School Supplies Needed

Vacation Bible School Collection

This year during VBS our mission project will be collecting school supplies for Presbyterian Children’s Homes & Services. PCHS has been very specific on items needed. We will have the school bus out Sunday, July 8 through Sunday, July 22 for those who wish to help.

Here's the complete list:

Backpacks (K-12)
Composition notebooks (non-spiral)
3 hole punch loose-leaf paper
3 ring binders Plastic folders
Ink pens (red, blue, black)
Pencil pouches
Markers (washable & permanent)
Highlighters
Crayons/Colored markers
Glue Sticks
Scissors (blunt & regular)
Rulers
Scotch tape
 Post-Its

If you have questions, please contact Ellen Hynes or Elizabeth Oglesby. Thanks!

Statement of Faith by Confirmand, Part 6

Faith Statement

I believe in God, the Father, Son Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, and Holy Spirit. God is the father almighty who created Heaven and Earth. I believe in the Bible, the 66 books of the Old and New Testaments. I believe what is written in the Bible. I love the Church, going to the services provided, and the worship in and out of Church. I believe in worshiping our Lord and showing My love for the Lord. Worshiping the Lord doesn’t always have to be inside Church. I believe in sin and to pray for forgiveness. Every night before I go to sleep, I pray silently on my bed thanking the Lord for all the good in my life and how thankful I am and for the good the world. I pray for forgiveness for things I have ever said or done that may have hurt someone. I also pray for strength to those who need it and there is a specific person I say a special prayer for every night. I pray for her to get better and for a lifting of her struggles. I believe that forgiveness isn’t hard to come by from the Lord, for the Lord loves everyone. I have faith in God helping others with their struggles. I will worship the Lord during the life I have. I have hope in everything. I can find hope in situations that may seem hopeless. I believe that when I die, my soul will go to Heaven, that I will continue to be blessed by God and become an Angel. Although God cannot be seen, God can be felt and moved through others. I have seen God through love, happiness and passion. I have seen God in myself through love for my family, friends, pets and happiness with laughing spending time with the ones I love and doing the things I love. I also see God through my passion for dance, cheer, babysitting, and making friends. I believe that God is all around us, and He isn’t hard to see or feel.

Lindsey P.

Isaiah 58: Critical Need

St. Mark is supporting the Isaiah 58 Ministries' back to school fair which is held in mid-July by donating the following specific school supplies: blue or black ink pens and highlighters.

Additional supply categories are being collected by congregations in our Presbytery and other faith based organizations. Other donations that would be most welcome at the back to school fair: underwear and socks appropriate for elementary - middle school students.

Donations may be placed in the container marked "Isaiah 58" on the Deacons' table by July 12. If you prefer to make a monetary donation for the back to school supplies, you may write a check to St. Mark and designate "Isaiah 58" on the memo line.

Worship Prayers for July 1

CENTERING PRAYER  By your grace I arise from my bed this morning, Lord; by the power of your Spirit I draw my breath.  As the dawn brightens into day, enlighten my mind with your truth and open my heart to all those I meet, that I might reflect the light of Jesus Christ, in whose name I give thanks and praise.  Amen.

CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 130)

I wait for the Lord,

        my soul waits, and in God’s word I hope.

My soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning,

        more than those who watch for the morning.

In faith, let us turn to our God, whose love is sure.

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Trusting you does not always come easy when each day we are faced with the ugliness of the world.  We do not believe that love conquers fear.  We are not convinced that power comes through weakness.  We cannot conceive how you could heal us.  Forgive our lack of faith, O God, and renew our trust in you, for we would be disciples of Jesus, in whose name we continue to pray.  (Silent Confession)

  

SCRIPTURE READING                                                  2 Corinthians 8:7-15

  

† AFFIRMATION OF FAITH –  Westminster Confession of Faith Shorter Catechism Question One

        What is our chief end?

        Our chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy God forever.

The Sermon "Free and Fair"   click here.

Reclaiming Civility

“Love one another with mutual affection; outdo one another in showing honor”

(Romans 12:10, NRSV.)

It has been a joy to spend the past month with you all in Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood. When I first thought about having a sermon series on a children’s show, I wondered how well it would translate to the frenzied pace of our modern world. I discovered a lot about the program and the person as I dug deeper, and I believe Fred Rogers’ message is needed now more than ever. Coarseness might win the headlines, but I have faith that kindness will always carry the day.

