Worship Prayers from June 5

PRAYER IN PREPARATION:  Almighty God, in a world of war, we celebrate your peace.  In

the midst of oppression, we welcome that you lead us to freedom.  In the tangled doubt of our hearts, we celebrate the seed of faith.  In the flood of our tears, we celebrate the safe ground of hope.  In the pain and hurt and hatred, we celebrate the family you have given us that loves us.  In every moment, God of all people, we celebrate all the graces of your heart.  Amen.

 CALL TO WORSHIP

Sing praise to God, who lifts us up.

         We will sing our songs of joy.

Sing praise to God, who comforts and cares.

         God showers us with hope, offering help in every moment.

Sing praise to God, who is faithful.

         With hope and joy, we lift our songs of praise.

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Faithful God, you pour upon us the power of your Holy Spirit.  Yet we neglect to recognize the miracle of your constant presence in our lives.  We speak words that injure those we love.  We cling to the ways we have always lived.  We have trouble believing that you can do miracles in and through us.  Forgive us, O God.  Instill in us the constant hope and the steadfast faithfulness – to be your disciples, to be your messengers, to be your hands and feet in the world.  Let your grace shower us and end the drought of fear and doubt in our lives, so we can trust the good news of your abundance.  Amen.

For the sermon, click here.

$13,353

$13,353; This is the net profit that Circle Of Concern will receive from the St. Mark Presbyterian Charity Golf Tournament held Monday, May 9th at The Legends.  The Circle Of Concern Charity Golf Tournament was a huge success with roughly a 30% increase in profit from the year prior.  One hundred and forty golfers, the most ever, outlasted the weather conditions and teed off at The Country Club at the Legends in Eureka, MO on May 9^th.  The first prize for the lowest team score in A-Flight shot a 57, which is 15 under par.  The B-Flight winning team shot a 69, 3 under Par on a six team scorecard playoff.  We awarded prizes for men and women’s longest drive and closest to the hole on the four par 3 holes.  Six golfers outlasted the rest of the field during the Putting Contest for a $100 Callaway Gift Card.  NO GOLFER WON THE $10,000 PRIZE THIS YEAR FOR A HOLE-IN-ONE.  Thank you to the committee and most important to the sponsors/golfers/volunteers who helped organize this event enabling this success.  St Mark looks forward to hosting this event for the 14^th year in 2017.  Spiritually, keep Circle Of Concern and all of our Outreach Charities in our hearts and prayers through continued support.

Proverbs 16:3 Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

FAMILY OUTDOOR MOVIE NIGHT

When: Friday, June 17

Where: St. Mark Presbyterian Parking Lot

(Upper Level)

Time: 7:30 pm

Movie: Surf’s Up

Children’s Ministries invites you to an evening of fellowship, crafts, and, of course, we can’t have a movie without refreshments and popcorn! 

Admittance fee is canned goods to benefit Circle of Concern.

(In case of inclement weather, movie will be shown in Fellowship Hall)

Daily Prayer

The sacrifice acceptable to God is a humble spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

Ecclesiastes 9:11-18; Galatians 5:1-15; Matthew 16:1-12

Eternal God, you draw near to us in Christ and make yourself our guest. Amid the cares of our daily lives, make us attentive to your voice and alert to your presence, that we may treasure your word above all else. O God, you are infinite, eternal and unchangeable, glorious in holiness, full of love and compassion, abundant in grace and truth. Your works everywhere praise you, and your glory is revealed in Jesus Christ our Savior. Therefore we praise you, blessed and holy Trinity, one God, forever and ever. Eternal God, send your Holy Spirit into our hearts, to direct and rule us according to your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Add your prayers.) Amen.

Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God through him.

Daily prayers can be found on our website in a pdf format if you want to print them out.  Click here.

(Opening sentences, prayers, and blessings are from the Book of Common Worship. Readings are from the daily lectionary in Daily Prayer. Both are published by Westminster/John Knox Press.)

Reaching Out

Cucumbers, strawberries, peppers, onions, fruit trees…

The Pagedale Community Garden will be harvesting all of this bounty thanks in part to seven from St. Mark representing the Deacon outreach committee. 

On Saturday May 21, led by Deacon Joyce Blackwell, St. Mark weeded, planted and fellowshipped with our neighbors from Beyond Housing. Want to join in the fun next time? 

Contact Joyce or the Church office (636-394-2233). 

In gratitude: Bertha Larez, Scott and Nina Collier, Joyce, Jourdan and Theresa Blackwell, Susan Hayes.

Then God said, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.” Genesis 1: 29

Worship Prayers May 29

PRAYER IN PREPARATION:  O God of promise, who in Christ assembled the alienated and the excluded into the folds of your compassion, we give you praise for your redeeming grace.  You break down dividing walls of hostility, and fill us with your Spirit of reconciling love.  You set our feet firmly on the foundation of your goodness, and impart to us wisdom that enlightens our days.  You are God, who indeed promises new life to all.  Amen.

 CALL TO WORSHIP

We come, to restore our souls, to be strengthened by God’s Spirit.

         The Lord is our shepherd, we shall not want.

Jesus feeds and fills us with hope.

         God prepared a table for us, our cups overflow.

Sing for joy, people of God, there is plenty for all.

         Surely goodness and mercy shall follow all the days of our lives.

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Gracious God, we are empty, and long to be filled; we are hungry, and long to be fed; we are lost, and long to be found.  Often, we seek your help, only to serve ourselves.  We seek to use you only to meet our own wants.  We limit our vision, seeing only our little world, and not seeing the lives and needs of others.  Forgive us, O God.  Gather us into your love, and pick up the pieces of our lives.  Call us anew to find our fulfillment in you.

