Page 1

The Mark’s

December 2018

Thy Kingdom Come: Being Gracious People

There is a certain spirit that comes with the cele-bration of Christmas; an extra tug to do the right thing, to help those around us, to look for the good of our neighbors. The heart of which I think many of us call the mystery and won-der of Christmas.

Under it though, is also this undercurrent of stress for many of us—with extra things to do, events to at-tend, and the hurried pace our society picks up at the holidays, it can be quite overwhelming for some searching for that allusive still peace that Mary pon-dered in her heart.

As we observe this Christmas I would hope that we would be reminded of the gift of grace that came to earth. For in Jesus we see the full manifesta-tion of God’s will for us; to love us, to save us, to re-deem us. We celebrate that in the manger, the fullness of grace came to be with us amid all of life. For this is Emmanuel, God with us.

As we run around in

these busy weeks leading up to Christmas, I hope and pray that you remem-ber this “reason for the season” that we have been given the gift of grace at Christmas.

Remember to be gra-cious with yourself. The gift of Christmas is that even if it’s not perfect, if the ham turns out dry, the kids are in some wacky out-fit because they dressed themselves, the in-laws over stay their welcome, the Christmas lights are half burned out on the tree and you just don’t have the energy to change them; Christmas comes anyway.

Jesus comes into this world, no matter if we are ready or not. After all, I hardly think that Mary and Joseph were ready to give birth while on the road. There was no room for them in the inn and yet, the miracle of God with us, came anyway.

Be gracious with yourself and those around you this year. We become the bea-cons of Christ light to a

dark world around us. Take time to thank the associate at Target for going the ex-tra mile, be gracious and patient when the grocery store ran out of your grandma’s spice mix to make the cookies, be kind to your kids that are hopped up on Christmas spirit and sugar.

Because when we be-come God’s gracious peo-ple in the world, Christ will again be born on earth. In our kindness and care for others the world will come to experience Christ who is the savior of the nations.

And perhaps we need a reminder of this in our own lives during this busy time as well. Be gracious with ourselves too, practice for-giving yourself, be patient and welcoming of your shortcomings and the fact that it will not all get done.

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, Conshohocken, PA.

December 2018

The Mark’s

Special points of

interest:

Christmas Schedule

Observing Advent

Faith @ Home Ac-

tivities

Longest Night

Worship Service

New Members

Inside this issue:

Faith Formation 2

Faith @ Home 3

Service 6

Worship 10

Altar Flowers 12

Evangelism 13

Calendar 15

Helping Hands 16

Continues on page 9

Page 2

The Mark’s

December 2018

Faith Format ion

Faith Formation Classes on Sunday Morning: 10:15—11:00 am

December 2, 2018 Advent 1 Paul’s First Letter Encourage 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

December 9, 2018 Advent 2 Malachi the Messenger Messenger Malachi 3:1-4

December 16, 2018 Advent 3

Zephaniah’s Joyful Song

Rejoice

Zephaniah 3:14-20

December 23, 2018 Advent 4

Mary Visits Elizabeth

Magnificat

Luke 1:39-55

Follow Along with us!

About the Season of Advent:

Advent is the first season of the church year. In Advent Year C, the lectionary

focuses on readings from the Gospel of Luke. Advent is a season of expectation;

the word itself means “coming.” There are four Sundays in the season of Advent.

Each one focuses on waiting or anticipating the coming of Jesus. The lectionary

texts point to Jesus’ first coming as a baby in Bethlehem and his second coming as

final victor of the world. The promise of Advent is that God is always at work in

the world, bringing new beginnings and a new creation.

Faith Formation is an educational experience offered each Sunday for children and adults.

Each Sunday, our young ones and their families are dismissed from the Communion Table and head up-stairs to the classrooms for their lessons where they will explore more in depth and age appropriate ways the Bible stories from our worship service.

This is an important way to pass along Biblical teach-ings and Christian traditions as well as helping children

of all ages … and adults as well deepen their faith with God and neighbor.

Adult class meets after worship. Grab a snack and a beverage and join with others in the Choir Room for discussion and fellowship.

Please note that this month there will be NO FAITH-FORMATION on December 30th, we will resume our Faith Formation classes on January 6th.

