Friday, May 30, 2014

Daughters of God Recipes: Bath Salts and Smoothies


The St. Mark Daughters of God Luncheon had the theme "Pajama Party"  with Bath Salts at each place setting to help us relax.  Sally said we can use the bath salts as a scrub in the shower or in the tub to soak.

The bath salts were 1/4 cup baking soda, 1 1/2cups sea salt and 1 cup rosemary & mint Epsom salts.  (CVS)

 The smoothies were
1 banana
1 cup of orange juice 
 ice , blended
strawberry garnish

For more photos and recipes from this year's luncheon, click here.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

#TBT: Church Picnics

St. Mark Presbyterian has had church picnics almost since the church began over 50 years ago.  Several of them were held at Vlasis Park in Ballwin.  The one above in 1967 has B. Acheson (balloons), T. Conrad and Pastor Bob Lucas.  The one below is also from 1967 of Vlasis Park in Ballwin, MO.
 The next two are also at Vlasis Park (not far from St. Mark Presbyterian) but in 1979.  Below are E. Tharp and K. McMillan running a race (or line dancing?) and R. Hudson giving instructions for something.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Announcement: Summer Potlucks and Ice Cream Social

 Let's start the summer off right with good food, fellowship and air conditioned comfort on Sunday June 1 following the 10:30 service in Gleason Hall.  The Fellowship Committee will be providing BBQ burgers, brats, hot dogs and ice cream.  Bring a side dish to share.  Sign ups will be in the Narthex at the picnic table below or contact St. Mark Presbyterian church office
There will also be 3 Midweek Potlucks sponsored by the Vacation Bible School team.  Bring a side dish and join in an evening of fun and fellowship as we construct decorations for the year's VBS program.

May 28  Fried Chicken
June 11  Hamburgers/Hotdogs
June 25 Barbeque Pork

Monday, May 26, 2014

Local Mission Needs

School is out, but there are still children in need in our community.  Please consider donations to the following organizations.
-Circle of Concern Needs:  cereal, peanut butter, jelly, tomato products (whole, sauce, diced), canned pasta and toilet paper.  Collection table is outside Steve Ranney's office.

-BRO (Board of Religious Organizations) Toy Drive:  During May and June, we will be collecting toys for BRO to distribute to St. Louis children, ages newborn to 10 years old at Christmas time.  Especially needed are toys, balls, craft kits, games and puzzles, and books for boys and girls ages 6 to 10.  As you are doing Spring cleaning you can continue to add gently used toys, blocks, Legos, books and stuffed animals for younger children to the gray BRO container box.  For further information contact S. Boeker or L. Grothe.

Sunday, May 25, 2014

Forever Young

Prayer in Preparation (Celtic prayers from Iona):  In the beginning O God, you shaped my soul and set its weave.  You formed my body and gave it breath.  Renew me this day in the image of your love.  O great God, grant me your light.  O great God, grant me your grace.  O great God, grant me your joy this day and let me be made pure in the well of your health.  Amen.
Click here if the video doesn't appear above.

Prayer of Confession:  In quietness and confidence we come before you, God of grace and love.  In turning to you we know your grace accepts and your love transforms.  So we confess our sins, great and small:  the sins we know we should do something about; the sins we seem unable to do anything about.  We pray your forgiveness and ask that, as gold is refined in fire, you would burn away the impurities in our lives and make us strong and beautiful for you.  Hear us as we make our silent confession, O God, that we might be freed to be instruments of your grace and love. Amen.




Worship included honoring staff who had been with us for 10-15 years as well as the commissioning of six youth.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Daughter's of God Souffles


Recipe for 6 Souffles served at Daughters of God Luncheon
-Preheat the oven to 375 (350 for convection)
-Butter Cupcake tins

Mix:  4 eggs whisked
1/2 c. chopped spinach
1/4 c. ham
1/2 c. feta cheese
1/4 c. cream
sea salt and pepper
Set aside

-Cut one sheet of puff pastry into 6 rectangles
-Position each pastry in cupcake tins
-Pour egg mixture into cups
-Fold corners to the center
-Top with a few tomatoes
-Bake 18-20 minutes



For more on this event, click here.


Wednesday, May 21, 2014

ABC Sale is coming!

ABC Sale, Boutique 
Been trapped inside with the "urge to purge" those Attics, Basements and Closets?  Look no further than the church to donate those gently used clothes, handy-dandy kitchen items, surplus snappy furniture pieces.

St. Mark will be holding their annual ABC Sale on July 11 and 12 with your chance to bring us your treasures beginning Sunday, July 6.  We need everyone' help to make this a grand success.  And what a wonderful way to further the missions of the church.

Click here to watch a video from the 2011 Sale and here for one from the 2012 Sale.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Daughters of God Pajama Party



 Our St. Mark Presbyterian Daughters of God Luncheon theme was "Pajama Party" where we were invited to wear pajamas, robes, slippers.  The cupcakes were adorned with "pink fuzzy slippers" (made with Nutter Butters), the menu was printed on a sleep mask and we had a booklet of prayers and inspiration to relax us before bed.

"Pajamas" "Gossip" "Pillows" "Selfies"
 



















We had a puff pastry souffle, smoothies and a salad in addition to two different cupcakes.  For recipes, click here.





This was followed by Pastor Susan conducting relaxation exercises, meditation and a little yoga.


What more could a woman want?  Fellowship, Food, Fun and Faith!