So, what do we do when the cardigan sweater is hung up in the closet and the closing credit have finished rolling? What is the Lord asking us to do next? Loving neighbors and neighborhoods cannot be something we preach in church and do not practice outside the sanctuary walls. As a next step, we will begin a new tradition at St. Mark in August with a month-long all church Summer Sunday School class.

I will facilitate a discussion on “Reclaiming Civility” in our church, community, and world. Too often, we are quick to speak, slow to listen, and resistant to any kind of change. In our desire to be right, we dismiss opposing views, surround ourselves with likeminded opinions, and diminish the voices of those with whom we disagree. The world feels more divisive now than ever before, and, while it will feel like swimming upstream, Christians must resist the rush to dehumanize those on the other side of an issue. If we love all of our neighbors, we have to make space to engage everyone honestly. Mr. Rogers speaks to this when he writes, “Mutual caring relationships require kindness and patience, tolerance, optimism, joy in the other's achievements, confidence in oneself, and the ability to give without undue thought of gain.”

The class will meet every Sunday morning in August at 8:30 in the Fellowship Hall. Everyone is invited to join us for this fruitful discussion.

In Hope and Confidence,
Pastor Dave

Daily Prayer for July 6

FRIDAY

You, O Lord, are full of compassion and mercy, slow to anger, and rich in kindness.

Numbers 24:1-13; Romans 8:12-17; Matthew 22:15-22

God our creator, you made all things in your wisdom, and in your love you save us. We pray for the whole creation. Overthrow evil powers, right what is wrong, feed and satisfy those who thirst for justice, so that all your children may freely enjoy the earth you have made, and joyfully sing your praises. Take all our doubts and uncertainties, O God, and fill us with such faith that we may be confident of your love and loyal in the service of him who died and yet lives for us, Jesus Christ the Lord. Merciful God, you bear the pain of the world. Look with compassion on those who are sick; cheer them by your word, and bring healing as a sign of your grace. God of comfort, stand with those who sorrow; that they may be sure that neither death nor life, nor things present nor things to come, shall separate them from your love. (Add your prayers.) Amen.

As God's own, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, and patience, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, and crown all these things with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.

(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.)

Summer Book Read

The book, Just Mercy; A story of Justice and Redemption is a memoir by Bryan Stevenson. He writes
about his experiences beginning in 1984 with the Southern Prisoner’s Defense Committee (SPDC) based in Atlanta and then founding the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) in Tuscaloosa Alabama in 1989. Both organizations’ mission is to mitigate the injustice the poor, marginal and vulnerable experience in our justice system. His work resulted in favorable Supreme Court decisions.

We are familiar with the concept of God’s mercy but what about us? In the Old Testament (Micah 6:8) tells us that the Lord requires us “To act justly and to love mercy. In the New Testament Jesus teaches (Luke 6:26) “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful”.

An explanation of mercy is found in An Introductory Theological Wordbook, by Iris V. and Kendig Brusker Cully: “Since mercy is an expression of God, the mercy shown to others by a human being would be an expression of the Spirit of God in his life. It still carries the same meaning when used this way: showing kindness or favor, without regard to the merit of those to whom it is shown" .

Join us Wednesdays; July11, July 25, and August 8 at 6:30 in Fellowship Hall as we discuss this troubling yet hopeful and inspirational book.

Statement of Faith by Confirmand, Part 5

I believe in many things, like how Jesus died for our sins, how there is faith in this life and the next one, and how God loves everyone. We are all His children and He loves us with all of His heart. I know when we do wrong things or we walk down the wrong path, God will be there to help us and forgive us for what we did or what we said. I believe God sits in heaven watching us as we live our lives and when we die we will go to heaven. I believe there is hope in the mind and in the heart. I believe in the teachings of the Bible and we go to church to worship our God. I believe in God and his one and only son. I believe the Holy Ghost conceived Jesus Christ and Jesus was born from the Virgin Mary. I know Jesus died for all of our sins. I also know how much He loves each and everyone of us. I will follow the words of God the father almighty and his only son, Jesus Christ. I believe God will bring peace, joy, faith, and hope to all of the people who follow Him.

One time when I needed God the most, He was there. When I had thought all faith was lost, He was there. God has helped me through a lot. When we found out my dog Marley was sick, I didn’t know how I would get through it. I had loved her for a long time and I was crushed. I didn’t know what to do. When she passed, I turned to God to give me the strength to get through it. It took a long time, but eventually my faith in God helped me get over the fact my best friend was gone. I prayed to Him every night asking for Him to ease my pain, and in the end, He did.

