Worship Prayers from April 3

PRAYER IN PREPARATION:  Almighty God, we rejoice in the gift of new life made possible through Jesus’ resurrection.  You are the strength of those who believe and the hope of those who live in fear. For you no door is locked.  Draw us beyond our doubts and into the presence of the risen Christ, that we may know the blessings of his peace within us and the breadth of his Spirit upon us. Amen.

 CALL TO WORSHIP

We gather in the name of the risen Lord.

         In us, among us, the peace of Jesus.

We gather as sisters and brothers of the resurrected one.

         In us, among us, the presence of Jesus.

We gather to share our faith and to worship God.

         In us, among us, God’s light and love.

We gather to proclaim the good news of Easter.

         Christ is risen! Alleluia!

 PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Living God, when our spirit is filled with Easter joy and happiness, we are tempted by complacency and indifference.  We have been blind to your vision of a renewed world and deaf to your call of discipleship.  We confess our temptation to rush past Easter, moving on to the next task, diminishing the power of your love, which raised Christ from the dead. Forgive us, O God.  Draw us beyond our doubts, until we see the risen Christ and touch his wounds where they bleed in others.

Golf, Golf, Golf

ONE MORE MONTH – MAY 9

If you provided your support to the Circle Of Concern Charity Golf Tournament as a Sponsor, Player, Donator, and/or Volunteer in the past, we hope you do so again this year.  Please don’t wait to the last minute and register today.  Brochures are available at the welcome desk in the Narthex.  This year there is a dinner only option.  Show up and eat with your favorite golfer and take part in the silent auction.  We would love for your to be one of our 5 Sponsors; but at least be a Hole Sponsor for $100 and your name will be listed on one of the holes.  Remember your cash donation will allow Circle of Concern to purchase items that cannot be generated through dry donations; i.e. dairy products, meat, frozen food, vegetables, and fruit to name a few.  Please visit http://www.discoverstmark.org/about-us/deacon-ministries/circle-of-concern/circle-of-concern-st-mark-charity-golf-tournament for more information on registration, sponsors, donations, payment, etc.

2 Corinthians 9:7 - Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, [so let him give]; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

All Church Mound Ridge Retreat

All Church Earth Day Retreat

Mound Ridge Retreat and Mission Center
Saturday, April 23; noon– Sunday, April 24; 1:30 PM return

31 Agape Lane Cook Station, MO 65449

Saturday April 25 noon (lunch included) -Sunday, April 24 1:30 pm return

$60 adults, Call Katie for youth and family rates.

Price includes 3 meals and 1 nightlodging.

(Scholarships are always available)

Saturday outdoor yoga, camp breakfast, morning worship, eco-work, labyrinth, hiking, praying in color, dinner, evening worship, campfire, games, fellowship

For more information, contact Pastor Susan or Deacon Amy Shelton.
Download a copy of the Registration Form here.

If you can’t attend for the weekend, you are invited for:
Sunday Morning Worship
Sunday, April 24, 9:30 AM
With Baptism and The Lord’s Supper
Reserve your seat on the church bus (departs 7:45 AM) or join in the caravan leaving from the St. Mark parking lot.

Operation Christmas Child Presentation

Focus on Love, Neighbors, and Forgiveness

Saturday, Apr 23 2016, 2:00pm – 4:00pm

First Baptist Church of Ferguson 333 N. Florissant
Ferguson, MO 63135

Hear Alex Nsengimana share his powerful testimony of his escape from the genocide in Rwanda. He tells his remarkable story of receiving a shoebox gift from Operation Christmas Child that helped bring him to a strong faith in Jesus and led to the desire to return to Rwanda to plant a church and minister to the people who killed his family. The presentation is organized by the St. Louis Area Team for Operation Christmas Child. It is free and all are welcome to attend.  Contact Julie Northrip if interested in attending.

Click here for a video about Alex.

Worship Prayers for March 12, 13

PRAYER IN PREPARATION:  Creator God, you have formed us as your own, so whether we are weeping or laughing, dreaming or shouting for joy, we are always coming home to you. Break open the Scripture through the power of your Holy Spirit, O God. Let your word, sung and proclaimed, pour out until its fragrance fills this house and our lives. Then, anointed with your word, send us out to share the good news we have received. Amen.

CALL TO WORSHIP

God is about to do a new thing.

         We will not stop looking for the newness God has for us.

There is water in the desert. There are roads in the wilderness.

         We will quicken our pace to follow Jesus wherever he leads.

Whatever obstacles we put in the path, God will make a way to our hearts.

         God makes a way for us to be made whole; we will move onward with joy and hope.

   PRAYER OF CONFESSION

Steadfast God, throughout the ages you have cared for your people.  You lead us through the wilderness of despair into a land flowing with joy and hope.  You transform our tears into laughter, our sorrow into joy.  Yet we fail to trust you – our fears overwhelm us, our tears drown our hope.  Forgive us, O God – when we criticize others, when we are afraid of tomorrow, when we lose hope in your goodness.  Give us generous spirits, that we may trust in your goodness.  Give us generous hearts, that we may pour out all we have.  Teach us to live in expectant joy, as we anticipate your transforming grace.

Scripture for Worship April 3

John 20: 19-31

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”

Jesus Appears to Thomas

24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus[a]), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!”

But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.”

26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”

28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!”