A Kid’s View

For many kids, anticipating the coming of Jesus comes second to anticipating the gifts and the commer-

cial side of the holiday season. Advent is a time to remind kids, and all people, about who it is we wait for

and who it is we celebrate during this time of year. Kids will enjoy the “countdown” to Christmas that

comes with Advent calendars and Advent wreaths. Many of our kids are preparing for special holiday

presentations at school too – it’s also a great time to teach about other communities of faith and how

they celebrate the holidays.

Page 3

The Mark’s

December 2018

Faith Format ion

Faith @ Home : Scripture a Day for Christmas

By Jolene Roehlkepartain Get to know the Bible passages that talk about the promise of

Jesus' birth and the events leading to Jesus' birth. Activity Plan Say this prayer aloud to begin. God, prepare us for the season of Advent and Christmas.

Amen. Ask someone to read aloud Isaiah 9:2 "The people who walked in darkness have seen a great

light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined."

Then ask another family member to read aloud Isaiah 9:6-7:

"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the govern-ment shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to es-tablish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this."

As a family, talk about these questions:

How do we get ready for Christmas?

What do you enjoy most about getting ready for Christmas?

What do you wish didn't take as long to get ready for Christmas?

How can we enjoy the entire month of De-cember instead of focusing only on Christmas Day?

Starting on December 1 (or any day thereaf-ter), follow the instructions on A Scripture a Day to Christmas. Let different family mem-bers take turns reading the passage each day. Talk about what happened in the scripture and why it's important for the Christmas season.

Keep A Scripture a Day to Christmas in a

prominent place so that you remember to do it each day. For example, keep it at your dinner table and read the scripture before or after din-ner. Or keep it near where you read bedtime stories so that you read the scripture as part of your family reading time.

1 Isaiah 9:2

2 John 1:1-5

3 Micah 5:2

4 Isaiah 40:1-11

5 Isaiah 11:1

6 Isaiah 7:14

7 Luke1:26-33

8 Luke 1:34-38

9 Matthew 1:18-25

10 Luke 1:35-45

11 Luke 1:45-56

12 Luke: 1:57-66

13 Luke 1: 67-80

14 John 1:6-9

15 Matthew 18:2-3

16 James 1:17

17 Isaiah 11:6

18 Luke 2:1-7

19 Luke 2:8-12

20 Luke 2:13-20

21 Matthew 2:102

22 Matthew 2:3-8

23 Matthew 2:9-12

24 Isaiah 9:6

25 Luke 2:1-20

Scripture to Christmas:

Page 4

The Mark’s

December 2018

Faith Format ion

By Amber Lappin Holidays with preschool-aged chil-

dren can be a wonderful time. For perhaps the first time, your little one will become more and more aware that something special is coming up, and you may be won-dering the best ways to celebrate the Advent season in an age-appropriate way.

How can a preschooler best expe-rience this festive time?

Here are three simple traditions you can share with parents to in-clude in their celebration that will help their children grow in faith as they get ready for Christmas.

Books about the season Parents may find that their child

has a lot of questions about Christ-mas. Even things that were dis-cussed at ages two, three, and four may come up again at age five.

That’s because, developmentally, so many changes are going on in their little brains that preschoolers experience the holidays in a brand new way each year. It can be a little confusing for young children, so it’s good to find creative tricks to un-derstand what’s happening all around them.

One super effective way to help answer those questions? Pick a few developmentally appropriate books to read aloud to children through-out December.

Children at this age LOVE repeti-tion, so don’t worry about finding a bunch of different stories.

Picking 3-5 books to add to your library will be plenty. In our family, we packed these books up with our Christmas decorations each year, so that bringing out the familiar tales was part of our seasonal kickoff. Choosing faith-based books is an

excellent way to keep Christ at the center of attention in the midst of all the hustle and bustle.

Calendars with a deeper mean-ing

Because small children have a very unrefined sense of time, one of the most common family traditions for littles is some form of an advent calendar.

There are many ways to do this with your pre-readers, ranging from homemade or store bought.

Some are more like a visual re-minder, like paper chains and other pictorial versions. Others have small treats for your child to discover each day as they count the days to Christmas Eve. This helps with the anticipation and can help with un-derstanding of how much time until the big day.

