8feb23

I am very excited about our first Lent together. The worship committee met recently to plan Ash Wednesday, Lent, and Holy Week. There will be a Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper held in the Parish Hall. We will be once again offering ashes for those parents at the car line. We will be offering two services on Ash Wednesday, February 22nd. One of these services will be an all-school chapel on the lawn by the Sea Lab, and we will have a 7:00 pm service in the church Sanctuary. We plan on having our Wednesday evening suppers again this year. You will notice some differences in the services. We will be changing the service music for the 10:30 am services. 

I hope you will participate in all of the many offerings we will have during lent.

Father Grant +

Gospel: Matthew 5:21-37; The Gospel of the Lord – 2/12

The most thrilling and supreme liturgical moment for Ancient Judeans occurred when they offered sacrifice at the massive altar in the temple. Nevertheless, Jesus instructs his disciples first to heal any hostile relationship before making the sacrifice. Our Sunday celebration is important, but the way we live is greater. Will your celebration this coming Sunday serve as Christ’s call for you to transform? Do you have a troubled relationship? How about seeking its healing, and celebrating your Christly reconciliation this coming Sunday? (Norm Carroll)

The ECW meeting will be held this Saturday, February 11th at 10:00 am in the Ministry Center. All the women of the Parish are invited to attend. We look forward to seeing you. (Becky Fogelson)

The Guild will meet on Thursday, February 16 at 12:30 pm. The speaker will be the Senior Warden of All Saints Episcopal Church. We will discuss the outreach program that helps less fortunate folks get their laundry done at no cost. Bring a dish to share and join us for lunch in the Ministry Center at 12:30. (Lynne Coughlin – 954-741-6566)

February’s Family First Saturday had good turnout of fun-loving parishioners. The potluck appetizers were varied and generous, but the music stole the show. Solos were not required, no pressure. By the end of the evening, everyone was singing along no matter who held the mic. CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY. It’s good to know you’re invited to a party once a month! Join us at the next Family First Saturday, March 4th! (Lori McFadden)

The Quilters Guild that meets on the second Saturday of each month in our Parish Hall has been very busy. This month they donated 55 quilts to the Children’s Diagnostic and Treatment Center as well as a number of pet beds to the local animal shelters. The group is open to anyone interested in sewing. Please contact Dianne Garvin at 954-258-1834 to learn more. (Dianne Garvin)

On the first Sunday of every month, Kirk Bookman delivers the food that has been collected throughout the month to the Pantry of Broward, which serves seniors in need living on low, fixed incomes and grandparents raising their grandchildren throughout Broward County. This week he took four full boxes of food! The staff, volunteers, and recipients were thrilled! The food collection boxes are in the back of the church every week. The first Sunday is our main collection. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

If you like your Chancel Choir’s music, please subscribe to our YouTube Channel! The link to subscribe is http://www.youtube.com/@saintmarksepiscopalchurchc12. This week we have links to the beautiful music performed on January 29th – Aaron Venable’s (base section leader) heartfelt rendition of Deep River; https://youtu.be/km5xz_yi708, and the Chancel Choir’s lively Festive Praise; https://youtu.be/lbVFpCqyx8g. Please take a listen. We have two cameras now taking videos from two angles and are mixing views on the videos. Hopefully, this will increase your viewing enjoyment. (Robin Dreyfuss)

USHERS – Please contact Terry Gaw, tagaw@aol.com, if you are interested in serving as an usher during either the 8:00 am or the 10:30 am service. Terry often ushers at the 10:30 am Sunday service and will be happy to speak with you about ushering.

ACOLYTES – This is an opportunity for your child to serve as an acolyte at Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church for our Sunday morning services. Community service hours and training will be provided. Please contact Ryan Brukardt at ryan.brukardt@gmail.com if you are interested.

AUDIO/VISUAL – If you or your child (Middle or High School student), living in your household is interested in serving on our Sunday church service’s Audio/Visual team, please contact; Father Grant at gwiseman@saintmarks.com. This is a great opportunity for student volunteers to earn community service hours. Training will be provided

Our church web address is www.saintmarksftl.com. To view up-to-date, easy-to-read church and school schedules of meetings and activities CLICK HERE, this is a very useful tool.  If you want to receive the weekly Parish Newsletter via email please sign up at https://saintmarksftl.com/#subscribenow and complete the Constant Contact form located on the right side of the web page. If you are interested submitting an article to our weekly Parish Newsletter email dorothyseibert@comcast.net. 

Father Grant has a daily prayer blog 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.

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.

We invite you to post on our church website blog, https://saintmarksftl.com/submit-post/, which helps us keep up with the sharing of information. All information will be reviewed and considered for posting on the church website, Facebook page, and Instagram, as well as in this Parish News.