Summer 1 June 1, 2016 In this issue A word from the Rector. p.2 Summer Schedule. p.2 Outdoor worship... p.2 Iftar Celebration.. p.3 Sunday School Reg. p.3 Outreach...p.3 Parish Picnic...p.4 Rectory BBQs.p.4 Sr. Luncheon.. p.4 Acolyte...p.4 Altar Guild...p.5 Cave Quest VBS...p.5 Office Coverage...p.6 Mission Trip....p.6 Hiking Group..p.7 Newsletter Deadline The deadline for the next addition of the Messenger is August 1st. Please send all articles and photos to office@stmarkssouthborough. org
Summer 2 June 1, 2016 Set your Sunday Summer Clock! A Word from the Rector Summer 2016 We re in this together The Presidential Race has heated up. Our candidates are nearly chosen at this writing (Secretary Clinton is close and will likely be the nominee and Mr. Trump has become the presumptive nominee). Both have many detractors, people who refuse to vote for them. Already we re hearing that these will be the most disliked presidential candidates in history. Over the summer and into Election Day animosity will continue to grow. I ve been a parish priest long enough to know we have people who will vote each of the candidates. That we ll be divided politically again into Blue and Red. Summer is almost here! Mark your calendar for the change in service schedule starting on Sunday, June 19th. The 8:00am service will be held in the church and the 9:30 service will be in the parish hall until after Labor Day. We will return to the regular schedule on September 12th. Worship with us Outdoors this summer Join us for worship on our lovely grounds! This summer we will be having a outdoor worship services at 9:30am on July 3 and August 14. But we ve been talking about community a lot in the past year here at St. Mark s. How we need each other. How we can grow as disciples best when we reach out and share our stories. How we vote doesn t change that; it doesn t divide us as members of the Christ s body. Perhaps that s because we re Christians first. Our identifying marker should be our faith life, the call of Jesus to walk in his way, and not our political leanings. No political party fully embodies the way of Jesus. So rather than looking at what divides us, I invite you to lean in and continue to see what connects us. Our passion groups have begun meeting: the women s group, a hiking event took place, the wine club will have a date in the near term. Those passionate about art have begun the liturgical arts team. We re seeing it happen. We re strengthening our connections to one another. Let s keep that up. Let s not allow the divisive rhetoric play out in our community, but rather let us find ways to connect. And mark you calendars now for election day. On Tuesday, November 8, we ll have a short service together at 7pm, reminding us that before the polls close and the votes are counted, our fellowship when we gather around the Table remains central to who we are. - Phil
Summer 3 June 1, 2016 Iftar Celebration June 17th Open Plate Offering Update Outreach Committee Join us for an Iftar Celebration with our Muslim neighbors on June 17th at 7:30pm. Iftar is the evening meal when Muslims end their daily Ramadan fast at sunset. The event will be held at St. Mark s. All food will be provided but we could use help with setup/cleanup. Sign up in the parish hall. Sunday School Registration Now s the time to register your kids for the 2016-2017 year. Registration forms are on the table in the parish hall. We are looking for volunteers to teach or assist as a Sunday School teacher. Please volunteer to help out. Please feel free to contact Kathy Cormier kmkiley@yahoo.com or Chrissy Kelley ncbkelley@yahoo.com if you have any question or concerns. January $911.30 to Straight Ahead Ministries an international organization dedicated to seeing Jesus Christ transform the lives of juvenile offenders. February $1150.50 to Boston Warm A coalition of Boston s religious leaders who care deeply about the closing of the Long Island Shelter. We have come together to advocate for an adequate, stable and dignified short and long term response to this crisis that is consistent with our values as communities of faith. March $938 to Haiti Partnership Dedicated to developing the partnership between St. Mark s School and St. Marguerite s School, an Episcopal School, in Latournelle, Haiti. The goal is to foster communication, education and cultural exploration between the two schools. April $1762.25 to Daniel s Table a non-profit about solving the hunger issue not just helping. They have set our goal of providing an estimated 40,000 to 50,000 meals per month and over the next year and a half we expect to reach that goal. Daniel's Table is an accept only what they need organization. If donors provide them with more than what they need to end hunger in Framingham; they will help others expand Daniel's Table into additional cities and towns. That is what it takes to stop hunger! That is how simple it is! May $958.53 to Living Water Living Water International exists to demonstrate the love of God by helping communities acquire desperately needed clean water, and experience "living water" the gospel of Jesus Christ which alone satisfies the deepest thirst.
Summer 4 June 1, 2016 Parish Picnic Spring 2016 Sr. Luncheon Parish Picnic June 12th after the 10:00 service (note: two services: 8:00 and 10:00) Hotdogs & Hamburgers provided. Please bring drinks, sides, and desserts to share. Bring: outdoor chairs or blanket to sit on. Lots of food, fun and fellowship! Sign up in the parish hall. Rectory BBQs Summer Potluck BBQs at the Rectory Save the dates July 13 and August 25. Come gather with the parish community for a potluck dinner at the Rectory during the summer at 6pm. Bring lawn chairs, a dish to share, bikes or scooters for the kids and enjoy a summer evening together! Attention all Acolytes Are you starting grade 3 or above in the fall? Would you like to participate more in the worship services? If so, sign up to be an acolyte this fall! Send an email to office@stmarkssouthborough.or g and you will be notified of the upcoming acolyte training and added to the acolyte rotation for the fall.