29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

The Purpose of John’s Gospel

³⁰ Jesus performed many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. ³¹ But these are written that you may believe^[b] that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

April Youth Events

St. Mark Presbyterian Youth Group meets on Sundays from 11:30-1:00 and Bible Study meets on Wednesdays from 6:15-7:30 p.m., unless otherwise noted.

April 3: Smart Choices Part III with Scott Collier DEA agent

April 5: Town Hall Discussion with the Mission Study Team 7 pm

April 6: Feasting on the Word & Garden Prep

April 10: Creation Prayer Stations

April 13: Feasting on the Word & Garden Prep

April 17: MISSION: Hat Day & Cardinals Game ($20.72 per ticket sponsored by Children's Ministries)

April 20: Feasting on the Word & Garden Prep

April 22-24: Earth Day Retreat at Mound Ridge

April 27: NO BIBLE STUDY

April 30: Youth Mission Trip  June 3-11 we will be serving in Charleston, South Carolina working on flood clean up, homeless ministry, and home repair. $200 NON-Refundable deposit is due April 30. Registration forms can be found in Katie’s office or outside her office on the bulletin board.

A HUGE THANK YOU to all who participated, donated, and especially to Pastor Jim for being an excellent emcee and to the Youth Committee that worked so incredibly hard to make the night a great success! With 12 tables and 36 auction items, we raised over $5000 that will help pay for our Mission Trip to Charleston, South Carolina, Triennium, and local mission projects like The Bridge and Project Linus.

Congregational Conversation

The Mission Study Team will host a Congregational Conversation on Sunday, April 3 at 11:30 am (immediately following the 10:30 worship service) in Gleason Hall.  This is an opportunity for church members to provide direct input to the Mission Study Team about St. Mark’s core values and hopes and dreams for the future.  The Mission Study Team will be leading intentional conversations about St. Mark: “Who are we?” “What is our purpose?”  This Congregational Conversation will last approximately 90 minutes, with lunch and childcare provided.  An alternative time will be offered on Tuesday, April 5, at 7:00 pm in Gleason Hall.  Please sign up in the Narthex or call the church office at 636-394-2233.

For more information on the Mission Study Team and the process, click here.

Midweek Presentation on Death and Dying

“You Only Die Once – Preparing for the End-of-Life with Grace and Gusto”Dr. Gary Ferbet will offer a three-part series on the difficult subject of death. It eventually touches every family and can come unexpectedly. To be prepared by planning ahead is to leave behind a significant gift to your loved ones.

Over the next three weeks, Gary Ferbet will be presenting at midweek.  He will be sharing information about advanced funeral planning based on the book You Only Die Once by Margie Jenkins.  We invite everyone to join us on 3/30, 4/6, and 4/13 at 6:15 p.m.  Transportation will be available from Meramec Bluffs if there is interest. 

The three-part series will include:
– Organizing financial, legal & household information and making end-of-life decisions for yourself rather than others deciding for you
– Saying Good-Bye
– Bodacious living in the present

Click here for more information on Midweek

Letter from Pastor Jim Poinsett

“But God raised [Jesus] on the third day and allowed him to appear ... to us who [are] chosen by God as witnesses ...” Acts 10:40-41

After the long Lenten journey, after the breaking of bread and the pouring of wine, and after the crucifixion, we come to Easter morning. And what a glorious morning it was! With brass and bells, in the sanctuary brimming with flowers, and with a mighty “Hallelujah!” we gave praise to God, declaring the amazing good news that indeed Christ is Risen!

Many people view Easter as one day, a one-time event when the church celebrates the resurrection of Christ. Like Lent and Advent, Easter is not limited to one day, but it is a season. We have journeyed through the past forty days of Lent, a quiet reflection on our priorities – reaffirming our calling as Christ’s disciples and preparing for and anticipating the new things God will do.

The Easter season moves us from Lent to the most glorious time for the church. It is in this season made up of 50 days that we celebrate God’s gift of new life given to us through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Easter season is a time for watching and listening for those things within us and in the world that have died and come to life again.

During this Easter season, we will start to see the stirrings of the new thing God is doing in our church.

On April 3 and April 5, the Mission Study Team will host Congregational Conversations as we prepare for the next season of ministry at St. Mark by seeking to clarify our core values and identify our hopes and dreams for the future.

On April 22-24, the church will leave the building as we gather for an All Church Earth Day Retreat at Mound Ridge. Even if you can’t make the whole retreat, gather with your church family for an amazing outdoor worship experience led by Pastor Susan on that Sunday.

On May 18, we will bless Amy Ratzki’s decision to retire with a pot-luck dinner celebration. And we will also bid fare-well to the Mid Week Meal that has been a consistent part of life at St. Mark for so many years.

Also on May 18, we will consider our call to bring the good news of new life to our community by joining in a conver-sation about race relations with Dr. Leah Gunning-Francis, which is particularly relevant given the Justice Depart-ment’s settlement with the City of Ferguson.

And in May we will welcome new members to our family of faith, including the Confirmation of 8 young people on May 15.

The Easter season is a time for the good news of the Risen Christ to propel us to a wider awareness of our lives, to re-discover the sacred in ourselves and in our world, and enter that risk-taking place where God offers new life and a re-newed purpose. We embark on a journey towards our common future in which God’s reign truly becomes new life for all.

If the joy of Easter seems absent in our lives, this is also a season to let ourselves be held tightly by our church community, allowing them to walk with us, until Easter becomes a reality in our individual world.

Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!

Pastor Jim