This Weekend
Saturday, December 16th, 5:30pm
Living Nativity and Bethlehem Marketplace
 Once again, we commemorate and celebrate the birth of our Savior, Jesus, this coming Saturday, December 16 at 5:30 p.m. Enjoy live animals and a cast of characters of the nativity. Children of all ages are invited to participate as angels and shepherds. Costumes are provided. No rehearsals. Simply show up at the church office for the cast call by 5 p.m.
When the program ends, guests will sojourn past the nativity on their way to the Bethlehem Market. Art, animals, and fun for the kids. Be our guests at the cookie/hot cocoa reception that follows.
And, come hungry for a soup supper, a fundraiser for St. Mark's youth. Tickets are on sale now. See you in Bethlehem. Shalom!
Calling All Cookie Bakers (and Buyers Too)!
Saturday, December 16 is the Living Nativity and Sunday, December 17 is Cookies for the Homebound. Yes, we need cookies! Lots of cookies! Please deliver the cookies to the church on Saturday between 10 - 2 (or later if you need to). No cookies will be turned away, in fact, they will be offered with love and enjoyed with delight. Thanks for the way you make St. Mark's sweeter to our community.
Warm Blankets for Our Neighbors
Sunday School children are talking about being warm at night and how critical a blanket is to all humans. Please consider buying one or more new, warm blankets for the Sunday School Advent Giving Project. We hope our wagons are spilling over when we deliver blankets to Community Christian Service Agency on Sunday, December 17. Thank you for your Christmas love.
Pastor’s Sunday School
Begins at 8:30 a.m. in the New Room. Everyone is invited. Child care is available. Below are the lectionary readings for this week:
- Isaiah 61:1-4; 8-11
- Psalms 126
- 1Thessalonians 5:16-24
- John 1:6-8, 19-28
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Next Week
What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth
Want to make this Christmas deeper and more meaningful? Come to an intensive three-day study, entitled The First Christmas: What the Gospels Really Teach About Jesus's Birth. It will be offered from 1 to 2:10 p.m. on three successive days:
- Monday, December 18: Parable, Overture, and Context
- Tuesday, December 19: Genealogy, Conception, and Birth
- Wednesday, December 20: Light, Fulfillment, and Joy
The study will be drawn from the book The First Christmas by biblical scholars Marcus Borg and John Dominic Crossan. Books are available for $10, or may be ordered directly from Amazon. Also, it helps if you sign up in the church office!
Longest Night Service
St. Mark’s recognizes that often during the holidays there is grief or sorrow that cannot be erased by carols and parties. To help those who need a quiet place to sit, remember, and reflect we offer the Longest Night Service on the Winter Solstice, December 21. The service is preceded with a dinner at 5 p.m. and service begins at 6 p.m. This is a service where people can come to sit, pray, hum or sing quietly, and light candles to acknowledge the darkness and sadness that may be very close.
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Upcoming Dates
Catch Up/Get Ahead
 Some find it advantageous from a tax standpoint to prepay their church commitment for the upcoming year. All gifts, whether they are to fulfill your 2017 intentions or to prepay part or all of your 2018 planned giving must be in the church office by noon, Sunday, December 31st (or postmarked no later than 12/30/17), in order to be credited on your 2017 giving statement for tax purposes. There is no “grace period” as far as the IRS is concerned! If your gift is a prepayment of part or all of your 2018 planned giving, please make sure that you label it as such so that it gets credited properly. If you would like to find out whether or not you are caught up on your 2017 intended giving, please call our finance secretary, Arlene Dempster, at (858) 273-9938.
A Good Old Fashioned Potluck
Let's celebrate the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi with a good old-fashioned Methodist potluck. Join the St. Mark's congregation on Epiphany Sunday, January 7, 2018, right after church. Mark your calendars now. More information in the coming weeks. The Magi entourage will make its appearance and we'll enjoy some good ol' fellowship with each other.
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News
A Gift For The Staff
During this holiday season the Pastor/Parish Committee (PPRC) wishes to offer you the opportunity to thank the hard working church staff and ministers with a monetary gift. If you would like to contribute to this gift from the congregation, please give your donations to a PPRC committee member or you may send it to the church office. Please be sure to designate your contribution as "Staff Gift." PPRC members are: Andy Guevara, Brad Cannon, Arlene Dempster, Kirk Hinkleman, Robin Nuspl and Susan Holko.
SUCCESSFUL Gingerbread event!
by Kris Nieder
What a joy it was to see our Social Hall filled with children and their families for our annual "Deck the Halls" Gingerbread Event on Sunday, November 26. Debbie Zeller assembled 32 gingerbread houses, along with baking cookies and organizing all the decorating supplies. Thanks to her work, each child received their own gingerbread house and adults had gingerbread cookies to enjoy. Lots of giggles, sticky fingers, the scent of gingerbread, and spontaneous (and much appreciated) bell music from Robin Haber and her bell choir, made for a delightful morning. Thank you to Debbie for your generous gift of time and talent, and thank you to all who participated.
Meals for Teens at Storefront
St. Mark’s provides dinner on the fourth Monday of each month to Storefront, which supports homeless youth in the Hillcrest area. A meal is delivered to Storefront at 6 p.m. and the group delivering the meal can choose to stay and eat with the people there or set out the meal and leave. The sign-up sheet is on the announcement board in the church office. When signing up please be sure to provide the name of persons or group delivering the meal as well as a contact phone number. please contact Hope Coleman at 619-275-0603 for more information.
2018 Storefront dates are:
January 22 February 26
March 26 April 23
May 28 June 25
July 23 August 27
September 24 October 22
November 26 December 24
Carnegie Choristers Return from New York
by Karen Scanlon
What a time we had in New York! Two rehearsals at Crown Plaza on Times Square with composer/director Joseph Martin. "I sure hope this thing works!" he said as we opened our black folders. St. Mark's choristers joined 140 other voices in the premiere performance of "Appalachian Winter: A Bluegrass Christmas". Emmy awarded bluegrass band members, Dailey & Vincent, rocked the house.
The old relic music hall of Carnegie is lovely at night wrapped in New York Christmas. Weather was 51ish degrees, a little cooler at night. Most of us stayed long enough to take in the sights of the city, which included another historical music hall: The fanciful Rockettes at Radio City. After a video wild ride in 3D in Santa's sleigh over NYC, and Rockette precision, we were surprised to see a lengthy parade of Magi enter at a nativity at the end of the show. No mention of Jesus, but we all knew what it meant.
We thank our music master, Frank Williams, for working every detail of our travel to and stay in New York. Rehearsals here, hotel accommodations, and his good humor were to our favor. And thank you to those of you who supported Carnegie fundraisers. (Great pretzels, Slav!) We represented our beloved St. Mark's in a most unusual and meaningful way.
Thank you from Debbie Haustedt
Dear All of Our St. Mark's Family,
I can't thank you enough for your prayers and kind words, even flowers, during these difficult days. Olaf was sent home on hospice on Friday, Dec 1st and passed away peacefully yesterday morning, December 10th. He had a send off like no other! We have no regrets and are so thankful for our twenty years together and the time given to say goodbye. His men's group even came to sing Christmas Carols at his window and this week our church coffee house is holding an Olaf special for Hot Chocolate!
With love and appreciation,
Debbie Haustedt
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