These types of calendars can also be used is to help your child grow in faith. Adding parts of the nativity story to the links on a paper chain, or choosing a calendar which high-lights the birth of Christ is a great

tool for helping stir up the curiosity toward the true gifts of Christmas.

Service projects Children at this age are naturally

very egocentric. Pair that with all the advertising and store displays, and our poor littles tend to get pret-ty swept away with focusing on what they can get out of Christmas.

It’s important to purposely plan times for your children to think of others year round, but especially this time of year. Search out oppor-tunities to involve preschoolers in a project (or several!) that will help shift their focus onto Christ’s com-mand to love one another. Interested in ideas?

Check out our list of service project ide-as for all ages for this Christmas!

If you are able: Involve little ones in as many steps of a project like this as you can. Let them help you pick the child, choose the gift, wrap it (if allowed), and turn the gift in. Plan for your child to make gifts for people they love – remembering

Counting Down to Christmas with Preschoolers

Continues on next page

Page 5

The Mark’s

December 2018

Faith Format ion

Following Dinner church on Thursday , December 20th (around 7pm) folks will head down to the Great American Pub for Theology on Tap. Theology on Tap is an informal gathering of the community to talk about your questions, complexities and ponderings about God, faith, church and the world all over a few drinks. Join us as we explore this month the topic of building the kingdom at this time of high distraction and busy-ness. How we can partner with Jesus to make this a season of joyful waiting and receiving the gift of the Christ the Savior. So that we have enough space, RSVP to Pastor Bryan by 3 pm that day..

Theology on Tap

siblings, grandparents, cousins, neighbors, teachers, and friends.

These don’t need to be complex Pinterest-worthy gifts – a simple hand-colored card, colored-in Christ-mas story or painted rock can be a wonderful way to help your children focus on the giving of Christmas in-stead of the getting.

Keep it simple It’s easy to get wrapped up in our

efforts to make Christmas a magical time for our children and forget about the importance of moderation and self-care.

In the next post in this series, we will cover some simple ways to enjoy the season with our preschool chil-

dren without bringing unnecessary chaos on ourselves.

Amber is a speaker and writer with over 25 years of experience in early childhood development and children’s ministry. She works as an associate professor at Mt. San Jacinto Community College in the child development education department, and as a grant program director for two nationally accredited preschools. Amber enjoys "small

Continued from previous page

Interfaith Philadelphia has launched A Year of Civil Conversa-tions throughout the Greater Phila-delphia region. Engaging over 50 organizations and 1,000 people, we will offer multiple opportunities to learn how to "speak together differ-ently in order to live together dif-ferently.”

In the coming months, Inter-faith Philadelphia will offer a num-ber of half-day facilitator trainings that will give participants the skills to organize Civil Conversations in their congregations, workplaces, and communities. Participants will receive a Civil Conversations facili-tator kit to use in their own work going forward.

Sunday, December 9th | 2:00 -

5:00 PM

Thursday, January 17th | 9:30 AM - 12:30 PM

Tuesday, February 5th | 5:30 - 8:30 PM

NOTE: Participants need only attend one of these training dates in order to become a Civil Conversa-tions facilitator.

Interfaith Philadelphia, 100 W. Oxford Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Individuals, $25 (scholarships available), groups $15, students free. For information contact Rev. A l i s o n C o r n i s h a t amc@interfaithcenterpa.org or (215) 222-1012 x5922

Civil Conversations Facilitator Training

Page 6

The Mark’s

December 2018

Serv ice

Items for Families in Need at the Holidays

St. Mark’s will again adopt a few families in need this holiday season and help collect items for under their tree. Thank you to those who eagerly took items from the back of the sanctuary, we are helping 10 families in need this year! Please make sure to bring items back, wrapped and labeled to the church no later then Sunday December 16th so that they may be delivered to the families. Please take a moment to thank Karen Hanna for putting this effort to-gether again for us this year!

Capital Appeal: Pipe Organ Repairs

Our second phase of our Capital Appeal process is in full swing as we raise funds to rebuild and repair our Pipe Organ. The cost of this work is $53,000 and we hope to be able to raise the funds this year so that the work on the instrument may be completed in the summer of 2019. Donations to the capital appeal process will help us make these much needed repairs pos-sible. So for Christmas this year, consider giving a gift to your church by giving an extra gift to the capital appeal process. The gift of music in this congregation is a gift that will give to others for generations to come!

