 316 dmartnez@stmarkevangelst.com Courtney Guernsey 494-1606 x 330 cguernsey@stmarkevangelst.com TROOP 500 COURT OF HONOR I am pleased to report to you and the St. Mark's Communty that the Boy Scouts of Troop 500 celebrated ther sem-annual Court of Honor (COH) on August 20, 2013. The 12 Scouts of our Troop dd a fantastc job of earnng both Mert Badges (63) and Rank Advancements (17). On a truly celebratory note and pont of prde for the St. Mark famly, Allen Armstrong, Troop 500 was just recognzed at an Eagle Scout Court of Honor on August 24, 2013 for beng among the 2% of all Scouts who earn the rank of Eagle Scout!!
A s presented to many of you, the FOCOLARE MOVEMENT (OTHERWISE KNOWN AS "THE WORK OF MARY") s a worldwde Catholc movement begnnng n Trent, Italy n the mdst of WWII, and s now present n 194 countres. The man charsm of the movement s "UNITY" whch s enacted and lved through the love of neghbor. Unty s seen as the Work of Mary, who s nstrumental n connectng heaven and earth, God and man, n the Incarnated Word of God, and n the shared love of the Trnty. A scrpture study format wheren "love of neghbor" s emboded, s presented monthly throughout the world; and has unquely engendered the deep meanngful sprtualty of love and carng for each other, whch has become a hallmark of the Focolare movement. In addton to monthly or b-monthly meetngs where the "Word Of Lfe" s shared and dscussed, there are annual regonal, natonal, and nternatonal retreats for famles, and members of all ages. Plgrmages and retreats n far away places have been possble due to the worldwde presence of the movement. Many of the youth traveled to Brazl for the recent World Youth Day. Others have traveled to other parts of the world for Gen (youth) Retreats, and notably, many traveled to Rome n September 2010, for the Beatfcaton of Chara Luce Badano, a young Focolarn who ded of cancer at the age of 18. Chara Badano was declared a Blessed n the Catholc Church on September 25, 2010 at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Dvne Love n Rome. St. Mark s Church wll become a regular gatherng place for the Focolare n San Antono. Please jon us from 3-5 pm n the Shalom Room on any 3rd Sunday of the month. Concurrent meetngs of Adults, and of youth, wll take place at the same tme, n neghborng spaces. More nformaton wll be avalable n the Sunday Bulletn and at the October Mnstry Far. The Future of the Church By Ashley Leal : 2013 Scholarshp Wnner : Attendng Texas Tech Unversty Beng Catholc s not smply a label that you wear. Instead t defnes who you are and what you beleve. However, n these growng secular tmes, t s becomng harder and harder to profess your fath wthout beng rdculed by our peers and socety. The world s changng, and the new ways that are becomng the norm, are not algned wth what we beleve n our fath. Socety s nflctng these deas strongly, thus we as a church need to fght back wth words. In ths age and tme, thngs that were so foregn before are becomng a realty. Government decsons concernng aborton, same-sex marrage, etc., are beng passed and startng to be enforced. The rulngs, however, go completely aganst what the church beleves. It s sad to say but I deem that as the years go by, thngs are only gong to get worse, as more laws are gong to be passed gong aganst our ethcs. It s wth these new laws, unfortunately, that the Church s most lkely gong to become more and more suppressed as people wll not want to be blatantly labeled as a Catholc, because they are afrad of what ther frends wll thnk. However, I beleve the Catholc Church and fath s very strong. If we all stand together and contnue n our movements aganst these government proposals, then we wll preval. All t takes s determnaton, and fath. Also, we must spread the word of God to those people who are lost and to those who are not fortunate enough to know God n ther lves. I beleve that the more people we can add, who are strong n ther fath, then together we can conquer ths secular movement. Whle I am not sayng that t s gong to be easy, especally wth the drecton we are headed, I trust that we can change the course. We must stay frm n our belefs and show the world that you don t need to comply wth the new socal norms just because you are afrad of the consequences. If the Catholc Communty can just stay strong throughout ths struggle, then I beleve that n the future, lfe wll become more prosperous. The road won t always be smple and we may be outcasted along the way, but n the end, we as a fath and communty, wll come out on top. 2013 St. Mark the Evangelst Arts & Crafts Show Saturday, 10/26/13-10:00 am-5:00 pm Jon n the fun, and show your arts and crafts at the St. Mark s 6 th Annual Arts & Crafts Show on Saturday, Oct 26 (10am 5pm). Tables are avalable for dsplayng unque arts and crafts n Chrstopher Hall. Add your hand crafted tems to unque Chrstmas ornaments, candles, floral decoratons, pantngs, hand crafted wood tems, crosses, rosares and jewelry. Refreshments avalable. The show s free to shoppers wth free parkng. For more nfo contact Lou Bradshaw at 210-494-2122.