Stephen Ministry for the Male Persuasion

Providing caregiving to:

* those grieving the loss of  loved one
* terminally ill people and their families
* people who are homebound
* victims of disasters
* the hospitalized
* those experiencing birth or adoption
* new members in your congregation or community
* those in a job crisis
* people facing major life transitions
* the aging and elderly
* those who are lonely
* those with a chronic illness or disability and members of their families
* people who are separated or divorced
* countless other situations when people are experiencing a crisis or difficult time and could benefit from ongoing, one-to-one Christian care


I don't see any words above that says, men can't benefit from this!  So...you men out there, if you need support from any of the above or even if all you need is someone to LISTEN to you, please contact one of our St Mark PCUSA Pastors.  Stealing a phrase from a Life Cereal commercial, "Let's get Mikey to try it, he hates everything...'Mikey he likes it'."

Stephen Ministers are here for YOU, Christ caring for people through people.

1 Thessalonians 5:11; Therefore encourage one another and build up each other; as indeed you are doing.

Calling all Nominations

Do you feel called to do more for St. Mark

Presbyterian Church? 

Would you like to be in a leadership role? 

The Nominating Committee is looking for members interested in serving as either an elder or deacon for the Class of 2019 (3-year term). In addition there is also a need for the Pastor Nominating Committee (one-time commitment).

Elders are the governing leaders of the church who make the governing decisions for St. Mark, and as such are involved in the “business” portion of the church through committees like Personnel, Property, Technology, Worship, and Fellowship (to name a few). 

Deacons are the caregivers of both the church congregation and the community at large, using their talents on committees like Caregiving, Outreach, and Circle of Concern (to name a few). 

If you are interested, please contact the Nominating Committee Chairperson, Scott Collier. Also if you know of someone who would be a great fit, please consider asking him/her and if interested, send that name on to Scott.

The committee members are Brad Brewer, Sharon Yoder, Mark Weber, Nancy Helmer, and Lili Hostetler. Please keep the committee in your prayers as it undertakes this very important work; and prayerfully consider a position as a servant leader if contacted by the committee. St. Mark is blessed with a large congregation with much talent as yet untapped. Do not hide your light under a bushel!

Message from Pastor Jim

“Day by day, as they spent much time together in the temple . . . with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number . . .” Acts 2:46-47

May was an amazing month. The Holy Spirit is definitely on the move at St. Mark. On May 1, we officially welcomed 10 new members to our congregation. And we ended the month with a Pentecost celebration that included welcoming the 8 members of our confirmation class into our church family as full members.

The Holy Spirit is also at work through our Mission Study Team as they continue to gather information that will shape the next season of ministry at St. Mark. I have not been involved in any of the writing of the Mission Study Report, which will be presented to the session and then the entire congregation sometime this summer. But I have been aware of some of the feedback the Mission Study Team is receiving; it seems there is quite a bit of concern about attracting “younger families” to St. Mark.

Just like St. Mark, almost every church wants to attract young families. The (unstated) rationale behind this usually includes the following:

• “We are getting older. Without younger people, the church will eventually die.”
• “It’s energizing to have young people around.”
• “Younger members can do the work that older members can’t/won’t do anymore.”
• “Older members are on fixed incomes. Younger, working families are needed for their pledges.”
• “Young families remind us of church when were part of a young family.”

But let’s be real. Are churches saying they want young families for what they can give to us? Instead, what if churches sought out young families to nurture their faith journey and share with them in authentic community?

How can St. Mark be the kind of congregation that welcomes young families for more than their energy and wallets? How can St. Mark shift its perspective and create a rationale that includes the following:

• Asking young families how we can pray for them, and then actually pray for them.
• Be genuinely welcoming, even accepting the running and squirming, noise and messiness that comes with kids.
• Not expecting everyone to be “the church” like we have always been “the church.”
• Inviting younger people to serve by actually asking them how they want to serve, and then making serving easy.
• Giving them real input into the direction the church is going, and give them a real opportunity to make a difference.

I’m looking forward to the results Mission Study Report. I’m looking forward to how the session will respond to these and other questions the MSR will raise. I’m looking forward to the Holy Spirit continuing its good work among us, and how we will live it out.

Grace and peace, Pastor Jim

Daily Prayer

They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-15; Galatians 2:11-21; Matthew 14:1-12

Holy God, Creator of all, the risen Christ taught from scripture of his death, resurrection, and ascension into your glorious presence. May the living Lord breathe on us his peace, that our eyes may be opened to recognize him in breaking bread, and to follow wherever he leads. Fountain of wisdom, by your word you set the universe in space, and with your hands you molded us in your image. Everywhere we see signs of your loving care. Guide us always into your ways, that in your wisdom we may find life abundant and live forever in the splendor of your glory. Almighty God, in giving us dominion over things on earth, you made us co-workers in your creation. Give us wisdom and reverence to use the resources of nature, so that no one may suffer from our abuse of them, and that generations yet to come may continue to praise you for your bounty. (Add your prayers.) Amen.

The grace of Christ attend you, the love of God surround you, the Holy Spirit keep you, that you may live in faith, abound in hope, and grow in love, both now and forevermore.

(Opening sentences, prayers, and blessings are from the Book of Common Worship. Readings are from the daily lectionary in Daily Prayer. Both are published by Westminster/John Knox Press.)