Frozen Water Pipes

Winter Edition (FEMA E-Brief December 4, 2014)

I thought I would pass on to our congregation here at St Mark a winter home safety concern that sometimes gets overlooked.

During extreme cold temperatures, one of the most serious threats to your home is frozen water pipes. According to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), approximately a quarter-million homes and offices have at least one room damaged by a frozen pipe each year. FLASH encourages you to protect your property this winter by following three easy steps:

·       FOAM: Insulate pipes exposed to the elements or cold drafts. By keeping your water warmer, you reduce the amount of energy needed to heat water in the cold, winter months;

·       DOME: Place an insulating dome or other covering on outdoor faucets and spigots to reduce the likelihood of water pipes freezing, expanding and causing a costly leak; and

·       DRIP: Allow a slow drip from your faucets to reduce the buildup of pressure in the pipes. Even if the pipes freeze, the release pressure in the water system will reduce the likelihood of a rupture.

For more prevention tips or to learn how to properly thaw frozen pipes in your home, check out this informative Weather Channel video. 

Clicking on any of the blue text that is underlined will take you to another site for further information.

Souper Sunday Chili and Soup Cook-off

Forget those January blues and join the Fellowship Committee at St. Mark Presbyterian in a "Crock Pot Souper Cook-Off" on Sunday, January 18, following the 10:30 worship service.

Bring a crock pot of your favorite chili or soup, decorate your table and join the fun. The chili cook-off is always a hit.  We have added a soup cook-off.  This category is wide open as there are so many possibilities

This is a great competition and there will be two separate winners!  Sign ups for "Souper Chefs" and "Souper Tasters" will be at the Fellowship table in January.  Look for more information in Sunday bulletins.

For $3, you get all of the soup you want plus 5 tickets to vote for your favorite.  Hot dogs and chips will also be available for $1.  Dessert and drinks are included.

Youth Events

Senior High Youth Group meets on Sundays from 11:30-1:00 and Middle School Youth Group meets on Wednesdays from 6-7 p.m., unless otherwise noted.  For more information, click here.

Jan 4th/7th NO FELLOWSHIP

Jan 11th ALL YOUTH Ice Skating 12-2 p.m. $11 CASH Steinberg Rink

Jan 14th Fleece Blanket Mission

Jan 16-17 Confirmation Retreat at Mound Ridge

Jan 19th ALL YOUTH Skiing 3-7 p.m. $40 Hidden Valley

Jan 25th Pizza, PJ’s & Movie “Paperclips” ***RESCHEDULED***

Feb 1st Souper Bowl of Caring Canned food drive for Circle of Concern

TRIVIA NIGHT 2015! Mark your calendars for March 7th. Doors open at 6 p.m. Trivia from 7-10 p.m. at Trinity Lutheran Church 14088 Clayton Rd. Reserve your table BEFORE February 21st, $160 for a table of 8, or $20 per person. After that, the price increases to $200 for a table of 8, or $25 per person. Raffle, 50/50, and “Dead or Alive” will be available as well as beautiful baskets to be auctioned off. If you are interested in donating an item for a basket, contact Stacey Caplinger. To register an individual, or a table of 8, contact Katie or call the church office. Proceeds benefit Youth Ministries Missions both local and national.

Coming Soon! The Youth Ministry Money Wall… look for details to come!

Although our flamingoes have flown south for the winter, we are still taking orders to be filled in the spring. Please let Katie Sternhagen or Debbie Brown know if you want to flock this spring!

YOUTH LEADERSHIP AND MISSION TRIPS

Now is the time to register for our Summer Trips! Students having finished 8th grade through graduated Senior are eligible to participate! We are headed to Montreat June 6-14th and to Little Rock, Arkansas July 25-August 1. Look for registration forms in your email, as they are DUE JANUARY 18th!

Claymont Preschool Enrollment

It's time for parents and grandparents of preschoolers to start planning for Fall, 2015.

St. Mark families currently enrolled and new to Claymont Preschool have priority registration beginning January 13. Half day classes are available for children who will be 2 years old before October 1, 2015, through pre-kindergarten. We also offer lunch bunch each day of the week, until 1:30.

We hope St. Mark members will take advantage of this early registration period, since the Preschool enjoys an excellent reputation within the community and some of our classes fill rapidly.

Claymont Preschool is in its 53rd year. We are dedicated to providing a nurturing, stimulating environ-ment for intellectual, emotional and physical growth. Students are admitted regardless of their religious affiliation.

Please call Lynne Dauve, 636-386-KIDS (5437) or stop by the Preschool Office during the week for further information and a registration form, which are both available on St. Mark’s website (Click here).

In addition we have a very limited number of openings currently, so if you have a new neighbor or know of someone looking for a fabulous preschool, please recommend us to them!