Monday, May 19, 2014

Deacon Shelter Committee

The St. Mark Deacon Shelter Committee has planned a work day for Saturday, May 24.  We will be coordinating with Beyond Housing to assist families in need.  In the past we have laid flooring, installed fencing, cleaned up brush from yards and done general cleaning.  No special skills are necessary, only a willing heart to serve.  Please contact G. Knopf or S. Collier as we need to let Beyond Housing know how many volunteers we will have on this day.  This helps them determine the job we will be assigned.  A typical work day lasts from 8-4.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Learning to Feed Yourself


Prayer in Preparation for Worship:  Lord Divine, whose mercies are fresh with the morning and whose grace amazes us into joy:  Grant that, in our worship and in our daily living, we may be deeply aware of the strength of your mercy. Move us to share that strength in your world.  Amen.

2 Timothy 3:14-17

1But you should continue following the teachings you learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. 15 Since you were a child you have known the Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for showing people what is wrong in their lives, for correcting faults, and for teaching how to live right. 17 Using the Scriptures, the person who serves God will be capable, having all that is needed to do every good work.

"Learning to Feed Yourself", the sermon from May 11, 2014, is part of the sermon series "Grow Up". To listen to past sermons, click here.

Friday, May 16, 2014

St. Mark Communications: The Web The Tweet, The Future

Last week, the Communications Committee at St. Mark Presbyterian met for a question-answer session during Midweek.  Here are some of the questions and our answers.

Q:  Will we still get paper bulletins and newsletters?
A:  We have no plans to eliminate paper communication---we are just adding digital.

Q:  How can we find the sermons on line?
A:  The audio recordings are usually on the web-site http://www.discoverstmark.org/ by mid-week under the tab “Listen & Read”  We don’t currently have written versions because they would need to have citations and could also be down-loaded and plagerized.  A few times a year, we have printed sermons on the blog http://www.discoverstmark.blogspot.com/

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Mound Ridge May 3, 4 2014


St. Mark Presbyterian children, youth and adults experienced an awesome week-end at Mound Ridge Camp & Retreat Center. We planted a vegetable garden, weeded the butterfly garden, scraped and painted the camp pool. The highlight of the week-end was the worship services led by Rev. Sean Butler. We experienced an afternoon campfire service on the shore of the Meramec River as we talked about the peace of Christ, evening vespers including a meditation walk through the camp labyrinth reflecting on the Walk to Emmaus, and Sunday morning worship at our outside chapel. Young and old alike felt richly blessed spending a week-end as a church family working, playing and worshipping together.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Announcement: Spinnaker's "Wings of Hope"

Our next St. Mark Spinnaker's meeting will be held on Friday May 16, 7 PM in Fellowship Hall.  "Wings of Hope" will present a program describing their humanitarian efforts throughout the world.  "Wings of Hope" is the oldest and largest humanitarian charity in the Midwest and operates in 47 countries.  The organization helps people in isolated, under-developed regions with health care, education, community development, potable water supply, etc.  Their prime purpose is to raise the standard of living in these regions.  The funding of "Wings of Hope" comes from the sale of rehabilitated, donated aircraft.

Refreshments will be served after the presentation.  Please come and bring a guest!

Sunday, May 11, 2014

"Practicing Resurrection"

Prayer in Preparation For Worship:  Loving and Beloved God, in the resurrection of Christ you have overcome the powers of this world and shown your saving love for all people.  As Christ has loved us, may we remain in his love, growing in love for one another; through Christ your Incarnate Love, to whom with you and the Spirit, one holy God, be honor  and praise now and forever. Amen.


St. Mark Presbyterian Church

Prayer of Confession:  Merciful God, you call us to love our neighbor and to seek justice.  But in this busy and complicated world we are pulled in so many directions that it is easy to lose sight of your way.  Forgive us when we neglect the needs of others.  Empower us to live out your way of justice and new life.  Amen.

The sermon for  Sunday May 4, can be found here.  The film clip shown during worship can be seen above or click here.

Friday, May 9, 2014

Little Things

If the video above does not appear, Click here.

20 He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”

Wednesday, May 7, 2014

Daughters of God Luncheon

Instead of a Mother-Daughter luncheon, St. Mark Presbyterian has a "Daughters of God" event each year.  This year's theme is Pajama Party with Pastor Susan leading us with relaxation exercises, humor and sharing God's love for us.  It will be Saturday May 10 at 11:00 AM for $8.  Contact the church office for more information 636-394-2233.

To see photos from 2013 Daughters of God luncheon with the Recycle theme, click here. And, 2012 had the theme Garden Party (click here)

Matthew 11:28 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Sunday, May 4, 2014

Acts 2:14, 36-41


ACTS 2:14A, 36-41
St. Mark Presbyterian Church
14aBut Peter, standing with the eleven, raised his voice and addressed them,
36“Therefore let the entire house of Israel know with certainty that God has made him both Lord and Messiah, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
37Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38Peter said to them, “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him.” 40And he testified with many other arguments and exhorted them, saying, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41So those who welcomed his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand persons were added.

Friday, May 2, 2014

The Whole World


He's got the little bitty babies, in his hands
He's got the Brothers and the Sisters, in his hands
He's got the Mothers and the Fathers in his hands
He's got the Whole World in his hands
He's Got the Whole World in His Hands
These days it seems that we can each have the whole world in our hands as well, or at least the whole World Wide Web, not to mention all the people we share it with through social media, e-mails, texting, and even the more traditional way of a good old- fashioned phone call.  It’s easy to see how this new technology and the communication it brings is changing the world around us sometimes for the better (easy way to call for help if you have trouble on the road) and sometimes for the worse (your trouble on the road may have been caused by someone distracted by their device!)  I’m usually an early adopter of new technology, but I resisted joining the smart-phone world for quite a while, staying connected through my trusty old flip-phone, my laptop, and my workstation at home.   But when the technology reached a point that I could do just about everything I was doing on all of this equipment, plus all I could do with my still and video cameras with a smart phone,  I had to try it.  And I’m starting to like it.  A lot.