God is also with me while I am running down the lacrosse field with the ball. God is with me when I am taking a test at school. God is with me when I am laughing with my friends. God is with me while I audition for solos in choir.

He is always with me and I know He sees everything I say and do. I know He loves me and I love Him. Because I love Him, I know I will be going to heaven. When I go to sleep at night and think of what it’s like up there in heaven. I think we all have a heaven; a safe place God is creating everyday as we live down here on Earth. I think my heaven will be filled with all of the things that make me happy. All the things to make me smile and laugh. I believe if you believe in God you will go to heaven. I also believe no matter how many mistakes we make God will always have an unconditional love for every single one of us. Like I said before, I believe in many things, but trusting God has chosen and made my path is the one thing I believe in the most. I know I have many purposes on this planet, and I know one of them is following God’s path He has created for me.

Emily C.

14th Annual Circle of Concern Golf Tournament Update!

This year's 14th Annual Circle of Concern's Charity Golf Tournament was played on May 21, 2018 at Aberdeen Golf Club. We had 31 teams register to play (full field is 36) with about 145 people in attendance. The event started off with light rain but cleared by the start time to provide a dry, hot day.

Additional fundraising activities integrated into the tournament included selling mulligans, a putting contest, a go big or go bigger option, a wine pull and a live auction of 6 big ticket items. The auction items included a wine tasting for 20 from Total Wine with appetizers provided by Annie Gunn's restaurant, a four day getaway to Park City, Utah, a black Sapphire bracelet donated by Clarkson Jewelers, 4 club level Cardinal tickets, Kendra Scott jewelry and a Drury Inn/Jazz tickets/restaurant evening for two. To keep hunger at bay, we provided golfers Chick-fil-A breakfast sandwiches & coffee at check-in, hotdogs at the turn and a full lunch buffet catered by Bandana's BBQ after players finished their round. Complimentary beer was provided by Grey Eagle Distributors and complimentary soda & water was provided by Paul & Betty Taylor.

I am happy to announce that we raised just over $20,000.00 for Circle of Concern. Overall, a very successful day! Many thanks go out to B. Lienemann for laying such great groundwork and structure for this tournament in past years, building on the work of G. Corlett and others. This year’s incredible Golf Tournament Committee of B. Lienemann, W. Brent, M. Fruechte, J. Martin, C. Miller, S.Ernst, J. Holden, worked tirelessly since December to put this event together. Thank you to all the wonderful volunteers that came out to help, in a beautiful BRIGHT orange t-shirt, to make sure everything went as planned.

 Additionally, I would be very remiss if I did not include a heartfelt thanks to the members of St. Mark's congregation. St. Mark has been a long time supporter of Circle of Concern and with this charity golf tournament, it has once again shown great dedication to this wonderful organization. Without the very generous individual donations we could not have funded this event. Without all the members and member's friends that took time to play, this event would not have been as successful as it was. So again, thank you for caring and adding to this tournament! It was a great day of golf but also an incredible opportunity to help a fantastic community organizationCircle of Concern. Next year's tournament has been set for Monday, May 20, 2019. I hope you will mark your calendars and plan to come play! If you don't play, consider volunteering on the committee or at the event and see what's it's all about!

Gratefully, D. Brown, Golf Committee Chairperson

Worship Prayers for June 24

CENTERING PRAYER – Fred Rogers

You are my friend
You are special
You are my friend
You're special to me.
You are the only one like you.
Like you, my friend, I like you.

In the daytime
In the nighttime
Any time that you feel's the right time
For a friendship with me, you see
F-R-I-E-N-D special
You are my friend
You're special to me.
There's only one in this wonderful world
You are special.

CALL TO WORSHIP (Psalm 136)

O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;

who alone does great wonders,
for his steadfast love endures for ever; 
who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
Come! Let us worship our loving God together!

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Loving God, you alone know our wandering hearts and our misplaced priorities. We confess we have resisted your calls to be better neighbors and to love bigger neighborhoods. 
God have mercy.
Redeeming God, you led us out of the slavery of sin, but we still find ourselves wandering in the wilderness hungering for your grace and thirsting for authentic community.
Christ have mercy.

Faithful God, you love us with an everlasting love, but we fear for our own security and close our hearts to our brothers and sisters in need. 
God have mercy.

For the sermon, "Would You? Could You? Won't You?" Click here.