Month: February 2021

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Sharing God’s blessings with all

Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay

When we share the blessings God has given us, powerful things happen! We honor Him and share in His work of provision and reconciliation.

St. Mark’s supports and partners with many other groups in service to our Lord and our community. Your gifts are important to these efforts and greatly appreciated. We offer below a list of such opportunities, including the monthly focus approved by St. Mark’s Council and a special 24-hour appeal for EDGE for Tomorrow that starts March 4.

St. Mark’s monthly giving targets include:

January – Family Promise
February – EDGE for Tomorrow (more details below)
April – Lutheran Volunteer Corp & Bowlathon
May – Kairos (prison ministry)
June – Sojourners’ Place/LCS Gimme Shelter Golf
July – LIFE (Lutherans Involved in Food Emergencies)
August – Youth Group
September – Lutheran Community Services & Walkathon
October – ELCA World Hunger
November – Hilltop Lutheran Neighborhood Center

To make a designated gift, you may:

  • Note the designation on your weekly church envelope in the “Special Appeal For:” section
  • Indicate your distribution in the memo on your check or include a note with your check.
  • If you give electronically, you may include a memo or notation to specify the designation.

In addition to these ministries, the Delaware-Maryland Synod, of which St. Mark’s is a part, is in the midst of its 2021 Lenten Appeal, which continues through April 5. Every dollar given will be matched during this time, up to $40,000. These gifts support the synod’s Ministry Fund, helping to build local ministries for the future.

About EDGE for Tomorrow and the DoMore24 campaign March 4-5

EDGE for Tomorrow is thrilled to participate in the monumental DoMore24 statewide campaign, 24 hours during which your gift has extra impact. The period runs from 6 p.m. March 4 to 6 p.m. March 5. This can have a great impact on EDGE’s ability to remain nimble and continue to meet the needs of the low-income children and families we serve in Edgemoor Gardens, Bellevue and Bellefonte during the most tumultuous year of our organization’s history.

Check out our campaign page by clicking here and set up a reminder to donate. Please help us all do more together. Thank you for your support!

EDGE for Tomorrow was founded in 2011 as an outreach ministry of
our neighbor, Presbyterian Church of the Covenant (PCOC). Primary funding comes from private foundations and government grants, along with individual donations and fund-raising events. EDGE provides after-school care, addresses food insecurity, and advocates and supports the marginalized in our community.EDGE for Tomorrow logo
Located in PCOC’s building at 503 Duncan Rd, EDGE After-School is for children in grades K through 5 who attend Mount Pleasant Elementary School, offering:
  • Virtues-based programming and Social Emotional Learning (SEL) that teaches good citizenship, social skills, empathy and kindness,
  • Tutoring and enrichment activities with specialized reading and math help,
  • Homework help, healthy snacks and physical activities, and
  • STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) learning to enrich skills needed for reading, math, geography, science and the arts.

COVID-19 forced us to be creative and adaptive when our schools went all virtual in September, stepping up and opening an in-person Remote Access Learning Hub; a safe place to provide students’ academic support with much-needed emotional and social enrichment.

The Hub helps up to 18 at-risk students access school Monday thru Friday. EDGE offers students technical support and encouragement during the online school day, two nutritional meals and a snack from Brandywine School District, recreational activities in the fresh air, and emotional support through activities such as yoga, team building, and arts programming.

When the school day ends, students stay for three hours of after-care, where The Music School of Delaware’s MELODY program provides an outlet for kindergarten through grade 2 students to experience the art of music through Rhythm, a Bucket Band percussion group, and the violin. Grades 3 through 5 participate in Bucket Band and gain enrichment through art, creative writing, yoga, storytelling, and STEM using learning tools that build self-esteem, confidence, resilience and coping mechanisms that are so necessary in addressing the effects of childhood trauma and stress.

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Lenten devotionals

A person studying the Bible

Interim Pastor David Mueller, in collaboration with John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, will host brief meditations on our YouTube channel every Wednesday throughout the Lenten season. These prerecorded messages will begin at 7 p.m. You can join in by clicking on the image below.

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Thoughts on a year of change

Council President Kitty Dombroski and her makeshift vote collector

This past year required lots of change! Here, for example, you can see how Council President Kitty Dombroski rigged up a basket on a pole to collect drive-by votes from a pandemic-safe distance. (Photo by Cheryl Denneny)

I am writing this on Ash Wednesday, 2021. By the time you read this it will be later, but while writing I am reminded of this past year.

