the saint mark messenger the newsletter of Saint Mark Presbyterian Church February 2014 Worship 9:30 and 11:00 AM Church School for all ages 9:30 AM www.saintmarkpresby.org Saying Grace...from Roy The season of Epiphany is often called the season of light because it is the time when the church's focus is on the revelation of God that has come into the world. We listen to texts and sings hymns that draw us more deeply into this revelation. "Who is Jesus Christ?," we ask, and what does he have to do with us? In worship we ponder what it means that God chose to become flesh and live among us filled with grace and truth. The season of Epiphany happily falls during the winter when we are longing for light in the midst of darkness. The light in winter is often astonishingly beautiful, different than on other occasions. Epiphany also comes when we let go of the past and begin a new year with all the accompanying resolutions. I invite you this Epiphany to join with seekers and pilgrims of every tradition, including those here at Saint Mark, searching for the Light of Christ falling on your darkness. Our gospel tells us that the light has come into the world and the darkness cannot extinguish it. Where is the darkness in your life? What is threatening your sense of wellbeing and that of those whom you love? Sometimes to see and experience the Light of Christ, one has to name the darkness; acknowledge that it exists and has power. Yet, it is not necessary to stay in the darkness alone or to give it more power than it deserves. As writer Brene Brown has said in her book, Daring Greatly, "one has to explore the darkness to discover the light." Open your eyes, open your heart this new year; the world is dark but the light still shines. Pay attention for the light, see how it shines into the very places where darkness pretends to reign supreme. It does not because we perceive the gospel: The light has come into the world and the darkness cannot extinguish it. (John 1:1-5) Worship and Lectionary For February February 2: One service of Worship at 9:30 with Communion Micah 6:1-8; Ps.15; I Cor. 1:18-31; Matt. 5:1-12 February 9: Is. 58:1-9a; Ps. 112:1-9; I Cor. 1-12(13-16), Matt 5:13-20 February 16: Deut. 30:15-20; Ps. 119:1-8; 1 Cor. 3:1-9; Matt 5: 21-37 February 23: Lev. 19:1-2, 9-18; Ps. 119:33-40; I Cor. 3:10-11,16-23; Matt. 5:38-48 Spirit and Service Sunday, February 2 One Service of Worship at 9:30 The Annual Meeting follows worship! Plentiful refreshments provided! The Youth will collect for the Souper Bowl of Caring
February 2014 Saint Mark Messenger 2 Christian Formation Adult Education The Sunday Morning Adult Forum series in February will focus on the topic ""Do This in Remembrance of Me: What Are We Doing at the Lord's Supper?" Leader (by Skype) will be the Rev. Dr. Martha Moore-Keish, professor of theology at Columbia Theological Seminary in Atlanta and author of a book on Reformed Eucharistic Theology. Dr. Moore-Keish is returning to us by popular demand following the series she offered at Saint Mark in March 2013 on "Christian Prayer for Today." Please join us at 9:30 in Room 105. Youth Group News What a spectacular bunch of young people in SMPC's Youth Group. They started the year off with a Family Game Night and have spent time making dinner for the residents at Crossway Community and helping Manna sort food for the hungry. They, again, want to thank the congregation for your continued support as they grow together as Christians and serve the community through local mission work and summer mission trips. If you are a middle or high schooler and are interested in joining or if you are an adult and interested in joining the leadership team (for just one Sunday or on a regular schedule), contact Pastor Shelby or Tamra Hutton at huttonfamily@verizon.net. February Activities: February 2: Souper Bowl of Caring during and after 9:30 worship service. Meeting time 9:15-12:30 (includes worship). We will have a meeting after worship and count Souper Bowl donations, and eat lunch from 12:00-12:30. February 9: regular meeting, 5:00-7:30 PM February 16: Fellowship event, TBD February 23: Regular meeting, 5:00-7:30 PM Ledo Pizza Youth Fundraiser March 10 5:00-9:00 PM We are confirmed for a Youth Mission trip fundraiser dinner on Monday March 10, 5:00-9:00 PM at Ledo s Pizza, 10301 Westlake Drive, Bethesda, Westlake Crossing Shopping Center. We will receive 20% of the total restaurant sales that night. If people do carryout, they must mention Saint Mark for us to get those sales, too. Vacation Bible School, June 23-27, 2014: Please mark your calendar for this year s VBS. Registration will soon be open for children in pre-k through 5 th grade. Older youth are encouraged to volunteer, and will have the opportunity to earn SSL hours. The VBS planning committee will be meeting every Spirit and Service Sunday starting in February. If you would like to join the planning committee or have any questions, please contact Pastor Shelby, Heather Karakashian (hkara@comcast.net) or Stephanie Lai (stephedmondson@yahoo.com). Local Mission Join us for Second Tuesday Dinners at Crossway Community! Each second Tuesday of the month, Saint Mark is invited to join families who live at Crossway Community for a meal and conversation. Our youth group provides the meals; volunteers are needed to heat up the meals and deliver them to Crossway. This is a wonderful way to learn more about the mission of Crossway and get to know the women who are working toward independence. Plus, it gives you a chance to see the amazing kitchen Saint Mark has funded! (It's not quite finished, but we're getting there!) If you're interested, please contact Barbara Welsh at welsh.bl@gmail.com.
