GriefShare group to start March 4 at St. Mark’s

Photo of a group of people meeting together.

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
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:

What Is GriefShare? – Find a Group from Church Initiative on Vimeo.

Lenten Meal and Service Series

A graphic image that says: Lent, a season of renewal

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.

Oh yum! Y’all come! It’s time for lasagna!

Tantalizing photo of a slice of lasagna

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!

Service of Love

Service of Love 10 a.m. Sunday, June 11

St. Mark’s will present a unity Service of Love at 10 a.m. Sunday, June 11, where God’s radical love — shown through philia (brotherly love), eros (romantic love), and agape (unconditional love) — will be featured through scripture and song.

Family and friends are invited and encouraged to come and be a part of this beautiful event.

Following the service, a reception and special exhibits encompassing the three types of love will be on display in the Narthex.

We hope to see you on this joyous day!

Holy Week at St. Mark’s

Journey through Holy Week with us.

We continue our Holy Week journey at St. Mark’s, reflecting together on the life, work and sacrifice of Jesus, celebrating His triumph over death and considering His call to action.

Our schedule includes worship in our sanctuary as well as livestream options on our YouTube channel. To find a specific service, click on the underlined text for a link. Join us in person or online as we worship our Lord!

  • Good Friday, April 7: 7 p.m. Joint evening worship service with Presbyterian Church of the Covenant, hosted by St. Mark’s
  • Holy Saturday, April 8: 9 a.m. to noon. Prayer vigil in St. Mark’s sanctuary
  • Easter Sunday, April 9: 8:45 a.m. Traditional worship service; 11:15 a.m. Contemporary worship service (There are no Christian education programs on this day.)
  • Monday, April 10: St. Mark’s office will be closed on this day.

Hallelujah! The Bible and Handel’s ‘Messiah’

The tuning portion of a violin laying atop sheet music from Handel's 'Messiah.'

Join us Sunday, November 27, as we start the Advent season with a new study called “Hallelujah! The Bible and Handel’s Messiah,” led by Margie Dodson.

We’ll meet at 10 a.m. in the Great Room for this four-week study.

“Messiah” is a wonderful way into the Bible. We will listen to the voice of God through the prophet Isaiah and the genius of George Frideric Handel’s most-beloved oratorio as we study, discuss and celebrate the birth of Jesus.

These are the portions in focus throughout Advent:

  • Sunday, Nov. 27: “Comfort, comfort my people.”
  • Sunday, Dec. 4: “Who may abide the day of his coming?”
  • Sunday, Dec. 11: “For unto us a child is born.”
  • Sunday, Dec. 18: “Glory to God in the highest!”

Count your blessings — and share them!

Let our lives be full of both thanks and giving

Thanksgiving week is here — can you believe it? — and we hope you will make time to reflect on the many reasons you have to be grateful. It’s an important practice — best done daily or perhaps multiple times a day!

We face many challenges in our lives and in our world, it is true, but gratitude does not deny that or turn away from it. Rather, gratitude helps us put things into proper perspective, reminds us of the goodness of our faithful Shepherd and calls us to put our thanks into action.

In the words of the old hymn by Johnson Oatman Jr.:

“When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,

When you are discouraged thinking all is lost

Count your many blessings, name them one by one

And it will surprise you what the Lord has done!”

God has done so much — and way more than we ever notice or realize.

Here are just five brief examples of things God has done at St. Mark’s in the past year:

  • God guided our Call Committee and brought us a wonderful new pastor, the Rev. Kelley Ketcham, and her delightful family!
  • God has given wisdom and strength to our Leadership Council, with each member serving in specific areas of our life together — from facilities to financial stewardship to updating our constitution and responding to needs as they arise.
  • God has sustained our Worship and Music Committee, whose members have worked to plan and expand our worship opportunities, including the online options that have helped those who cannot attend in person.
  • God has led many to service in prayer, “Caring Hearts” ministry, congregational life, flowers, meals and care for our property and other resources.
  • God has provided multiple opportunities for study and faith formation, with several small groups meeting regularly — in-person and online — to discuss God’s Word, pray for our congregation and world, and strengthen our connections with each other. He has also raised up teachers, who prepare and deliver excellent learning opportunities for children and adults.
  • God has enabled us to provide support for Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Community Services, Lutheran Volunteer Corps, Sojourners’ Place, Family Promise, Hilltop Lutheran Neighborhood Center, Jewish Family Services’ refugee settlement efforts, Lutheran Disaster Response, Lutheran Campus Ministry and other agencies that provide relief to those in need locally and around the world.

You could add many more examples, we know! Write them down and bring them up when we’re talking together! Problems are real and stressful and may seem insurmountable at times. But God’s faithfulness is new every morning and it’s a healthy, essential practice to stop and recognize the goodness, beauty and joy God pours into our lives and our world.

It is important, too, to remember God’s words to Abram, when He called him to leave his native country and go to a new land:

“I will bless you … and you will be a blessing to others.” (Genesis 12: 2)

We are blessed not only for our own good, but also to be a blessing to others.

And this is where gratitude goes into action!

Please remember the blessings God has poured into our lives and make a fresh commitment to share those blessings and resources with St. Mark’s, with our community and with those in need around the world.