Deacons Helping Hands

Deacon’s find ways to faithfully mobilize the strengths and resources of spiritual leaders that reach out to the congregation and community. The following community outreach is annually supported through the ‘helping hands’ of nine St Mark Deacon committees, three fund raisers, and their volunteers:

Beyond Housing - providing affordable housing and homeownership services to families, children and seniors; a catalyst for community-wide rebuilding efforts.

Board of Religious Organizations (BRO) - provides toys for children and families in need during the holidays; gifts of hope to new mothers throughout the year, and gifts to senior citizens during the holidays.

Businesspersons Between Jobs (BBJ) - voluntary organization helping Greater St. Louis area professionals involved in a career transition.

Circle of Concern - feeds the hungry and provides long-term and emergency assistance to low-income families living in western St. Louis County.

Habitat for Humanity - believes that every man, woman and child should have a decent, safe and affordable place to live.

Isaiah 58 Ministries - meets the needs of low-income individuals in our community through direct services including a food pantry, thrift store, utility assistance and job placement assistance.

Lafayette Industries - a sheltered workshop seeking employment for grown children with developmental disabilities.

Lydia’s House - works in faith to end domestic violence for abused women and their children providing safe, af-fordable transitional housing in a confidential location.

Matthew 25 Hunger Fund - provides direct aid to bring relief to families and individuals who are in desperate trouble often because of illness, death, loss of jobs, separation or divorce, and loss of utilities or shelter.

Mound Ridge Camp - offers a peaceful place where individuals and groups alike can come relax, refresh, and re-new their spirits while enjoying the great outdoors that has been created for us.

Peace Meal - Is a free fellowship meal for all because a meal is only a small piece when it comes to addressing poverty, inequality, and loneliness.

Presbyterian Children’s Homes and Services - give kids a safe, loving place to heal and to grow by offering a continuum of care that includes residential treatment, counseling, mentoring, education, and intensive in-home care for families in crisis.

Room at the Inn - a temporary, emergency shelter for single mothers with their children, single women, two-parent or single-father families.

Shoeman Water Project - Collects donated shoes new or gently used from schools, churches, businesses and shoe drives; exports the shoes to street vendors in places like Haiti, Kenya and South America and uses the funds from exporting for clean water programs in communities around the world.

If you would like to be a “Helping Hand” volunteer of this ministry, please contact one of the Deacons. Click here for a list of Deacons.

Prayers for Worship Dec. 28

PRAYER IN PREPARATION FOR WORSHIP:  Almighty God, you have shed upon us the new light of your incarnate Word.  May this light, enkindled in our hearts, shine forth in our lives;  through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen

CALL TO WORSHIP

For the sad and downhearted, Christ is among us.  For the complacent and comfortable, Christ is among us.  For the hungry and hopeless, Christ is among us.  For you and me, our families, our church, our entire world, Christ is among us.  Rejoice!  Let us worship God.

PRAYER OF CONFESSION

O God, revealed in ordinary places, we wonder if we might have missed your coming, had we been there:  with the stable too out of the way, the cradle too makeshift, the animals too noisy, the shepherds too crude, the carpenter too rough, the mother too young, the night too dark and cold.  We have a preference for trumpets and hallelujah choirs, for cherub cheeked children, for gift exchanges and shopping day countdowns.  Forgive us for not seeing you in out-of-the-way places and in unlikely people, in this season of celebration.

Pet Preparedness

Winter Edition (FEMA E-Brief December 4, 2014)

I would like to provide you with the dangers of winter on your pets and a few tips for their protection. Taking extra precaution during winter months can ensure your pets stay happy and healthy when the temperatures plummet. The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) suggests these steps:

·       Keep pets warm and indoors. No matter the temperature, windchill can threaten a pet’s life. Pets are sensitive to severe cold and are at risk for frostbite when outdoors during extreme cold snaps;

·       Protect paws from salt. This and other chemicals used to melt snow and ice can irritate the pads of your pet’s feet. Be sure to wipe off their paws with a damp towel; and

·       Avoid antifreeze poisoning. Antifreeze has a sweet taste that may attract animals, but is a deadly poison. Don’t allow pets to wander unattended near driveways, garages or other places when they may come into contact with antifreeze.  Learn how to detect the early symptoms of antifreeze poisoning in your pet.

For more information on taking care of your pets (click any of the blue text) and click the 'sign up' for action alerts from the HSUS.   sign up

Get Fit for New Years!

Yoga with Pastor Susan

If, like most of us, getting fit is one of your New Year's Resolutions, our St. Mark Presbyterian Adult Education committee will be helping you with their series "Wellness at St. Mark 2015".  Be sure to attend these programs which they have planned for Midweek.