February 2014 Saint Mark Messenger 3 EFT - The most efficient way to give to SMPC Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) was provided and protected by Congress in the EFT act of 1968. And it is -the- best way to give your Tithes and Offerings to Saint Mark. Here are the steps for setting up your EFTs. (1) Create the account with your bank (2) Notify the SMPC treasurer that you will begin giving thru EFT (3) Transfer a confirmation amount that you can both identify by the amount, e.g. $43.21 (4) Once confirmed, set up your automatic EFTs The benefits are many and varied, the most important being that YOU CONTROL THE TRANSFERS, WHEN THEY BEGIN AND END, AND THE AMOUNTS. You can end, decrease, or increase the EFTs anytime you need to do so. Get a raise? Need to increase your tithe? -YOU- change the amount in your bank account. Have an emergency and need to cut back? -YOU- change the amount in your bank account. Need to end it, or change to another account? -YOU- control the ending or changing. In the EFT world, these transactions are known as "pushes", because -you- push the EFT over to the receiving account from your account. A PUSH transaction contracts to a PULL transaction that - most- of your mortgages and shopping companies require that you have. If you're like me, when you took out that mortgage, the bank -REQUIRED- that you authorize -them- to -PULL- the payment from your account on a regular basis. And, you do have some control over a PULL, but most institutions require 30 days notice for you to end the PULL. In my family's case, we've been doing EFTs of our Tithes and Offerings into our church's account since about 1999. -Every- church treasurer is very pleased that we will do so. They don't have to process the checks! And, the funds are -immediately- in the church's account. than one that I own requires those two bits of information. My bank confirmed that the routing number and account number were authentic and valid with an independent transaction that did not involve me. It took them about three days. Once my bank confirmed the account was accurate, I contacted Rachel and arranged a test transfer of $43.21. There's nothing magic about that amount, other than it's easy to spot in a list of transactions. She confirmed receipt. I configured the transfers in my online account to make regular transfers, and... Well, I haven't forgotten about the transfers, but it'd be easy to do so! The only thing I've changed since arranging the EFTs last year is the amount! And, we've made occasional special transfers, for giving to Haiti, Per Capita, and the Christmas Joy offering (I made sure Rachel knew the purpose of the special amounts.) I'd be glad to answer any questions about EFTs that you might have. Stop writing checks! Now, about those habits you have of dropping something in the collection plates as they come by. Don't stop! -ALWAYS- have a dollar or two in your pocket. It's a great practice to -NEVER- let that collection plate go by without putting in -something-! George T. Huggins George_Huggins@Presbynet.org From the pledge secretary The end of the year statements have been mailed. The pledge envelopes for 2014 are in the Atrium. (If you have forgotten what your pledge amount is, it should be on the inside lid of the box.) It is not too late to pledge if you have not done so. Any questions, contact Connie Long. When we began giving to Saint Mark, I contacted Rachel Zutshi and obtained the Account Number and Routing Number of Saint Mark's account. Contact Rachel and she will give these numbers to you. These are the numbers you use to set up your transfer account with your bank. In my case, I was able to do so with my online account, as "transfer" accounts for an account other
