The Remarks
For the week of February 16, 2010
Saint Mark United Methodist Church
Atlanta, Georgia
www.stmarkumc.org
Loving • Accepting • Serving
The Remarks
Saint Mark United Methodist Church Loving • Accepting • Serving |
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In This Issue Quicklinks to stmarkumc.org
About The Remarks The Remarks is a weekly publication of Saint Mark United Methodist Church, Atlanta, Georgia. The email addresses used in this mailing were provided by the addressees for church use. To unsubscribe from our emails, follow the SafeUnsubscribe link at the bottom of this email. You can also update your email address for the eRemarks at the bottom of this email. To ensure that you continue to receive emails from us, add remarks@stmarkumc.org to your ISP address book & ISP safe list today. Click here to provide general updates to your church record. Please submit announcements for The Remarks to Christia Holloway, Remarks Editor, no later than the Friday prior to the week that the information should appear. Saint Mark |
Sunday, February 21 is the First Sunday in Lent and it will be a busy day at Saint Mark! Plan to spend a day of learning and a day of fellowship with your church family. The Lenten devotional guide, written by members of the Saint Mark congregation and staff will be available in the narthex Sunday morning. A suggested reading plan for the Gospel of Luke will also be included in the devotional. Lenten Sermon Series: God’s Heart: Our Lives Begins On the first Sunday of Lent, Jimmy Moor will begin his 5 part sermon series. This week’s sermon: “Deep in God’s Heart” During Lent, a Meditation Center with activities for all ages will be available on Sunday mornings in room 112 (first floor of the Education building). Serious Answers to Hard Questions: A Lenten Study: This 5 week study led by Jimmy Moor begins this Sunday at 10:10am in the chapel. Topics will include evil, religion and science, other religions, evangelism and tolerance, and the God of the Old Testament. Join us for as many sessions as you can (each session is an independent lesson). Contact Christia Holloway to reserve your copy of a study book or if you are interested in participating in a (duplicate) Wednesday evening class. The Administrative Council Executive Committee will meet immediately following the 11:15 Morning Worship service in room 111. LUNCH with Saint Mark resumes on Sunday, February 21 and will be offered after the 11:15 Morning Worship service on the 3rd Sunday of each month. You provide your lunch money and we’ll provide the fellowship! Contact Regina Robuck to learn more. In an effort to begin a new relationship with Saint Mark, our neighbor Straits Restaurant (at the corner of 5th and Juniper) is offering a special invitation for our congregation to Sunday Brunch on February 21. Your Sunday bulletin will entitle you to enjoy an all inclusive brunch from 12:30 to 2:30 pm for just $16 per person To RSVP, call 404-877-1283. Recently, Straits has expressed an interest in working with Saint Mark on mission projects that are especially significant to our church community, such as participation in our new mentoring program with Hill Hope Elementary School and assisting with a potential new meal program for our homeless neighbors. Please show your appreciation for Straits’ support of Saint Mark! Saint Mark is pleased to offer Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University, a life-changing program that teaches you to achieve your financial goals by eliminating debt, saving for the future, and giving like never before. Classes will be held every Sunday for 13 weeks beginning February 21, 4-6 pm, in Wade Hall. Cost is $70/household. Pre-registration / pre-payment for the class is required and childcare is available. Financial assistance / partial scholarships may also be available. Register online now OR contact Christia Holloway, 404.873.2636 x16. To learn more about the program, visit Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University website. Lent This Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, the entry point into the most critical time in the church calendar. The day marks the beginning of the Lenten season, the time we journey on the road with Jesus to Calvary, the empty tomb, and all that is to follow. Lent historically has been a time of reflection and of restoration. It was the culmination of preparation of candidates for baptism, which took place on Easter, and a time when persons who had been disciplined by the church were made ready for restoration into full fellowship. And historically it has been a time of disciplines of various sorts. We often speak of giving something up for Lent, and that can be a rich path toward a deeper relationship with God if it is done