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3051 Putnam Blvd. Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church September 2014
THE MARKER
“Without a vision the people perish.’
Dear members and friends,
I’ve had a wonderful first month with you! You are a great bunch of folks and I’m delighted to be with you for this Interim period. I’m looking forward to our mini-retreat on Saturday, October 4th when we will imagine, remem-ber and grapple with some significant possibilities in areas like, hospitality, worship and music, community relations and more. This will be an upbeat time for us and we look to the future together during this potentially ver-dant Interim time. It will especially be an opportunity to share and affirm vi-sions for the future of St Marks. Your new pastor will have a keen interest in the directions you want your congregation to travel spiritually as a caring and mutually supportive community together.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you these days; and remember – the book of Ecclesiastes wisely cautions:
“Without a vision the people perish.”
Peace to you,
Pr. Marv Abrahamson
Council News: Highlights from the August meeting
We welcomed Pastor Marv Abrahamson, our Interim Pastor during the Call process. Pastor Marv will continue his work with, and commitment to, Food for the Poor while serving with us.
We established the date of Saturday, October 4, 2014 for a congregational retreat in the St. Mark’s Center. The retreat will be led by the Community Task Force, in conjunction with the Council. The goal is to engage the congregation in determining the direction of our ministry together.
The old sanctuary furnishings – pulpit and baptismal font – were advertised for donation on the Synod website. These are to be donated to congregations or other organizations in need. (See Note #1 below).
We are still considering the best and most helpful way to use our quarterly Endowment Fund distributions – specifically for outreach. The council president will meet with the Social Ministry committee in October, and bring ideas back to the Council for approval.
We approved the purchase of a new office copier, to replace the old one that is “on its death-bed”. Also approved was to borrow the funds necessary to make this purchase from the Endowment Fund – to be paid back within five years. (See Note #2 below)
Post-Council Meeting Notes
Note #1 – Our pulpit that was placed on the Synod website for donation was accepted on Fri-day, August 8th. The recipient congregation was Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church of San Francisco. Pastor Megan Roher drove a small U-Haul van to St. Mark’s to pick up this most appreciated gift.
Note #2 – Subsequent to the Council meeting, we received a check from an anonymous donor, designated to the Copier Savings Fund. This money, in addition to the amount already in this savings fund, made it possible to purchase the new copier outright. The council mem-bers are extremely grateful for this wonderful gift, and send their sincere appreciation and thank you to the donor.
July Financials
Monthly Budget YTD Actual YTD Budget
Giving 11,946 16,406 107,326 114,840
Monthly Outreach Giving 145 3,351
Total Expenses 8,726 100,845 115,132
Current financial statements and council minutes are available in the
binder on the shelf in the back of the sanctuary.
Sharing Social Ministry
September Outreach: Church World Service – Blanket Appeal
For more than 60 years Church World Service (CWS) has worked in partnership with many organizations/denominations to feed the hungry, bring water to those who thirst and give care to people in need.
Our annual Blanket Appeal is part of help-ing those in distress. Receiving one blan-ket is a vital and useful article for those who have few material belongings and whose homes have been destroyed by nat-ural disasters. A blanket provides shelter, warmth, security and protection from the elements.
A gift of $5.00 (or more) will enable Church World Service to provide blankets – and hope – for people who are suffering due to lack of shelter, here in the United States or worldwide.
Please support this valuable ministry with your donation. Issue your check to St. Mark’s, designate: ‘Blanket Appeal’.
*************************************************************************
More opportunities to help others:
*October 18, 10:00 am -- Walk to end Alzheimer’s
Heather Farms, Walnut Creek – Register at alz.org/walk
*October 19, 1:00 pm -- CROP Walk – to end hunger
Civic Park, Walnut Creek
Questions/Information: (925) 356-8822 (Anne Crisp, Chair)
*Meals on Wheels: volunteers needed to deliver meals to homebound seniors
Call (925) 954-8736 for details
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Recommendations from the
Community Outreach Task Force
and the future of St. Mark’s
will be discussed
Oct 4th 9am-12:30pm
Coffee served at 9am, Retreat starts at 9:30am
Potluck lunch at 12:30pm
(or earlier, if we are done)
Saturday Sept 27th
8:30am-2pm
Come for all or part of the day.
