Peace Offering: PCHAS

 Peace and Global Witness Offering

A gift to the Peace & Global Witness Offering (celebrating its 40th anniversary) enables the church to promote the Peace of Christ by addressing systems of conflict and injustice across the world. Individual congregations retain 25% of this Offering, serving issues within their community. The Presbyterian Mission Agency utilizes their portion of funding to advocate for peace and justice in cultures of violence, including our own, through collaborative projects of education and Christian witness.

Here in St. Louis a portion of St. Mark’s offering goes to Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services, which offers a continuum of care for youth—transitional living services for youth leaving foster care, mentoring, and intensive in-home care for families in crisis. Annually over 2,000 clients are served. Give generously to assist with this work.

How PCHAS helped…

Most fathers are bound by a commitment to do the best they can for their children. Serving families and fathers, like Samuel, is what Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services does.

Samuel was thrust back into parenting after his adult daughter and her husband were killed in a car accident. The couple left behind two devastated children. With no other options, Samuel immediately became a father to his orphaned grandsons. He was forced to deal with the trauma of losing a child and raising two young boys simultaneously.

This difficult transition proved to be more than Samuel believed he could handle. He knew he needed help and contacted PCHAS. Samuel focused on learning new parenting skills and developed the tools he needed to help his grandsons heal from their trauma. Today, Samuel and his children are thriving!

St Mark is proud to support PCHAS by sharing a portion of the Peace and Global Witness Offering.

Photo by Andre Ouellet on Unsplash

Worship Prayers for September 10

 

CENTERING PRAYER Almighty God, whose ways are far beyond our understanding, help us to trust your judgments so that we may do your will by loving you and one another. In the name of Jesus, we pray. Amen. 

CALL TO WORSHIP Listen! The Lord calls out to us, offering life! Teach, lead, turn us to your ways, O God. Walk in the paths of God’s commandments with delight. Teach, lead, turn us to your ways, O God. With our whole heart, we will turn to you and live. Let us worship our God together!

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Lord God, while we were still slaves to sin, you died for our salvation. Yet, we still worship the false gods of the world, forgetting you are Lord. Loving worldly wealth, we have not loved you with our whole heart nor loved our neighbors as ourselves. Trusting worldly strength, we have not trusted your word nor followed the Wordmade-flesh. Forgiving by worldly norms, we have not shown mercy to others as you have shown mercy to us. Forgive us yet again, we pray in Christ’s name. (Silent Confession)

PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE AND THE LORD’S PRAYER Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. 

Scripture for September 9 and 10

 Matthew 18:15-20

Dealing With Sin in the Church

15 “If your brother or sister[a] sins,[b] go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’[c] 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

18 “Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be[d] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.

19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

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Prayers for September 8

The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the good news.

Daily Readings for Friday, September 8, 2023

• Morning Psalms 84; 148
• First Reading 1 Kings 11:26-43
• Second Reading James 4:13-5:6
• Gospel Reading Mark 15:22-32
• Evening Psalms 25; 40

Loving God, through your Son you have called us to repent of our sin, to believe the good news, and to celebrate the coming of your kingdom. Like Christ‘s first apostles, may we hear his call to discipleship, and, forsaking old ways, proclaim the gospel of new life to a broken world. Great God, you are one God, and you bring together what is scattered and mend what is broken. Unite us with the scattered peoples of the earth that we may be one family of your children. Bind up all our wounds, and heal us in spirit, that we may be renewed as disciples of Jesus Christ, our Master and Savior. God of all who stand in awe of you, make us one with all your saints and with any who are in need. Teach us to befriend the weak, and welcome the outcast, that we may serve the Lord and live to offer him glory. (Add your prayers.) Amen.

The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord be kind and gracious to you. The Lord look upon you with favor and give you peace.

(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.)

