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But God said to Jonah, “Is it right for you to be angry about the bush?” And he said, “Yes, angry enough to die.” Then the Lord said, “You are concerned about the bush, for which you did not labor and which you did not grow; it came into being in a night and perished in a night. And should I not be concerned about Nineveh, that great city, in which there are more than a hundred and twenty thousand persons who do not know their right hand from their left, and also many animals?” - Jonah 4:9-11
When tragedy strikes, as happened recently with our wildfires or with the hurricanes in the Gulf, television preachers are often quick to see them as God's retribution for human sin. The idea is that God actively punishes people for societal sins (abortion, homosexuality, etc...) and that natural disasters (and even some human-cased ones) are simply a result of God's righteous anger at the sinfulness of our society. Yet those same preachers rarely highlight injustice, oppression of the poor, or other more generally accepted realities of a sinful world. This also fails to take into account that a vengeful God who needs to be appeased has more in common with the Greek and Roman gods than with the God who loves us and sent his Son to live, die, and rise again for us.
What DOES God get angry about? Our own selfishness. You may well recall the story of Jonah. God calls Jonah to go to the wicked city of Nineveh and call for general repentance. Jonah refuses, because he believes the people of Nineveh will repent and be spared and that they deserve what is coming to them. Jonah flees on a ship and the ship encounters a violent storm. Jonah recognizes God's hand in the storm, asks to be thrown overboard, is, and is swallowed up by a fish and coughed up on land. After having a change of heart, Jonah does indeed go to Nineveh, the people of the city repent, and God spares them. Then, as noted in this passage, Jonah goes out and sulks.
The overall theme of this Sunday's readings, including this one, is anger. Anger at God. Anger at one another. Anger is a powerful, raw emotion that the media have become experts at fomenting and harnessing. Yet we are often so outraged that we are out of rage when we are confronted with things that we SHOULD be angry about--like the previously mentioned injustice, oppression, and corruption. When we look in the Bible, God seems far more concerned about such issues than with who sleeps with whom. For us, as Christians, we need to be constantly asking ourselves "Why does this make me angry?" Is it anger that is born of jealousy, fear, or self-righteousness? Or is it Godly anger, righteous anger, anger that arises from our God-given sense of justice and fairness? Sometimes it is difficult to tell....
--Tom+
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BFF Brief: Certified! Being used for fire relief! But not quite done...
Last Friday, September 11, we received an unrestricted Temporary Certificate of Occupancy (TCO). What this means is that we can fully use our building for all of the uses for which it was intended, including meetings, events, food pantry, etc... (subject to state Covid-19 restrictions, of course...). The reason it is temporary is that there are about a dozen things on the "to do" list that must be completed before the final certification. Mostly minor, but they need to be done. As those things get done, we get closer and closer to being officially finished! We're hoping for the end of this month, but keep praying!
At the same time as we received our certificate, the Family Nurturing Center was running an emergency fire relief distribution center in front of their building. With air quality rapidly deteriorating, Rev. Tom invited them to set up in our new Parish Hall, which they eagerly did! They ran the center from Saturday through Tuesday before scaling it back and moving to more of a delivery model. We know of no better "christening" of our building than having one of our long-term partners use it for fire relief efforts to benefit our community.
With the silent countdown of crossing things off of our "to do" list, we are also counting down the days until the official end of our Building For the Future (BFF) Capital Campaign. If you have not had a chance to literally "buy in" to the campaign, NOW is your chance! Please click her to make a pledge to the Building For the Future (BFF) Fund, or click here to make a donation, or send a check to the church office, marked as a BFF Contribution. We will have a final report in January that will detail any funding gaps still to be filled, and we continue to appreciate people fulfilling the pledges that they have already made. We're almost there!
-- The Building For the Future (BFF) Committee
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UPCOMING EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
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Sundays in September
Reservations open for
September 20 and 27
Morning Prayer and Music
 With the success of last Sunday's in-person Morning Prayer and Music service, we will continue our 9 a.m. service for the next several Sundays, possibly moving into Holy Eucharist in October. If you would like to make a reservation for this Sunday or one of the following Sundays, please click the appropriate button below. You can also call the church office at (541) 773-3111 or email the office or Rev. Tom to reserve your place.
Deadline for reservations is 5 p.m. Saturday evenings.
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Media Minsitry Forming!
From experts to learners,
volunteers are needed!
 As we move into the 2020-21 Program Year, we're forming a new ministry:
The St. Mark's Media Ministry.
