Join us as we launch our new summer schedule and get into something good together! Our summer schedule starts Sunday, June 2, with adult education at 9 a.m., fellowship at 10 and a single worship service at 10:30 a.m.
Pastor Kelley will lead our first adult education class of the summer (9 a.m. on June 2), as we discuss the recent visit of Shane Claiborne, a Christian activist from Philadelphia who works for peace and non-violence in local, national and international initiatives. He demonstrated the work of the RAW Tools project during his visit on May 25, using the hammer and anvil in the photograph above to show how lethal weapons can be transformed into useful tools.
God does transformative work in us, too, as we connect for study, prayer, worship and service.
We also have plans to get together at community events this summer, using those opportunities to get to know each other better and get to know our neighbors better, too.
We hope you’ll join us as this new summer journey begins!
Our Sunday service schedule moves into summer mode on Sunday, June 2, when we will shift to one worship service that starts at 10:30 a.m. Adult Christian education classes will be held before the service, starting at 9 a.m. in the Seminary Room. Watch upcoming announcements for details on the class schedule.
Join us Saturday afternoon, May 25 for a very special event as the “Youtherans” and Lutheran churches (ELCA) in Delaware and Maryland welcome Shane Claiborne and the RAW Tools’ “Swords to Plowshares: Forging Peace. Disarming Hearts” project to St. Mark’s.
Using a forge and a hammer, Claiborne will demonstrate how weapons of violence — guns that were donated, broken down and decommissioned — can be turned into garden tools and other instruments of peace.
The project draws its inspiration from a Scripture passage in Isaiah: “They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, they will train for war no more. Everyone will sit under their own vine and fig tree. No one shall make them afraid.”
Also participating Saturday will be the Rev. Raymont Anderson, a survivor of gun violence and a representative of the Newark chapter of Moms Demand Action, a grassroots movement of Americans fighting for public safety measures that can protect people from gun violence.
Claiborne is the co-author of “Beating Guns: Hope for People Who are Weary of Violence.” He worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta, India, and is the founder of The Simple Way in Philadelphia and the leader of Red Letter Christians, a movement of folks committed to living “as if Jesus meant the things he said.” In 2023, he received The King Center’s Beloved Community Award for Social Justice from Dr. Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King).
“We do more than turn guns into garden tools. We are turning violence into peace. We are turning fear into trust. Through relationship, dialogue, and resources, we are welcoming neighbors with loving arms rather than bearing arms. Join us.”
If you’ve lost a loved one — a spouse, a parent, a sibling, a co-worker, your dearest friend — you know the anguish of such a loss and the hollow place that once was filled with that precious person.
How does life even work when such a powerful bond is severed? Often, it includes searing pain.
Cecilia Cronk knows that feeling. She lost her husband, Homer, in 2018, after 54 years of marriage. Three months after Homer died, Cecelia decided to join a GriefShare support group. She knows the strength it provided for her and the value of the connections made in those meetings, with others who understood.
Cecelia Cronk is starting a GriefShare chapter at St. Mark’s.
Now she is helping to start a GriefShare group at St. Mark’s. The group, which already has five co-leaders and one external registrant, will start its first 13-week session at St. Mark’s at 7 p.m., Monday, March 4.
“Going to GriefShare meetings was such a comfort after Homer died,” Cecelia said. “I learned that it is OK that my grief journey was not the same as everyone else’s. Whereas there is no set roadmap for grief, I came to give myself permission to grieve
in my own way and on my own timetable.
“I was already a Christian, but I came to have an even closer walk with Jesus — partially as a result of the knowledge and support I gained from attending the GriefShare sessions. It is now time for me to share this peace and comfort with others.”
Each session includes a 30-minute video and a time of discussion. The series explores many facets of the grieving process, including loneliness, fear, anger, regrets, relationships, hope and more. A participant’s guide will be provided to each person in the group.
To get more information or register for the group, visit the “Find A Group” link on the GriefShare website, enter St. Mark’s ZIP code — 19809 — and click on the link for St. Mark’s March 4 meeting. You can register online in advance or at the door. There is no cost to participate, but donations are welcome.