February 2014 Saint Mark Messenger 4 Health and Wellness Ministry This is a new outreach ministry for Saint Mark Presbyterian Church, aimed to provide health and wellness information, resources and support to the pastors, deacons, and members of the congregation. The group consists of folks with nursing, social work and counseling backgrounds. These are some areas where we can be helpful: Be available to answer questions and/or discuss difficult health-related situations Help families navigate the health care system Visit hospitalized members or family when requested to do so Maintain a list of current community resources Explore options with families faced with "downsizing" or moving to care communities Assist deacons with visits to members who are homebound or those that would benefit from more frequent visits Assist pastors/deacons with bereavement issues Plan educational programs for the congregation Develop programs for our younger members with an emphasis on wellness Staff a Health Care Corner the first Sunday of each month to take blood pressure and provide healthrelated materials. The following folks have volunteered to be a part of this ministry: Julienne Bityeki, Pat Simmons, June Colilla, Bonnie Tarone, Mary Fleisher, Sharon Tarr, Ellen Kiel, Jean Muir and Betty Lowrie. We hope to provide information and plan programs that will be meaningful to members of the congregation. We welcome your comments, suggestions or questions. Referrals can be made through Roy, Shelby, your Deacon or directly to Jean Muir at: Djmuirrn@aol.com Quill of the Clerk In its stated meeting for December, the session Adopted a budget that would show a hope fund that assumed the actual amount of pledge receipts (95% of the amount pledged) and would pay any budget shortfall from the prior year s undesignated fund balance, with the intent to revisit the budget at its January stated meeting. Directed the clerk to write a thank you letter to John Hagner to express appreciation for his efforts to obtain and close a loan modification to reduce the interest rate Saint Mark pays. Completed work on the annual review of the roll of members. Elected Elder George Huggins to be clerk of session for 2014. Elected Rachel Zutshi to be treasurer of Saint Mark for 2014. Approved communion dates for 2014. Elected Elder George Huggins and [then] Elderelect Jennifer Carr as elder-commissioners to the January presbytery meeting. Finalized session members ministry assignments for 2014. Authorized a contract to engage Paraclete Multimedia to redesign Saint Mark s website Requested Rachel Zutshi to publish a monthly report in the Messenger and on the website giving some finance information. Pastor Howard reported that he has begun assembling a team to work on the upcoming capital campaign.
February 2014 Saint Mark Messenger 5 Saint Mark Ministries Leadership 2014 Clerk of Session: George Huggins Christian Formation: Jennifer Carr Finance: Sharon Tarr Treasurer: Rachel Zutshi Local Mission: Suzanne Lofhjelm Global Mission: Alison Dewey and Meisie Roberts Memorials: Sarah Milholen, convener Nominating: Mary Casper and Karl Kaufmann Parish Life: Mike Welsh Convener: Elizabeth Bono Personnel: Mike Lutz and Walla Dempsey Property: Mike Welsh and Teddy Ferguson Stewardship Meisie Roberts and Alison Dewey Environmental Stewardship: Alison Bennett Planned Giving : Lee LaRoche, convener Welcoming: Mary Casper Worship: Karl Kaufmann Convener: Mary Jo Mountain Deacon Moderator: Jocelyn Callister Deacon Secretary: Jeremy Fleisher Saint Mark Book Lovers Book Lovers, our Saint Mark book discussion group, meets the 2 nd Monday of the month at 7:00 PM in the parlor at Saint Mark. Everyone is welcome! The entire list is on our website. Please note: we have switched the February and March books! See below! So get that Kingsolver book and start reading! February 10: Flight Behavior: A Novel (P.S.) by Barbara Kingsolver March 10: The Orphan Master s Son: A Novel (Pulitzer Prize for Fiction) by Adam Johnson 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. Planned Giving 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 to the church 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. Memorial Flower and Garden Fund Contributions Thank you to those who made memorial contributions in 2013 for flowers to decorate the sanctuary at Easter and Christmas and for delivery by the Deacons to shut-ins, and for contributions to the Memorial Garden Fund. Net of the cost of the flowers, these donations resulted in additions to the Memorial Garden Fund of $590 at Easter, and $671 at Christmas, totaling $1,261 for the year. The next Messenger deadline is Thursday, February 20. Please email articles to ellie@hagner.org or put in mailbox #11 in the office. Saint Mark Presbyterian Church 10701 Old Georgetown Road, Rockville, MD 20852 301-530-0600 office saintmarkpresby.org The Rev. Dr. Roy W. Howard, Pastor pastor@saintmarkpresby.org; 301-530-8141 The Rev. Shelby Etheridge, Associate Pastor associate@saintmarkpresby.org 301-530-8143