Change

 

Here we are at the end of the three-month journey. June, July, and August. The summer of Pastor Dave’s sabbatical. A time to reflect on the past five years. A summer to assess the now. A summer to seek God’s call on our ministry as it might look in the future here at St. Mark.

 Early in the year, as Pastor Dave prepared us for the summer ahead and invited us to stretch out of the comfortable and think about, explore, and begin to articulate, even write down our thoughts regarding what we believe. This summer would be something different. This summer would be a summer of change.

 On June 4th our General Presbyter Rev. Ryan Landino visited us and preached us into the summer. He invited us to embrace change and to live into what God might do if we open our hearts and minds to the movement of the Holy Spirit. 

Yes. Sometimes change is difficult. Sometimes change is easy. Sometimes we don’t even notice that something has changed. Change can bring about grumbling or complaining and pain and suffering. But change can also bring about wonder and joy and growth and discovery. In any case, change means that we can experience something differently and be changed in some way. 

May this summer have been a time when you were prompted by the Holy Spirit to embrace change, to step into the unknown with wonder, and to seek to discover what God has in store next for you and for all of us! 

Peace and blessings, Pastor MP 

Change by Kathleen Raine 

Change Said the sun to the moon, You cannot stay. 

Change Says the moon to the waters, All is flowing. 

Change Says the fields to the grass, Seed-time and harvest, Chaff and grain. 

You must change said, Said the worm to the bud, Though not to a rose, Petals fade That wings may rise Borne on the wind. 

You are changing said death to the maiden, your wan face To memory, to beauty. 

Are you ready to change? Says the thought to the heart, to let her pass All your life long 

For the unknown, the unborn In the alchemy Of the world's dream? 

You will change, says the stars to the sun, Says the night to the stars.

Meandering on Match

 The day before I met Victoria I mused about my hopes and expectations on my laptop. I didn't read those
musings again until I opened up my laptop three weeks later on my return visit to St.Louis, December 9. Then I was stunned to realize I had met a woman exactly like the one I described here. Like seeing a prayer before and after it was answered.

If I had any doubts that it was Grace that brought Victoria and me together I no longer had them. When I went to St.Louis the second time I felt we were meant for each other. Three weeks earlier in the lounge at the Marriott, St. Louis I read these words on a woman's profile on Match.com: the hope of meeting “a man who also acknowledges that life is a meandering journey bolstered by faith” Just hours before we met I wrote:

I wanted to meet the woman who wrote this (meandering journey, etc.).

Match is a place to find every cliche and wishful thinking of single women. You find out how much they like to laugh and be charmed by looks, touches, and thoughtful gestures. You find out they don’t like men who take themselves too seriously, are carrying “baggage,” or want someone to cook for them.

O.K, I get it. We are starting over at age 60 or 70 and want to correct all the mistakes of earlier life.. We have a short time to redeem the unhappy years of former relationships or exhaustion of the working years.

But even in retirement there must be more than letting ourselves go and breaking every rule we lived by for the first sixty years of our lives. Life has just as much meaning to retired people as to working people, or how could we retire contented? Are we all destined to drink ourselves silly on some beach on our bucket list?

I wanted to meet a person of faith, but there are code words on Match.com for that, too. I am not sure how to de-code them. According to the Match.com profiles, I should “love the Lord” or “believe in God” or “attend church.” None of these are sure indicators of faith. Faith is something you live by and alters the way you make decisions. It is not a badge or membership card or an attendance record. These are the trappings that drive people to call themselves: “spiritual, not religious.” But even that classification is more of a disclaimer of religion than a positive assertion. Not attending church is no more a sign of faith than attending it is.

I like the "meandering journey" part, because it shows that faith is no guarantee of the future . How could it be faith if it carried guarantees? We pray, we listen and we act as we think is spiritually wise, but we don’t have a highway through the Red Sea or even through the eye of the needle to walk through. We are seekers our entire life. It is a meandering journey.