Jan 7:  Pastor Cedric Portis (Third Presbyterian Church, Moline Acres)  "The All-church Weight Loss Initiative"

Jan 14:  St. Mark members "Caring for Body and Soul"

Jan 21:  Pastor Julie Gvillo (United Presbyterian Church, Illinois) "Celebrating a Lifestyle of Health and Wellness"

Jan 28:  "Unconditional Love (Love on a Leash)" Nurturing our spirit with our pets

Midweek programs gather in Fellowship Hall at 6:15 following midweek dinner (5:15).

Yoga for all levels. January 6, 13, 20, 27

9 : 3 0 — 1 0 : 3 0 a m . Bring your "sticky mat" (yoga mat)

Introducing Katie Sternhagen

Although Katie Sternhagen has been our Youth Director since last Spring, we wanted to formally introduce her.  Here is her bio in her own words:

I was born and raised in Ballwin, graduating from Parkway West. After graduating, I attended the University of Tulsa in Oklahoma , receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology with a Minor in Christianity. It was in Tulsa where I found my Presbyterian beginnings: my dad grew up at South Webster Presbyterian, and attended youth group at Webster Groves Presbyterian from time to time. 

Although Univ. of Tulsa is loosely affiliated with the PCUSA, I took classes and worshiped with TU’s then associate, now Chaplin Jeff Francis, who served St. Mark Presbyterian from 1982-1985 as a Youth Pastor. After spending a year at Mizzou starting my graduate work in Marriage and Family Counseling, I transferred to UMSL and began working full time with people on the Autism Spectrum. My eagerness to take on such a huge challenge resulted in burn out, and I found myself working as a barista at the Kirkwood Kaldi’s while going to grad school full-time. 

Living and working in Kirkwood, I began worshipping at First Presbyterian in Kirkwood. A couple of years later, in February of 2008, the Kirkwood community was rattled by a disgruntled citizen, who opened fire in City Hall, killing multiple people, including Tom Ballman and Ken Yost. In the aftermath of this tragedy, I found myself comforting more people in the community at large, in addition to the First Presbyterian congregation. 

The head pastor approached me and asked if I had ever considered being in ministry. After much prayer, discernment, and consulting two of my neighbors growing up, who had already answered calls to ministry, one for the Archdiocese the other for a non-denominational congregation, I said yes to God’s call to ministry. We then had a “trinity” of ministers on Gardenway Drive! During my ministry at Kirkwood, I met Don, we got married, and had Jillian (3 1/2 who attends Claymont Preschool). I thought, and was sorely mistaken, that I could be a stay at home mother. God’s call returned and I began my ministry at New Hope in St. Charles in the Summer of 2012. When the opportunity to serve in a full time capacity arose, I again answered the call, this time to St. Mark!

I enjoy reading, gardening, yoga, and pretend to be a runner.

Mission is extremely important to me, learning at an early age from my mother to give back what has been given to me. (This is how I got involved in coaching softball at Cor Jesu for 10 years).

We welcome Katie to St. Mark!  She has fit in so well that it seems like we have always known her!

Letter from John McCall

Dear Friends, Advent 2014

I returned to Taiwan in August after eight months in the U.S. visiting many of my supporting churches. Upon my return, I began a lot of traveling both within Taiwan and in Asia.

As I take buses, subways, trains, and planes, I often notice Christ beside me. The other night I was taking a bus up the mountain to the seminary where I live and the bus driver got on the microphone and told the passengers that he was grateful for our patronage and he wished us health and a good evening. The mostly older folks on the bus all clapped at his blessing.

Every Tuesday I take a train along the blue-green waters of the Pacific Ocean to the aboriginal seminary where I teach. The students give me energy as they lean forward in their seats and engage with the content of my lectures. Sometimes they will find something humorous in what I have said and will a make a joke with the student next to them. They quickly integrate the message of faith with their lives.

St. Mark Presbyterian, Sat evening worship

Last Saturday I took the subway to a city church where I spent the morning with working young adults who are willing to use a Saturday to think about the role of the Holy Spirit in their lives. They work hard all week, but want to grow as Christ’s light and salt in their families, places of work, and in this non-Christian society.

They hunger to live the full life which Christ offers.

After almost eighteen years of living in Taiwan, I continue to be grateful for the way I see Christ take on flesh and blood in their beautiful land. I see resilience in the face of suffering. I see hope in the face of changes. I see joy in the face of busy lives in this high tech land.

The traditional Taiwanese folk gods who are worshipped in the temples here are all people who have done something heroic. They have been deified and now are worshiped as gods who help bring wealth, health, and good fortune.

But the Taiwanese Christians worship a God who was willing to leave a place of honor and become a human being. Christ becomes one of us and moves into our neighbor hood. We see God’s amazing love in the face of Christ around us each day.

May that love fill your days this Advent and in the year to come.

Christmas Blessings, John McCall