Sign up for Electronic Giving

Our congregation uses the Give+ app (available on Apple or Google Play) for our electronic giving. Signing up is easy, simply download the app, search for St. Mark’s, select how often, the amount, and how to pay (credit or ACH are both available). It’s also a great help if you select the “offset” the fees for these transactions to help out the church’s cost for using this pro-gram. You may also set up St. Mark’s as part of your web bill pay system with your banking institution and have your check mailed to the church. Regular recurring giving is a great way to help make sure our congregation stays moving in the right direc-tion and with your help we can continue to grow our ministries that help transform the lives of others.

Envelope Boxes for 2019

For those who use our box envelope sets, we hope to have those ready by Christmas Eve worship for pick up. Please note that many will be receiving new numbers this year as many of our members have started to utilize electronic giving, we have reduced the numbers of envelopes we have ordered this year.

Page 7

The Mark’s

December 2018

Serv ice

Many of us cherish everything about the Christmas season -- except those incessant ad-vertisements telling us to buy this and by that. We ask, “Where’s Jesus in all this commercial-ism?”

This is the right question. Though it asks us to examine every aspect of our lives, steward-ship particularly challenges us to question the role money plays in our personal lives and our culture.

Christmas presents are wonderful expres-sions of love that makes both giver and recipi-ent feel good. At the same time, we want to be wary of advertising’s lure to make us over-spend, or to think that the cost of our gift is proportionate to our love.

Most of all, we need to be sure that the main point of our Christmas is not the gifts we give, but the gift we receive from God – Jesus. Here are some ideas:

Challenge yourself to spend less for pre-sents this year. Set a budget and stick to it.

Attend worship regularly in Advent and Christmas.

Give some handmade presents: A scarf or hat, a photo album, a batch of fudge, a card, a poem.

Prayerfully read Advent daily devotions (Richard Rohr’s Preparing for Christmas is amazing!).

Give your time: a concert together, a shared meal, a day at a museum, a walk in the woods

Use an Advent calendar to help you re-member all that God has given you.

Give service: wash a loved one’s car, help clean the garage, paint a room, babysit for an evening.

Play Christmas music that has religious themes (More “Silent Night,” less “Frosty the Snowman.”)

Instead of buying a present, make a do-nation to a charitable organization in honor of your loved one (or check out ELCA

Good Gifts!). Make a generous year-end contribution

to your congregation. Our thoughtful practices for Advent and

Christmas not only make for good stewardship of our time, talents, relationships and money, they also help us to draw near to Our Lord and experience God’s greatest gift to us.

--Rob Blezard Copyright ©

2018, Rev. Robert Blezard. Reprinted by permission. Pas-tor Blezard serves as an assistant to the bishop of the Lower Susquehanna Synod and works as con-tent editor for

www.stewardshipoflife.org.

Stewardship 101: Giving at Christmas Time

Page 8

The Mark’s

December 2018

Serv ice

Bear Creek Camp is a ministry of

the Southeastern and Northeastern

Pennsylvania Synods of the Evan-

gelical Lutheran Church in America

(ELCA). Located on nearly 3,000

acres in the beauty of the Pocono

Mountains, Bear Creek Camp offers

year-round opportunities, including

summer residential youth camp,

nature day camp, environmental

education programs, weekend camp

retreats and outside group rentals.

Bear Creek Camp’s core purpose is

to help individuals explore, cele-

brate and grow in God’s creation.

Bear Creek Camp staff and volun-

teers support that mission of expe-

riential ministry by guiding campers

to:

Have fun

Share faith

Build character

Embrace adventure, and Culti-

vate community.

Some congregations have funds available to help defray the cost of camp. Contact your church leader-ship for more information. Bear Creek Camp also provides assis-tance through Camperships. Apply directly or download the application for Camperships on the camp web-site: Forms can be downloaded from the camp website at https://bearcreekcamp.org

A History of Service

Bear Creek Camp has been in oper-

ation at our present site since

1974. Lutheran outdoor ministries

in eastern Pennsylvania stretch back

almost another 50 years at our pre-

decessor camps. These camps –

Miller, Hagan and Ministerium –

were located along the Delaware

River and run by the synods begin-

ning in 1927.

