21sep22

Dear Parish Family,

In October a few of our parishioners will be attending a session on Invite Welcome Connect, a method for helping new members (and some older ones who are still finding their place) to become active in ministry in the church. While I would love to have the entire parish attend, I know it is not practical. There is a way, however, that you can learn more about this program and how you might be able to support the implementation of Invite Welcome Connect at Saint Mark’s. Please take the time to watch the videos on the Invite Welcome Connect Website, https://www.invitewelcomeconnect.com/wheretostart. There are several videos that I hope will encourage you to be a part of growing our church. 

There has been some confusion as to the difference between Family First Saturdays and the Wednesday Night suppers. In order to limit confusion, we have pushed back the start of Wednesday Night Dinners by one week to October 12th.

The Family First Saturdays are fellowship events designed to happen on the first Saturday of every month. The first one is the first Saturday of October, October 1st. The Wednesday Night Suppers are designed to be weekly gatherings that last between 4 and 8 weeks at a time with a catered dinner and a program to follow.

Both are designed to be reasons to gather in a community coming out of COVID. We want them to be events that both the Church and School communities can gather. I hope this clears up some confusion.

There are tons of events happening at church and school coming up. The launching of the Sea Lab is coming up on October 14th at 9:00 am. The next day is the annual Oktoberfest. There will be more information about both of these events coming out soon. 

I am grateful for all the energy that seems to be flowing through the congregation.

Yours in Christ,

Grant +

All women in every episcopal congregation are automatically members of ECW and we are all invited to be active participants in the organization’s ministries. This Saturday, September 24th, at 9:30 am in the Parish Hall the women of Saint Mark’s will gather to regroup and enliven our chapter of ECW. It will be an organizational meeting to discuss what we can do to help Saint Mark’s. Please let me know if you would be interested in becoming an officer. I am looking forward to seeing everyone on Saturday. I have invited Father Grant to join us at the meeting. If you have any questions, please call me, Becky Fogelson, at 954-646-5122.  

Sunday’s Gospel pictures opposites. The wealthy man is exceedingly rich. He dresses in the garments of a wealthy priest, eats sumptuously, and enjoys a luxurious home. At his gates lay Lazarus, a man ill and in desperate poverty. Lazarus dies and enters glory; but when the rich man dies, he is cast into hell. What is his sin? He didn’t order Lazarus to be removed nor denied him breadcrumbs or abused him. But he also never noticed him. Indeed, he ignored Lazarus. His wealth had blinded his vision of his brother. Could this be the basic sin of our nation these days as we watch other countries starve? Could this be my own personal sin, despite Jesus stating pointedly that someone would rise from the dead to tell us? (Norm Carroll)

This Sunday is a very important day in the life of Saint Mark’s Church. At 9:15, between the 8:00 and 10:30 services, there will be training for those who want to serve on the altar on Sundays and at other church services as a Lay Altar minister. Altar Ministers are needed for both the 8:00 and 10:30 services. At 9:15 there will also be training on becoming a Lay Visiting Minister, who brings communion to parishioners who are unable to attend church. Parishioner volunteers from both the 8:00 and 10:30 services are needed for this important ministry. At 11:45 am, there will be Acolyte Training for volunteers of all ages. Students, adults, and all parishioners are encouraged to attend this training.

All Church and School families are invited to Family First Saturdays, the first Saturday of most months, beginning October 1, 2022. The theme of the inaugural event will be A Taste of Home potluck dinner and then a game not for all ages, or sit outside on the new seawall decked patio with fellow guests and enjoy the rest of the evening. Bring a dish that most reminds you of home and please share the recipe with us for inclusion in the cookbook the Saint Mark’s School Diversity and Inclusion Committee is putting together. Bring your family’s favorite game. Future fun and instructional activities are being planned for the future Family First Saturday dinners.

The Fall weekly Wednesday Night Dinners will start October 12, 2022, and run through November 2, 2022. The buffet dinner begins at 5:45 pm and will be catered by our school’s dining hall chef. The dinner will cost $10.00 per person or $25.00 per family of 3 or more. At 6:25 pm choir members will leave for rehearsal and there will be a program for the remaining parishioners. The program for October 12 will be instruction and assistance for enrolling in Our Church Realm. Volunteers will also be taking pictures if you don’t have one you want to upload or they can help you upload a picture from your phone, iPad, laptop, etc. Fun and inspirational topics are being planned for the future.

Father Grant has a daily prayer blog with which he starts each morning. He shares this with all who would like to pray together at www.atwinfather.com. When you go to the prayer of the day, there is an option to receive the daily prayer in your email inbox so that you don’t have to type it in every day.

We are robed and processing again! And happy to be doing it. We had a special singer, Robyn Lamp, sing for us this past Sunday at the 10:30 am service. The link to her performance is https://youtu.be/poqCF_NY9Qg.

The choir has begun Wednesday evening rehearsals again as well, and we will be performing Anthems again. Here is “Adoramus Te”, by Palestrina, performed by our choir this past Sunday at 10:30 am. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PeJDIFk4HXM. Hope you enjoy our wonderful music program under the direction of Gordon Roberts.  (Robin Dreyfuss)

Are you young at heart and have a calling for helping children? We are looking for you! We are looking for nursery attendants on Sundays. Give our little ones a fun and nurturing experience in our nursery. Or if you know someone that may be interested please have them contact the Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church Office. (Giselle Dorsett)

Invitations to join our Church Realm have begun being sent by email, as of last week, with many other invites on the way. Please check your email and sign up by creating your personal log in and to upload your digital photo. If you have not received an email invitation to join our Church Realm, please contact Kelly Harris at kharris@saintmarks.com. Church Realm will serve as a great opportunity for our parishioners to connect with one another. Also, this will be an online directory and gateway to church information. This will be an online directory and the gateway to church information. You will have the option to choose which information you want just the church office to have and what contact information you want to share with fellow parishioners.  If you do not have a digital photo , Father Grant or a parishioner will be available to take a photo of you at the October 5th parish dinner.

Now that the cases of COVID have thankfully abated, wearing a facial mask is encouraged, but not required. Please respect the space of those who choose to be more cautious.

Father Grant, our rector is currently available to provide pastoral care for our parish. You may contact Fr. Grant at 954-334-0131, or by email at gwiseman@saintmarks.com.

Please check for our parish updates on the church website at: https://saintmarksftl.com/parish-news/

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