Last year, Ash Wednesday was February 26. Our first Lenten Wednesday service (remember those?) was March 4. We gathered for soup and salad. I brought a salad. Jan brought olive bread. Vicki made ham and bean soup. Ann and Kevin made chili. I think I got that right. I used the cheddar cheese from the salad and put it in my chili. There was more and it was really good. Food, people — fellowship. We were talking about the Transition and when were we going to get our new Pastor.

It was the last “normal” in-person event at St Mark’s. Quickly, all the energy in the world was around COVID-19. Or at least it felt that way. Cancelled Wednesday services, cancelled Sunday services, cancelled in-person meetings. WHAT ABOUT EASTER?

Along with the rest of the world we were scrambling and mourning. How do we worship? How do we have Bible Study? How do we have meetings? How do we have all those things that make us St Mark’s?

Enter ZOOM. For most, this was a new concept. Virtual meetings were not “normal,” but we quickly learned. And along the way we learned that the MUTE button is really important.

We purchased equipment for pre-recorded services. John has gotten really good at them.

We were hurled into the technology of the 21st Century. Not without some kicking and screaming and, yes, whining. Or maybe that was just me? Masks, hand sanitizer, CDC recommendations. Oy vey.

And like the faithful Christians before us — we carried on. Is it easy? NO. Is it comfortable? NO. The safety and comfort of our world has been shaken to the core. The world outside our doors and the world within our doors is not the same.  We are grieving for the life we had and the people we have lost. We may never be exactly the way we were.

But I have hope. There are lots of good things happening in 2021. The days are starting to get longer. There is a vaccine. Our Call Committee continues to meet and is moving rapidly to the interview phase. We have a lot to look forward to.

The most important part is to keep praying — for the world, for our country, for the Church, for St Mark’s, for our interim Pastor and our new Pastor and, also, not unimportant, for us.

Kitty Dombroski

President, St. Mark’s Leadership Council

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Midweek Extra: Family Promise ministry with Barb Gilbert and Pam Waters

Pastor David Mueller talks with Pam Waters and Barbara Gilbert

Two familiar faces joined Interim Pastor David Mueller for the “Midweek Extra” — Barb Gilbert and Pam Waters. Both have been leading our ministry with Family Promise, which provides shelter for families who find themselves in need of temporary housing in northern New Castle County.

St. Mark’s has been part of this effort for a few years, providing meals and other services at the Family Promise site on Milltown Road for one week each quarter. Barb and Pam share much more about this work and the impact it is having in the lives of many.

You’ll find the segment on our YouTube channel by clicking on the link below.

 

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Icy forecast closes St. Mark’s Sunday Feb. 14

Interim Pastor David Mueller

Because of a predicted ice storm, St Mark’s building will not be open Sunday February 14.

Instead, the 10 a.m. worship service was recorded Saturday and that recording will be available on our YouTube channel. You can also access the service by clicking the link below. Many thanks to Interim Pastor David Mueller, John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, and Greg Landrey, liturgist, for their quick response.

Don’t forget: The Annual Meeting is scheduled for Sunday, February 21, immediately following the 10 a.m. service.

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Ash Wednesday observance

Sketched cross

We plan in-person and livestream worship on Ash Wednesday, February 17, starting at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

If you plan to join us in the sanctuary, remember that reservations are required. Please call the church office at (302) 764-7488. Ashes will be provided at the service and will be self-imposed in a safe manner. Those wishing to impose ashes at home can obtain them from the church office prior to the service or use whatever ashes they may have at home. Please remember office hours are weekdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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Snow forecast moves Feb. 7 worship online, postpones annual meeting (again)

Coffee mug in the snow

Because of a predicted snowstorm, St Mark’s building will not be open Sunday February 7.

Instead, the 10 a.m. worship service was recorded Saturday. That recording will be available at 10 a.m. Sunday and you can join us by clicking the image below to reach our YouTube channel. Many thanks to Interim Pastor David Mueller and to John Lasher, director of music and worship arts, for their quick response.

In addition, the Annual Meeting has been postponed to Sunday February 21, immediately following the 10 a.m. service.

Join us on YouTube this week and stay safe everyone!

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