We are thankful for you and we pray for God’s blessing on you and all of yours, that we may all be a blessing to our world.

Rally Day is here! Bring your friends and family!

Arden Shindel of St. Mark's

We have a great family day planned for Sunday, September 18 — Rally Day! It’s the day we kick off a new year of worship, study, service and life together!

We’ll start with worship — a Unity Service — starting at 10 a.m.

Then we’ll move outside to enjoy the company of our St. Mark’s family and friends and share a picnic lunch.

Among the special events is an outdoor concert, featuring our own Arden Shindel and friends. Arden is the daughter of Rob and Rebecca Shindel and is a student at Cab Calloway School of the Arts. She has been delighting audiences in the region with recent performances in “James and the Giant Peach” and “Into The Woods.”

Also planned are games for the kids, a candy buffet and other fun stuff.

Bring a dessert, a comfy lawn chair and your sense of humor!

Gear up for the 2022 LCS Walk/Run!

The start of the Lutheran Community Services Walk/Run for Hunger

It’s almost time for the 2022 Lutheran Community Services (LCS) Walk/Run — one of the biggest fundraisers of the year for LCS, which provides emergency and essential assistance to thousands of people in our community. St. Mark’s has been a strong supporter of this event for many years, so lace up those sneakers, get your cheering squad ready and pull out your checkbook or credit card to help us provide resources for this outstanding service agency.

This year’s Walk/Run will be held Saturday, Sept. 17 at a new site — Concordia Lutheran Church, 3003 Silverside Road, Wilmington, DE 19810. Registration starts at 9 a.m. and the Walk/Run starts at 10. Read more for details on how to support this event!

The day includes raffles, door prizes and a friendly, non-competitive walk for adults and kids alike. Those who fundraise for the event engage with their friends, family and otheLori Weniger and daughterr personal contacts to support LCS and its mission to help provide essential needs. The funds raised and food collected from this event go directly to LCS’ food pantries.

Pastor Fred Melton (former pastor of St. Mark’s) has been a longtime supporter of this event and returns this year with a dedicated team. St. Mark’s also has a new team — “Pastor Kelley’s Krew” — named for our new pastor, Kelley Ketcham.

To register as a walker or runner, look for the forms in the church lobby or fill out the online form at this web address: https://secure.qgiv.com/event/20walkru/register/form/classification

To donate to a specific team or participant, you can give a check (made out to LCS) directly to the participant or donate to a specific team or participant at this website:  https://secure.qgiv.com/event/20walkru/

A recent addition to the Walk/Run is a Family Fun Fair, immediately following the event. We love to interact with old and new friends with games, rides, music and food.

The Walk/Run & Fun Day is traditionally held on the third Saturday of September, rain or shine, and is hosted by one of our church partners.

Hope to see you there!

Celebrating the rite of installation of the Rev. Kelley Ketcham

Pastor Kelley Ketcham at the altar

Please join us Sunday afternoon, August 21, for a very special event in the life of St. Mark’s as we gather for the rite of installation of our new pastor, the Rev. Kelley Ketcham. The service, which begins at 3 p.m. in the sanctuary, is the culmination of three years of prayerful work and a day of great celebration for all.

Special guests include the Rev. Robin Simpson Litton, assistant to the bishop for leadership, who will preside over the service, and Bishop William Gohl Jr., leader of the Delaware-Maryland Synod, who will bring the sermon.

The St. Mark’s choir and “Souls on Fire” band will participate, along with guest musicians Maria Rusu (violin) and Genevieve Hahn (flute), led by John Lasher, director of music and worship arts.

Pastor Kelley wrote a wonderful description of the significance of this gathering for our newsletter, The Lion. We include that here for your benefit:

“During the rite of installation, I will make promises: To commit myself to this responsibility; to preach and teach in accordance with the confessions of the church and the constitution of the ELCA; to be diligent in my study of scriptures and the use of the means of grace; to love, serve and pray for you; to nourish you with the word and sacraments; to lead you by my own example; and give faithful witness to the world.

“This is a pretty daunting task and it is one that I’m sure I will fail more often than I uphold. And so my response to each of these questions will be: ‘I will, and I ask God to help me’ because it will only be with God’s help that I can faithfully carry out these promises.

“But I am not the only one that will make promises in this service. You, the people of St. Mark’s, will also be asked to receive me into this community, to pray for me and my family, to help and honor me for my work’s sake, and in all things strive to live together with me in the peace and unity of Christ.

“I know that there also will be days when this is easier said than done for you. And so, your response will also be: ‘We will, and we ask God to help us’ because it will only be with God’s help that you will be able to faithfully carry out these promises.

“It is also important to remember that my installation as your pastor is not the end of the journey; it is the beginning of the next part. The past will not miraculously disappear now that you have called me to be your pastor, nor do I bring with myself a magic wand to wipe away all the struggles ahead of us. But what will happen is that we will work together as pastor and people to better share the Gospel with our community and our world.

“As we go forth in this journey as pastor and people together, may we remember the promises we will make to one another, and that it is only through God’s guidance, love and mercy that we will be able to uphold them.”