Worship, Education, & Congregational Life

WORSHIP (CREATION IN CHRIST) AND PICNIC IN THE PARK: St. Mark holds its annual worship and picnic at Porter Township Recreation Park (35 Washington Avenue, Howard) September 13. Worship begins at 11am with a picnic lunch to follow. If you are able to bring a dish to share, you are invited to do so. The church will provide hot dogs, rolls, condiments, paper products, utensils, and bottled water. Items needed include sandwiches/main dishes, side dishes, salads, and desserts.

Since we will not be able to live stream the service, Pastor David will record a brief worship service that will be posted on the St. Mark Facebook Page at 11am that day.

The service also will be for Creation in Christ, a new festival for congregations. Since the seventh century, September 1 has symbolized the day of the creation of the world in the Byzantine tradition and has been the opening feast of its liturgical year (known as the Feast of the Indiction), in parallel with Rosh Hashanah marking the Jewish New Year. Creation in Christ celebrates the ongoing creation of the world in and through Christ, who sustains, unites, and holds all created things. God-in-Christ still takes care of all things and invites us to join in as caretakers of God's good creation.

FAITH EXPLORERS CLASSES BEGIN A NEW YEAR: Faith Explorers (Sunday School) classes for all ages begin 9:30am September 20. The adult class meets in the second floor classroom. This fall, the group will finish the devotional book, The Chosen: 40 Days with Jesus and start a new study.  

The family and youth class will again feature engaging activities and conversations around life and faith today for both youth and adults alike. The September 20 class will be a kickoff to the year as we plan the next several months. Anyone who is interested is invited to come and offer their input or contact Pastor David.

Come to church a little early prior worship for these 30 minutes of faith formation and fellowship!

BLESSING OF PETS AND ANIMALS: St. Mark holds its Blessing of Pets and Animals service 6pm October 1 under the pavilion. All are invited to bring their pets for a blessing. Please have all dogs on leashes.

The service is held in early October each year, around the time the church remembers Francis of Assisi, who had a spirit of gratitude for all of creation, including pets and animals. A collection for Centre County PAWS will be taken.

“UNRAVELED” BIBLE STUDY, PART ONE: Starting October 7, Pastor David will start a Bible study titled “Unraveled: Seeking God When Our Plans Fall Apart.” This is based on a series from A Sanctified Art. 

“What happens when our world falls apart? How do we press onward when our tightly-knit plans unravel into loose threads? What do we become when our identity — or the path we’re on — comes undone? … In our unraveling, sometimes life surprises us with unexpected joy, love, and hope … Sometimes we need God to unravel us, for we long to be changed.”

The study features 12 stories from the Bible that explore unraveled shame, identity, fear, grief, dreams, and expectations. Some of the stories include Zacchaeus, Saul’s becoming Paul, Peter’s sinking in the water, and more.

The classes will be held 6pm Tuesdays at St. Mark. Part one of the study, featuring six stories, will go from October 7 to November 17 (there is no class on November 3). Part two of the study, featuring the remaining six stories, will be held in the spring. If you have any questions, contact Pastor David.

COFFEE HOURS RETURNING IN OCTOBER: St. Mark’s Monthly Coffee Hours return October 11. Usually held the second Sunday of each month, the coffee hours are a time to enjoy some fellowship and refreshments following worship. If you would like to help with coffee hours for one month or in general, contact Pastor David.

CALLING ALL THRIVENT MEMBERS: If you currently hold Thrivent contracts, you are entitled to direct some of their charitable funds to organizations of your choice at no additional cost to you. You need to direct these funds each year, so please consider choosing St. Mark as your recipient. If you have questions or need help, please contact Pastor David and he can talk you through the online procedure. It’s easy and costs you nothing additional.

SHARE YOUR NEWS: Have you recently received a promotion at work? Changed jobs? Does your child/grandchild have a ball game or a part in a play coming up, or made honor roll? If there is something you would like to share with the St. Mark community, let us know! 

It is wonderful that we share our prayer requests and if we or someone we know has any needs. It also is good to share news that is something we want to celebrate as we journey on in our lives of faith here. We can celebrate together.

If you want to share any news, email stmarksnydertown@gmail.com and we can include that in our weekly or monthly communications. And if you or another family member is doing something that is open to the public, such as a ball game or play or concert, etc., let us know and we can pass it along for people to mark on their calendars if they are able to attend.

We share the Good News of Jesus Christ with one another and with all we meet, and we can share in the good news each of you in this community may have.

COUNCIL MEETING HIGHLIGHTS: Council did not meet in August. Through email, council voted to accept Redmond Complete Comfort’s bid to install a Santa Fe Ultra 98 dehumidifier in the boiler room to control excess humidity in the lower level. The next council meeting is scheduled for 7pm Thursday, September 10.

YOUTUBE CHANNEL: Yes St. Mark has its own YouTube channel @stmarksnydertown. Currently, the site has videos of Sunday worship services. We are looking to include content that would be meaningful to you and your faith formation/journey. If you have ideas, please contact Pastor David.

ENJOY SINGING? JOIN THE CHOIR: St. Mark Choir welcomes anyone who is interested in singing. Choir practice is scheduled to start up again on Tuesday, September 22. Practices are held 7pm Tuesdays in the Sanctuary. Anyone who is interested in joining either the St. Mark Choir or Christians with Rhythm Choir, or both, is invited to join! If you have any questions, contact Pastor David.

HELPERS ON SUNDAYS: ​​Thank you to everyone who volunteers to help on Sundays — greeters, readers, etc. It is much appreciated and needed! If you would like to help on Sundays, you can contact Pastor David.

GIVING ONLINE: Did you know you can make offerings to St. Mark online and also set up a schedule for continued offerings securely online using a credit card or bank account? This is done through the church’s online giving platform Tithely. Visit https://bit.ly/3bhr907 to give online. If you have any questions, contact Pastor David. 

MEETING WITH PASTOR DAVID: If you would like to meet or talk with Pastor David about anything, either in person, on Zoom, or a phone call, you are invited to contact him to set up a time.