Summer 5 June 1, 2016 Altar Guild Don t Miss out on a week of exciting adventures at Cave Quest VBS The Altar Guild is in need of two (2) volunteers for the May/ December Team, one for the 8:45 am service and one for the 10:45 am service. It doesn't take much time, and you will make new friendships with the ladies on the Guild. Please talk with Karen White, Team Captain for those months, or Dee Cameron or Helen Seward. This is a very important ministry and you will be doing God's work. Also, during the months of July, August, when the service is held in the parish hall, we need Altar Guild members help with the cleanups after the service if you are in attendance. No Teams are assigned to these months. Again, it doesn't take long and we get the work done in no time. Thank you. Respectfully yours, Dee Cameron and Helen Seward Altar Guild Co-Chairs This year from August 15-19 we are offered Vacation Bible School (VBS) with a cool Cave Quest theme. The biblical theme is following Jesus, the light of the world. We invite all children in pre K to those entering grade 5 to join us from 9-12:30 at St. Mark s church for outdoor games, snacks, songs and exciting Bible stories with props and costumes so that you really feel like you are there watching the Bible scene take place. We will offer a tween party after VBS on Thursday for kids age 8-12, complete with games and cooking s mores and hotdogs over the fire. On Friday after VBS, we will have a program for parents/families and a picnic lunch. We will share songs and skits and things that we learned at VBS. Register by June 1 and save $10 per family. Cost is $50 for one child, $85 for two children, $110 for 3 children and $135 for 4 children to attend VBS. Registration forms are on the table outside the church office and also can be found on the church website. Volunteer forms are on the table outside the church office as well. We are seeking volunteers who are in MS, HS, or college and we also really need adult helpers. All volunteers age 18 or older must have an updated CORI form on file before VBS to help out. Contact Melissa LaBelle (tobeslabelle@mac.com) for more information.
Summer 6 June 1, 2016 Volunteers needed for Church Office Coverage July 18th-25th Emily Howard, Parish Coordinator in the church office, will be at Camp Calumet Lutheran the weeks of July 18th and July 25 th. Her husband will be serving as the Chaplain and Emily and her family will be supporting him in this ministry (and having fun too!). We are looking for a few volunteers to cover Monday-Thursday in the mornings during those weeks. Volunteer for 1 day or many! Responsibilities would include greeting people, answering the phones and making sure materials are ready for Sunday services. If you are interested in helping out, please email Emily at office@stmarkssouthborough.org of call the church at 508-481-1917. Fourth Annual Mission Trip RECORD NUMBER OF YOUTH HEAD TO HARRISBURG, PA IN JULY FOR FOURTH ANNUAL MISSION TRIP This year 19 youth and 5 adults ( a total of 24) will be heading out form to Harrisburg, PA in July to serve God and their neighbor through Youthworks. We are excited to have our largest turnout of youth since beginning the summer youth mission trip four years ago. We are also pleased to have 6 different towns represented among our youth and all six grade levels (grade 6-graduating HS seniors) of youth participating. We are so thankful for all of your generous support through the church bazaar, bake sales, kids night out, the chili bowl and the ongoing can drive. Your help is greatly appreciated. Although we are not clear on exactly which service projects we will be assigned, it is likely that some St. Mark s youth and chaperones will engage in the following: cleaning and painting homes, grounds clean up, serving the elderly at nursing homes, working in a soup kitchen or food pantry, and running a kids club (like VBS). Each day we will also have group worship times, meal preparation, and clean up duties in addition to group bonding and personal devotions. The theme for Youthworks trips this summer is First Love and we will focus on how God loves us first and it is his love that compels us to serve and to love our neighbors. We look forward to a chance to reach out and make a positive difference in the lives of others and to deepen our own faith in Christ. Please pray for us as we serve God in Harrisburg July 17-22. Please join us on July 17 in church for the send off and on July 24 when we share about what we learned on the trip during church. Both of these will take place at the 9:30 service in the air conditioned fellowship hall.
Summer 7 June 1, 2016 St. Mark s group hikes Purgatory Chasm All Trails Connect says a t-shirt at REI. The St. Mark s hiking group would agree! All who went enjoyed the outing to Purgatory Chasm State Reservation on May 21. We got to commune with nature and get to know one another better along the way. As we made our way over boulders and through crevices, we got to observe rock climbers rappelling down the chasm walls. At trail s end, we shared a picnic lunch in a peaceful setting and headed back, already talking about the next hike. Stay tuned for details to come. Hope to see you there!
Summer 8 June 1, 2016 Staff The Rev. Philip N. LaBelle, Rector James Wallace, Organist and Choirmaster Christiann Kelley & Kathleen Cormier, Dirs. of Children s Ed Emily Howard, Parish Coordinator Dave Holland, Sexton Sunday Worship Services 7:45am Spoken Eucharist 8:45am Family Eucharist 9:45am Faith Formation 10:45am Sung Eucharist www.stmarkssouthborough.org Find us on Facebook! St. Mark s Southborough Follow us on Twitter @stmarkssboro The Messenger St. Mark s Episcopal Church 27 Main Street Southborough, MA 01772 Phone: 508-481-1917 Fax: 508-481-2160 Email: office@stmarkssouthborough.org First Class Postage