Who is this shrewd woman who has come to understand faith in this profound way? And what is she doing on an online dating site? Is she as frustrated as I am trying to find a life partner in the grocery aisles of love? Has she cracked the code of the Profile to find men who see faith as an adventure, not a ticket to heaven? Until I found this meandering woman I had not deciphered the “spiritual, not religious” or “loves the Lord” that label a believer on her pilgrimage of faith.

It’s all words, so maybe there’s nothing to learn from them until I meet the writer. Still I admire the woman who finds words that fit her and has the faith that some man will interpret them as she means them. We are both on a meandering journey, and our paths are about to cross.

This was my hope and prayer three weeks before I met Victoria in the lounge of the Marriott, St.Louis.

PEACE AND GLOBAL WITNESS OFFERING

“A Season of Peace” begins September 2/3 and completes October 1, World Communion Sunday. The Peace and Global Witness Offering (previously the Peacemaking Offering) will be collected during that time. The words of Isaiah 55 convey a profound message to us during A Season of Peace: 

For you shall go out in joy, and be led forth in peace.

 Go out in joy. Be led forth in peace. We are in desperate need of joyful and brave people who are willing to ask the hard questions and live the difficult solutions that make peace possible. Through the Peace & Global Witness Offering, we connect with each other, as the Church, together, to confront systems of injustice and promote reconciliation in places around the world and right here at home. As Rev. Brenda Booth reminded us in her sermon on August 20, each of us is part of an answer to the world’s problems. We each play a role. 

Our participation in the Peace and Global Witness Offering provides funds for those programs. St. Mark retains 25% of the total for local use, which has historically gone to the Presbyterian Children’s Home and Services and St. Martin Peace Meal. Use the special envelope in your September packet or simply mark your check for the Peace and Global Witness Offering. Thank you for your generosity.

Worship Prayers Sep. 3

CENTERING PRAYER Almighty God, in the self-giving love of Christ you have revealed the path of salvation; give us courage to deny our selfish desire and bear the cross of discipleship, that we may live as those who have no fear of death and receive the joy of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. 

CALL TO WORSHIP Sing a song of thanksgiving. Declare God’s wondrous deeds. For the Lord dwells among the people; the glory of God abides with us.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION Holy God, we confess that our love for you and for others has not been genuine. We have not held fast to what is good, and we have lagged in affection for our brothers and sisters. We have not been patient in suffering, nor have we persevered in prayer. We have repaid evil for evil and have failed to live peaceably with all. Forgive us our sin, free us from fear of the power of evil, and help us trust in the power of your everlasting goodness; through Jesus Christ. (Silent Confession)

Scripture for Sept 2 and 3

Romans 12:9-21

Love in Action

9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. 10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. 12 Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. 13 Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

14 Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. 15 Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. 16 Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position.[a] Do not be conceited.

17 Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. 18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. 19 Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,”[b] says the Lord. 20 On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”[c]

21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Prayers for September 1

The Spirit of the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor and release to the captives.

Daily Readings for Friday, September 1, 2023

• Morning Psalms 88; 148
• First Reading 1 Kings 5:1-6:1, 6:7
• Second Reading Acts 28:1-16
• Gospel Reading Mark 14:27-42
• Evening Psalms 6; 20

Almighty God, you sent Jesus to proclaim your kingdom and to teach with authority. Anoint us with your Spirit, that we too may bring good news to the poor, bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim liberty to the captive. As you have made this day, O God, you also make the night. Give light for our comfort. Come upon us with quietness and still our souls, that we may listen for the whisper of your Spirit and be attentive to your nearness in our dreams. Empower us to rise again in new life to proclaim your praise, and show Christ to the world, for he reigns forever and ever. Holy God, from whom every family on earth takes its name: Strengthen parents to be responsible and loving that their children may know security and joy. Lead children to honor parents by compassion and forgiveness. May all people discover your parental care by the respect and love given them by others. (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.