Blessng of Anmals Saturday, October 5th 11am n St. Francs Crcle All Pets are Welcome. SEPTEMBER 25 NOVEMBER 3 It s not too late to start your Great Adventure! Ths year we are studyng Psalms: The School of Prayer and Frst Cornthans: The Church and the Chrstan Communty. Classes begn September 10th and wll end on March 25th, but feel free to jon us at any tme. Contact Sheryl Parker at 274-1031 or Elda Robles at 491-9896 for nformaton and regstraton. Classes wll be held Tuesday mornngs from 9:00-11:00 am or Tuesday evenngs from 6:45-8:30 pm. Babysttng s avalable. Please jon us on ths Great Adventure, t s not too late! 40 Days for Lfe : RESPECT LIFE HOLY HOUR Our St. Mark's Respect Lfe Holy Hour wll take place from 7-8 p.m. (after the 6:30 p.m. mass) on Monday, October 7. Jon us for Exposton/Benedcton of the Blessed Sacrament, a Rosary, the Chaplet of Dvne Mercy, and much more. Ths s a wonderful opportunty to partcpate for all our parshoners who are unable to come out to the clnc and pray. October s Respect Lfe Month, so let us pray for an end to aborton! 40 Days for Lfe : DAY ON THE SIDEWALK Are you ready, St. Mark's?? We're gong to stand n soldarty on the sdewalk n front of Planned Parenthood (104 Babcock) and peacefully pray for an end to aborton! Our church s responsble for fllng the hours of 7 a.m. - 7 p.m. on Saturday, October 26. Ths event s open to all parshoners. Pck an hour and plan to come and pray for the protecton of the unborn. The 40 Days for Lfe Campagn contnues daly untl November 3 (no Sundays). Come to the sdewalk and pray anytme! www.sacfl.org or emal cathy@sacfl.org for more nformaton. Experence the Sprtual Rches of Scrpture wth Psalms: The School of Prayer In the study of Psalms you wll: Dscover a rch school of prayer for all lfe s crcumstances Experence the transformng power of the Responsoral Psalms n the Mass Learn how to vsualze the Psalms n order to empower your medtaton See how the Psalms can empower your prayers to become an honest and personal dalogue wth God Knghts of Columbus Chcken BBQ Sat & Sun, October 5-6 The Knghts of Columbus are hostng ther famous Chcken BBQ the frst weekend of October. The proceeds go to support scholarshps for our graduatng hgh school senors. Save those appettes and gve the cook n your famly a break from the ktchen. A specal blend of seasonngs and an all nght cook-out over a wood pt make these the best tastng chcken for a great cause. If you are nterested n becomng a member of the Knghts of Columbus, contact Grand Knght, Ed Garca at 210-587-5673. Frst Cornthans: The Church and the Chrstan Communty In the study of Frst Cornthans, you wll: Learn how St. Paul s letter proves that the sacrfce of Chrst s truly made present n the Eucharst Gan a new vson for seeng the body as a temple of the Holy Sprt Learn the mportance of Chrstan unty n relaton to the Church as the Body of Chrst
Check out the latest on our webste www.stmarkevangelst.com Fnd St. Marks on Facebook! Help Your Parsh Fath Formaton Program get FREE Stuff You can help the Fath Formaton program earn free merchandse and much more, smply by collectng Campbell UPCs and sendng them wth your chld when they attend Fath Formaton class. Together we can make St. Mark the Evangelst a great place for our youth to attend and learn about ther fath. If you have any questons about the label program please call Theresa Crow at 494-7434 x 324 or by emal at tcrow@stmarkevangelst.com. HABITAT FOR HUMANITY Constructon s underway for the next Habtat House. The St. Mark Knghts of Columbus Councl 7613 was responsble for the frst two days of constructon. That's a lot of framng for just two days of work. Great job! Watch the bulletn for more nformaton about the Sprng buld for the 2014 Habtat House. Our parsh sponsors the Sprng home; the home s bult on your generosty and hard work as volunteers. For more nformaton about assstng the Habtat Mnstry, see Sam and Bev Szalwnsk at the Mnstry Far or call 210-496-6310.