In the 1960s, the U.S. government began planning to take over the ar-ea on the Delaware River (near Shawnee on Delaware) where Bear Creek’s “legacy” camps were locat-ed, with plans to build a dam and reservoir upstream. Facing potential eminent domain actions, the camps embarked on a search for a new property. In the early 1970s, what was then the Eastern Pennsylvania Synod of the Lutheran Church in America acquired the land near Bear Creek Village. Bear Creek Camp has been in operation since 1974, and has hosted residential summer programs for youth as well as family camping weekends, special events and programs, and facility rentals to private groups ever since.

Special Collection Envelope: Bear Creek Camp

Our congregation will again help to staff the Homework Help Club at the Conshy Public Library. The program will begin Thursday November 1st from 3:45pm – 4:30pm. If you are inter-ested in helping to tutor, please see Jenn Schreiter (jeschreiter@yahoo.com).

Page 9

The Mark’s

December 2018

Worship with us in Advent: Savior

of the Nations Come

The tune, which we know as "Savior of the Nations, Come," (ELW 263) is our musical theme of Advent this year. Each Sunday, we will explore how we are waiting for the light and peace of Christ to enter our whole world. On Advent 1, this hymn tune will be heard in the music during our offering; on Advent 2, it will be the prelude music; he Bell Choir will play a piece that incor-porates the tune on Advent 3; the entire congregation will sing the hymn together on Advent 4.

We will also be singing a piece by Marty Haugen, “My Soul in Stillness Waits” as we mark this Advent Season of waiting. Each week will feature a different part of our

lives and the world as we pray for peace that comes at Christmas time. Peace in our world, peace with the envi-ronment, peace with ourselves, peace in our relation-ships. As we kindle the light of the lord this year, we will be praying for peace to take root in the world around us. Join us as we pray through the events and news from our world inviting the Spirit of peace to those around us.

And while we are talking about hymns and songs, have you noticed that, in our new bulletin format, the hymn tunes are listed right under the hymn numbers? Hymn tunes are the melodies for the hymns we sing, and they are often set to multiple texts, both in the Evangelical Lutheran Book of Worship (ELW) and in other Christian traditions. You can even explore our hymnal by hymn tune by using the index in the back of the book.

Worship

Decorating for Christmas We have a short turn around this year between

end of advent and Christmas Eve! The Altar Guild and Worship and Music team invites those who are available to stay after worship on December 23rd to help set the sanctuary for Christmas Eve.

But that’s part of the gift, Christ comes graciously any-way, right?!

Perhaps the only way that others will come to know the wonder and the mystery of Christmas this year is through our gracious actions in the world and in our lives. For we are people of grace that God loves enough to send us the ultimate sign of grace—Jesus Christ.

I look forward to celebrating the joy of God’s grace with you on Christmas eve as we gather to kindle the light of the Lord and sing Silent Night we watch as the grace light spreads from one to another until we are all aglow in the light of Christ. It’s a truly special moment in our worship together and I hope to see many of you there.

I pray that no matter where you find yourself this Christmas, that God’s grace finds you too. You are loved, cherished, and marked with the sign of God’s love.

Merry Christmas St. Mark’s be gracious to yourself +Pastor

Continued from page 1

Page 10

The Mark’s

December 2018

Worship

St. Mark’s offers two services on Christmas Eve; 4pm and 7pm. Each of the services is special in it’s own right with special music at both. At the 4pm service we have music from Stella Ruggiero on piano and Theodora Mor-ley on dulcimer. Our 7pm service is our traditional candlelight service featuring the musical leadership of our friend Ajibola Rivers on strings. Ajibola will be joining the Bell Choir during prelude music, and the entire quartet will enhance the Adult Choir's musical offering. If you are interested in being part of these ensembles for that spe-cial service please contact Emily Ballentine Erb at emily@stmarksconshy.org. All are welcome! Also this year between the services we will be hosting a pot-luck dinner for those who will be staying for both ser-vices. Anyone is welcome to join us!

Join us as we celebrate the Nativity of our Lord

A service for those who may not be feeling “merry and bright” this holiday season.

The holiday’s can be rough for some folks who struggle amid the hustle and bustle of the season. This service is a quiet contemplative service designed to hold sacred space for those may have a variety of emotions at the holidays. It’s time to remember together that God is present and with us during these long dark days as the world is marked by some of the longest nights of the year. Join us as we hold this darkness together and anticipate the coming of the Christ Light.

