Worship & Congregational Activities

PREPARING FOR HOLY WEEK: Holy Week began March 29 with Palm Sunday and continues into the first few days of April. Maundy Thursday is April 2, and worship with Holy Communion and stripping of the altar starts at 7pm. We take time that evening to remember the night of Jesus’s arrest, which includes his washing his disciples’ feet, the last meal Jesus has with his disciples before his death and the new commandment he gives them. 

Good Friday is April 3, and St. Mark holds a Good Friday Tenebrae service starting at 7pm as we take time to reflect on and remember Jesus’s death on the cross. 

Easter Sunday is April 5. St. Mark’s Easter Breakfast is from 9 to 10am in the Fellowship Room, with worship at 10:30am as we celebrate Jesus’s resurrection and proclaim that Christ is risen!

PRAYER PARTNERS REVEALED: The secret’s out! If you participated in being a Secret Prayer Partner during Lent, your Secret Prayer Partner will be revealed at 9:45am Easter morning in the Fellowship Room! Please plan to attend our Easter breakfast and our quick reveal and photo opportunity at that time. If you cannot attend that day, feel free to contact your Prayer Partner before Easter to let them know your identity. Thank you for participating, and we hope you felt an additional support of prayer during the past month.

YOU CHOOSE THE HYMNS!: St. Mark’s worship service on May 10 (Mother’s Day) is a service where you can have a say in the hymns that are sung! During this month there will be a box in the narthex where you can write down your favorite or a hymn you would love to hear that day, and place the card in the box. An email also will go out, and you can reply to it with your hymn selection. 

During that service, in honor of Mother’s Day and all women at St. Mark, Pastor David will talk about the five women who are mentioned in Jesus’s genealogy in the Gospel of Matthew.

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 Gary Gates or Heidi Simmons and they can talk you through the online procedure. It’s easy and costs you nothing additional.

COFFEE HOUR IN APRIL: Because of Easter breakfast on April 5, there will be no coffee hour this month. The next coffee hour is scheduled for May 24 — Pentecost Sunday. If you would like to help with coffee hours, contact Pastor David.

EXPLORE YOUR FAITH WITH OTHERS: Faith Explorers (Sunday School) classes for all ages are at 9:30am Sundays, and they resume on Sunday, January 11 following a Christmas break. The adult class meets in the second floor classroom. This fall the group will be going through the devotional book, The Chosen: 40 Days with Jesus.  

The family and youth class features engaging activities and conversations around life and faith today for both youth and adults alike. 

Anyone is welcome to come anytime you can! If you are interested in helping or have ideas for activities and discussion topics, contact Pastor David.

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 or email Pastor David 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.

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 practices are held following worship on Sundays during the winter months. 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. Thank you!

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.