GriefShare is an international ministry, part of Church Initiative, a nondenominational, nonprofit ministry serving more than 20,000 churches worldwide.
To hear from some who have participated in the past, watch the video below:
Our Lenten Meal and Service series starts Thursday, Feb. 22 and continues each Thursday through March 21.
Each week we’ll gather in the Great Room. We’ll have a soup and salad supper, starting at 5:30. Our service will start at 6:15, with a message from Pastor Kelley Ketcham.
The services also will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel.
Drinks will be provided. Soup, salad, bread and desserts will be provided by congregational volunteers. If you’re willing to help with that, please sign up on the bulletin board in the narthex.
St. Mark’s will host an Ash Wednesday service starting at 7 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 14. Our neighbors at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant will join us.
If you can’t be with us in person, you can join us remotely on YouTube.
For those unable to attend the evening service, Pastor Kelley Ketcham will also offer “Ashes to Go” in the church parking lot from noon to 1 p.m. Pull up outside the main entrance and Pastor Kelley will come to your car, offer ashes, prayer and a short litany. There is no need to leave your car.
St. Mark’s 22nd annual Christmas Bazaar returns Saturday, Dec. 2, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
As in years past, you’ll find crafts of many kinds, an assortment of homemade soups, baked goods, floral arrangements, gift baskets and — oh yes! — the fun Lionel train display that so many have enjoyed.
It’s one of the best nights of the year — St. Mark’s annual lasagna dinner! This year, it happens at 6 p.m., Friday, Dec. 1 so mark your calendars and come hungry!
The meal includes all-you-can-eat lasagna, meatballs, salad, bread, a dessert and drink. And — don’t forget — tickets also give you early-bird access to St. Mark’s popular Christmas Bazaar, which opens to the public at 9 a.m., Saturday, Dec. 2.
Tickets are $20 each. And you can also take home a full pan of lasagna for an extra $30. Tickets will be sold on Sundays through November.
Come for the food, the fun, the fellowship and — oh yes! — that early-bird access!
A special season is fast approaching! Here are our plans for worship throughout Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve — please join us!
Thanksgiving week — Tuesday, Nov. 21:
7 p.m., Tuesday, November 21: Pastor Kelley will participate in the Community Thanksgiving Service at Holly Oak Calvary Methodist Church, 1511 Philadelphia Pike, Wilmington. Let’s join in this thanksgiving gathering!
Advent Prayer Vigil, Saturday, Dec. 2:
8:30 a.m. to noon. Set apart time in our beautiful sanctuary to prayerfully meditate on Advent, the coming of the Christ, and to know him as Emmanuel — the “God-with-us” — who has the power to transform our hearts, our lives and even this broken world in which we live. Meditative Advent music will enhance the experience and an Advent Prayer Guide will be supplied. (More details below.)
Christmas Eve, Sunday, Dec. 24:
10 a.m. — Joint worship service with our neighbors at Presbyterian Church of the Covenant (503 Duncan Road).
4 p.m. — Contemporary Family Worship at St. Mark’s
8 p.m. — Traditional Candlelight Worship at St. Mark’s
July brings challenges for low-income families with school-aged children, as they may need to provide an additional 10 meals each week during the summer. This year, inflation makes that challenge even greater for food-insecure households.
We at St. Mark’s have a special opportunity to help these families and others who find it tough to put food on the table.
July is “LIFE” Month for us — and that stands for “Lutherans Involved in Food Emergencies.” During this month, we focus on helping to stock the food pantries of Lutheran Community Services, which includes LCS’ headquarters and pantries at St. Stephen’s, Unity, and Hope Lutheran churches.
As in years past, the grocery cart is in the Narthex. You know what to do! Please bring shelf-stable items, diapers and personal hygiene products.
Making a financial donation is also a great way to help. You can write a check directly to Lutheran Community Services or designate your gift to LIFE on your St. Mark’s offering envelope.
Join us as we work together this month to keep the LCS food pantries stocked for those who need them most.