Longest Night Worship Service – December 19th @ 7pm

Worship Assistants Christmas Eve:

4 pm Service 7pm Service

Assisting Minister Sheldon Erb Kathy Pokalo

Communion Assistant Donna Kobi Joanne Copestick & Lauren Parkin

Readers Joanne Copestick Sheldon Erb

Acolytes Gavin Kriebel

Altar Guild Sandy Portzer and Joanne Copestick

Usher Pam Keebler & Karen Hanna LJ Kriebel & Joe Dryburg

Page 11

The Mark’s

December 2018

Worship

Music Ministry Schedules for the Fall Bell Choir

December 2

December 24

Adult Choir

December 9

December 24

Faith Formation Singers

December 23

The profession of faith most fre-quently called; the Apostles’ Creed, has received this title because of its great antiquity. It dates from very ear-ly times in the Christian Church; a half century or so from the last writ-ings of the New Testament.

The creed originated independently of Scripture in the early oral teaching and preaching of the apostles; but it was not used to supersede Scripture. It was used to corroborate Scripture. One of the important reasons for its creation was to summarize the teach-ings of the apostles for new converts to the Christian faith. The new con-verts were expected to commit this short statement of faith to memory as a seal of their baptism; not unlike what is still done today.

We also know that before the middle of the 2nd century, the con-

fession at baptism had crystallized

into a shape that we would recog-nize today as it became to be

known as the “Rule of Truth,” or “Rule of Faith.” It was em-

ployed to check the interpretation of Scripture being used throughout the early Church. It was most likely employed as a check on those who sought to allegorize away the Chris-tian faith. It is amazing to realize that forces were attacking the early church just as they do still today. In fact, throughout all of Christian his-tory the debates, discussions, argu-ments concerning what is really im-portant in our understanding of God as a Triune God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, still comes back to the centering base which is The Apostle’s Creed. Even today, it con-tinues to keep us mindful of the profoundly important aspects of our faith. That is why we confess it together every Sunday.

Light on the Liturgy: The Apostles Creed

Join us in on Thursdays in December for dinner, fel-lowship and a short worship service with Holy Commun-ion. In the midst of all the other holiday preparations this is a way to prepare for the Christmas Season as we tell the stories leading up to the birth of Christ. It’s a great way to reset and refocus in the middle of a busy holiday season.

Dinner Church—Thursdays 6pm

Page 12

The Mark’s

December 2018

Worship

12/9/2018 David & Gail Penman For Gail’s birthday and for the gifts of family and friends

12/16/2018 The Turkowski Family In loving memoru of parents Roy & Mary Tomlinson,;Walter & Teresa Turkowski and brothers Theodore & Leroy Tomlinson .

12/23/2018

12/24/2018 Jeanette & Don Nazaryk

To the glory of the Christ Child, in thanksgiving for many bless-ings received, and in loving memory of our departed family members and friends. Wishing Merry Christmas & a Blessed New Year to all.

12/30/2018 Connie McClure In memory of departed loved ones.

As a reminder Altar Flowers are $40 dollars and can be sent in to the office or dropped in the of-

fering plate. Please make sure to mark on your envelope or check that they are for Altar Flowers.

You may also sign up for any blank weeks that appear on the schedule as well, or contact the

church office (610.828.0581) to find out about upcoming openings.

Altar Flowers for December

Saint Mark’s Christmas Pointsetta Order Form All plants are $12 each

Orders are due by December 10th Name: __________________________________

I wish to order: _____________ pointsettia(s) Payment method: cash _____ check _____

_____Plant may be given to a shut-in OR _____ I will pick up my plant after Christmas Eve Ser-vice.

Wording for the bulletin: __________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________

This form can be sent or placed in the offering plate.

Page 13

The Mark’s

December 2018

Evangel i sm / Fel lowship

New Members

The Paul Family

Lindsay, Jeff and Selene

The Schaffer Family

Justin, Amy and Naomi

Join us as we spread some Christmas cheer through the streets of Conshy again this year!

On Friday December 21st we will gather at the church at 6pm to organize groups and practice a few carols before we hit the streets to sing for folks.