Stuffing pillows with fiberfill,
Cutting, Pinning, and Sewing
Adult Bibs, and sewing quilt
blocks (for quilts) to be donated to local charities (Shelter Inc, Hospice,
STAND, Bay Area Crisis Nursery and local care centers).
People with sewing machines are welcome to bring their machine.
We will have something to do for everyone, all skill levels.
You do not need to sew or know how to make quilts to attend.
Light lunch will be provided. Fabric donations are always appreciated.
Sign-up through the City of Pleasant Hill website and a free
breakfast and t-shirt are provided at Pleasant Hill Park at
7:30am. Here is the link: http://ci.pleasant-hill.ca.us/
Transforming Life and Faith STARTING IN SEPTEMBER 2014
“In the new Bible study for 2014-2015, Transforming Life and Faith, we will consider how our lives and our faith journeys are transformed by the events we experience and the people we meet. In both the Old Testament and New Testament, and especially in Acts of the Apostles, we will read about people who have life-changing experi-ences.”
“Starting in September, we will meet these biblical figures and watch them turn to and with God as their minds, hearts and daily lives are altered. We will reflect on the ways we, too, have been and will be transformed and called by God to serve God’s mission in the world.” *
*by Kate Elliott, Editor of Gather magazine
We will meet on Tues-day, Sept 2, in the Meeting Room at 1:30 pm to find out more about this ex-citing, new Bible study.
Diablo Choral Artists performs significant works of sacred and secular choral music, and has openings for all voice parts (esp. tenors and basses). Rehearsals are Mondays 7-9:30 pm, beginning September 8, 2014, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, 1924 Trinity Avenue, Walnut Creek. Mark Tuning, Music Director. See www.vmschorus.org for details and more infor-mation, or call 925-680-7089, [email protected]
Rev. Dr. Charles Tinsley’s Anniversary Dinner: Celebrating 20 years of minis-
try, standing in the breach.
“You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew, rebuild the founda-
tions from out of our past. You’ll be known as those who can fix any-
thing, restore the old ruins, rebuild and renovate, make the community
livable again.” Isaiah 58:12 The Message Translation.
Sunday, September 7th 6:00 pm
Fellowship Hall at First Presbyterian Church of Concord
1965 Colfax Dr., Concord
(corner of Salvio and Colfax one block east of Todos Santos Plaza
within blocks of the Concord BART Station, free parking in the public lot
north of the church.)
This is a potluck dinner. Please bring a vegetarian dish to share. There will be a program to
honor Dr. Tinsley’s 20 years of service as the Chaplain to the Juvenile Detention Centers in
Martinez and Byron. A free will offering will be received by the Interfaith Council to support the
work of Dr. Tinsley.
Please RSVP to Susan Lawson at [email protected] or 925-285-4430. Dressy or culturally reflective attire requested, no one turned away. To download the flyer for this event, follow this link: Dr. Charles Tinsley 20th Anniversary Dinner
Church Staff
Office Administrator: Karen Klingelhafer Directors of 2nd Service Music/Worship & Music Chair: Sherry & Mike Doyle
Choir Director/Organist: Joyce Porter Pianist: Lisa Farnitano
3051 Putnam Blvd. Pleasant Hill, CA 94523
(925)934-6114 ▪ www.sm-lc.net ▪ [email protected]
We are the Body of Christ, called to bear the Good News of God’s reign of love and justice in our words and
If you would like to be included in the prayer chain or if you have a prayer request, you can
email the office at: [email protected]
We pray for Jan Chilimidos, Greg Valentino, Sean Doyle; the cousin of Laurie; Judy, wife of
Lupe; Geoff’s family; Lee Larson; friends of the Waids
From Puppets of Praise—a group of fourteen young people from throughout the community that meet at St. Mark’s to practice their puppet shows during the week.
We wanted to say thank you for your patience and understanding during your early morning arrival at church on Sunday August 24th. We apologize for taking up some prime parking spots as we loaded and prepared for our outreach ministry in Bryon. The great news is the show was a success. Additional funds were presented for our involvement to go towards our ministry.
The Puppets of Praise now have a new more secular type show focused on goodwill and morals that they are interested in sharing with our com-munity. If you know of a group/site that would be interested in hosting one of their shows, please call (925) 286-8127 or email Mark Pitzlin [email protected]