Ideally composed of 4 to 6 people, ministry members will be primarily focused on the church's Sunday morning live-streamed service as well as other audio and video offerings. The group will be tasked with evaluating current equipment and processes, recommending new equipment, and overseeing our web site and social media offerings. This ministry welcomes those experienced in video, audio, social media, and web sites as well as those willing to learn. Please contact the Rector if you are interested. We are hoping to have our first meeting in September or early October.
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Looking to help the communities devastated by the fires?
Family Nurturing Center and Phoenix-Talent School District could use your help.
There has been no shortage of donations given all across the valley during this time. Donations of household items are not needed at this time (but hold onto them because in the coming weeks and months as people do find new places to live, these donations will once again be needed in our community). The generosity and out pouring of love and support has been amazing during this time.
Here is what you can help with:
Family Nurturing Center needs (see below)
Donations can be dropped off at Family Nurturing Center, but only for the following items at this time.
- Diapers and wipes
- Formula
- Gift cards for $20-$25 for gas, groceries, and restaurants.
- Cash and check donations are also accepted in any amount and will be used to buy supplies or gift cards for those in need.
Phoenix-Talent School District needs (see below)
Donations can be dropped off at Orchard Hill Elementary 1011 La Loma Drive, Medford (not far from the RVM).
- Socks (Men's, women's, boy's, & girl's) must be new in the package only
- Underwear All sizes (Men's, women's, boy's, & girl's) must be new and in the package only
- Gift cards for $20-25 for gas, groceries, and restaurants.
- Cash and check donations also accepted for any amount and will be used to purchase gift cards or supplies that are needed.
- Volunteers at the Expo and at Home Depot to distribute donations.
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Book Study will be studying a NEW book beginning Sept. 30!
Beginning "Things Seen and Unseen" by Nora Gallagher
Zoom Meeting ID# 684-182-4478
 As we finish up studying "Grateful: The Subversive Practice of Giving Thanks" with a discussion of the Epilogue this coming Wednesday, September 23, we launch into a NEW, but classic, book: "Things Seen and Unseen: A Year Lived in Faith." You are invited to purchase the book on Amazon paperback for $15.53 (or used for less) or Kindle for $6.99 or via our St. Mark's Bookshop for $16.00 (currently back-ordered, and remember we get 10%). You are also welcome to visit the author's web page.
Please join us at 6 pm THIS Wednesday and every Wednesday by clicking here. Thanks!
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NEW! Women of the Word
Women's Group meets again via Zoom Saturday, October 3 at 9 a.m.
 Welcome to Women of the Word! The group is open to any St. Mark's woman who wishes to engage in an ongoing conversation about who we are, why we are who we are, and where God and his Word fit into our lives. Participants will be welcome to share questions, insights, favorite 'scraps of scripture', dreams and aspirations for themselves, St. Mark's and our community, ministries current or hoped for – whatever comes to mind.
The group is not intended as a formal Bible study, nor as a Book Group. Since it will be on the Zoom platform, at least initially, participants will be free to settle in for the conversation with whatever potables/edibles they feel like bringing, in whatever nook or cranny they are most comfortable in.
Please join us for our first Zoom meeting on Saturday, September 5 at 9 a.m. by clicking here (meeting #825 0754 2502). Questions? Contact Susan Ladue by phone or by clicking here. All women welcome!
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Bible Study Returns!
New day, same time!
10 a.m. TUESDAYS,
Starting October 6
Zoom Meeting ID# 667-807-291
Our regular weekly morning book study is MOVING from Mondays to Tuesdays, still at 10 a.m. We will continue to meet via Zoom (see and click on above link) and will be continuing our foray through the New Testament with a study of 1 Corinthians. Newcomers are welcome!
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NEW Vestry Member!
Patty Casey joins Vestry,
succeeding Kris Conrad
 The Vestry is pleased to welcome Patty Casey to its ranks! At the same time, we are sorry to lose Kris Conrad, who needed to resign due to other time commitments. We appreciate Kris' service and welcome Patty to the Vestry. Patty's term will expire in 2023. We will elect three members of the Class of 2024 at our Annual Meeting in January. Stay tuned for more!
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Coming soon....
our Stewardship theme
for 2021:
Extending the Blessing!
More information to come!
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ALSO coming soon....
End-of-Summer
(July/Aug/Sept) issue of
Lion Tales!
Articles still being received. Will publish ASAP given current conditions.
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Rector's Reflections
Covid-19 Coronavirus 
Haven't pledged yet, and don't want to deal with Realm?