All are welcome to join us, all ages are welcome as well! While we don’t expect everyone to RSVP, if you could let us know

you are coming via our Facebook event it will certainly help with the planning of the night.

We usually plan routes based on how many folks are in attendance. And yes, we usually make a swing through lower Fayette Street to the restaurants!

A few planning notes: we are outside most of the time, so please dress for the weather! It’s dark outside and we will be crossing streets, so brighter colored / reflective clothing is helpful. Con-shohocken is on a hill, so heading up and down the avenues is part of all of our routes.

Join us Sunday December 16th after church for the 2nd Annual St Mark's Christmas Bake-Off during fellowship hour! Bake a batch of your favorite Christmas cookie or baked good (cut into individual size pieces) and drop it off in the McCarney room before church. (Please indicate if your cookie contains peanuts or tree nuts). After church, the entire congregation is invited to stop by fellowship hour to taste all the cookies and vote on their favorite. This year we'll do "kids' favorite" and "adults' favorite" winners. Each winner will receive a Panera gift card!

Cookie Bake Off Fellowship Hour

Page 14

The Mark’s

December 2018

Wider Church

Page 15

The Mark’s

December 2018

December 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

9:30 Worship

10:30 Faith Formation

10:30 Fellowship Hour

3 4

7pm Wor-

ship and

Music

5

6pm Confirma-

tion

6

6 pm Dinner

Church

7pm Choir

7:45pm Bells

7 8

9

9:30 Worship

10:30 Faith Formation

10:30 Fellowship Hour

10 11

7pm Church

Council

12 13

6 pm Dinner

Church

7pm Choir

7:45pm Bells

14 15

16

9:30 Worship

10:30 Faith Formation

10:30 Fellowship Hour

17 18 19

7pm Longest

Night

20

6 pm Dinner-

Church

7pm Choir

7:45pm Bells

21

6pm Caroling

through Con-

shy

22

23

9:30 Worship

10:30 Faith Formation

10:30 Fellowship Hour

24

Christmas Eve

4pm Worship

7pm Worship

25 26 27

6 pm Dinner

Church

7pm Choir

7:45pm Bells

28 29

30

9:30 Worship

10:30 Fellowship Hour

31

———————-Office is closed—————————

Page 16

The Mark’s

December 2018

508 Harry Street

Conshohocken, PA 19428

This is Christ’s Church.

There is a place for you here. We are the church that shares a living, daring

confidence in God's grace. Liberated by our faith,

we embrace you as a whole person — questions,

complexities and all. Join us as we do God's work

in Christ's name for the life of the world.

Worship Assistants for the Month

God’s Work. Our Hands.

12/2/2018 12/9/2018 12/16/2018 12/23/2018 12/30/18

Advent 1 Advent 2 Advent 3 Advent 4 Christmas 1

Choir Bells

Assisting Min- Kim Kriebel Garrett Kriebel Joe Jacovino Sheldon Erb Katie Colaneri

Communion Assistant Matt Powell Lauren Parkin Lara Hoffman Donna Kobi Joanne Copestick

Readers Matt Hoffman Sue Dryburgh Joe Ruggiero Karen Hanna Nate Ramsden

Nursery Inderbitzen Ramsden Ruggiero Walker Schreiner

Acolytes Theodora Morley Stella Ruggiero/ Nate Ramsden Don Turkowski Joe Dryburgh

Altar Guild Stef Conklin Kathys Turner/ Erin Orekar Pam Keebler Joanne/Sandy

Usher 1 Meagan Moul George Polalo Bill Portzer Dolores Lush Theodora Morley

Usher 2 Aaron Moul Kathy Pokalo Joanne Copestick Donna Kobi Kathy Pokalo

Counters 1 Rhea Moore Susan Dryburgh Susan Jacovino Lauren Parkin Debbie Eskate

Counter 2 Pam Keebler Stef Conklin Matt Fiore Pam Keebler Jennifer Schreiter

Offering Re- Jennifer Schreiter Nate Ramsden Pam Keebler Joanne Copestick Kathy Pokalo

Fellowship K.Hanna, Jo Pop, P.

Faith Formation 1 Stef Conklin Holly Holst Allison Fike Kim Kriebel No Faith formation

Faith Formation 2 Beth Patruno Joe Ruggiero Sue Inderbitzen Hoffmans