carefully and prayerfully. If you decide to fast (a practice strongly encouraged by John Wesley), be sure you know how to approach that practice. One good guide is in Richard Foster’s A Celebration of Discipline. Use the time you would have spent in eating for prayer and meditation and becoming aware of all the people who are hungry every day. Use the money you would have spent on eating for a charitable cause. It can be a powerful discipline. Others may want to give up something important in their life such as a favorite TV show or time on Facebook! Again, the time gained can be used for prayer or visiting a sick friend. My friend and mentor Bill Landiss used to suggest that people give up something like a grudge or gossip. That would make for a memorable Lent for many of us. It is very common now to speak of taking on something for Lent, and that is an excellent path for the season. If you have been struggling with your devotional life, as we all do at times, what better time than now to begin that practice. Our guide for reading Luke during this season is a wonderful starting point. Add to that daily reading five to ten minutes of prayer time and you are on your way. Maybe you take on some reading that will push you to grow in your faith. Books that have spoken to me recently include A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller; An Altar in the World by Barbara Brown Taylor; and A People’s History of Christianity by Dianna Butler Bass. Or maybe this is the season when you take on restoring that broken relationship with a friend or family member. Or you take on a new practice – like tutoring a child or visiting a prisoner – that may take you places you never imagined. Lent is a challenging season because it calls us to look closely at who we are. It is a hopeful season because it calls us to look closely at who God is. I pray the practices of this season will draw us all closer to God and one another. Feel free to talk with any of your pastors if you want to discuss options for the season in more detail. Blessings, Jimmy Click here for a complete listing of Lenten events, resources, and opportunities at Saint Mark. |
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New Member Class & Lunch on February 28 If you are new to Saint Mark, join us at our upcoming New Member Class and Luncheon on Sunday, February 28, immediately following the 11:15 morning worship service, in Wade Hall. To RSVP pr for more information, contact Rev. Mandy Flemming. Hospitality Appreciation Luncheon on March 7 Attention, all ushers and greeters! A Hospitality Appreciation luncheon will be held in your honor on Sunday, March 7 in Wade Hall, immediately following the 11:15 service. Contact Christia Holloway to RSVP. Register now! Women's Spring Retreat Revs. Carol Rawlinson and Mandy Flemming are planning a Women's Retreat at Simpsonwood from Friday-Sunday, March 19-21. The theme will be "Do What You Have the Power to Do," based on Helen Pierson's book of the same title. To register, contact Rev. Mandy Flemming, 404.873.2636 x13. Activities and Recreation Committee Events Several upcoming events and activities are being organized or have been confirmed. Anyone who is interested in participating in a Saint Mark Dinner/ Cooking Club and/or Bridge Club is encouraged to attend an informational/organizational Activities and Recreation Committee meeting in Wade Hall immediately following this Sunday’s 11:15 Morning Worship service. Other upcoming ARC events include:
For more information about any of these ARC events, contact Larry Lucas. Knitting Class Begins Soon! Beginning Monday, March 1, Knitting for the Hungry Soul: The Divine Knitter will be offered on alternating Monday nights and Sunday mornings. Gather with us for some basic instruction and encouragement as we build fellowship and community through creating and learning from each other. Knitters of all levels are welcome. Bring some yarn for inspiration (and the corresponding needles) to our first meeting. Contact Rev. Mandy Flemming for more information. Special Music at Saint Mark We are pleased to offer several upcoming concerts and special musical guests during Morning Worship: The Montgomery Academy (of Alabama)’s Upper School Chorus will perform during both Morning worship services on February 28. The Flute Choir of Atlanta with director Kathy Farmer will present a free concert at Saint Mark at 3pm on Sunday, March 14, featuring works by Southern composers and pieces with a distinctly Southern sound!. Haiti Relief Including the communion offering on Sunday, February 7, you have donated $ 6,611 for Haiti relief through Saint Mark. Those donations will go through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR). Support for relief efforts can also be made to Haiti Emergency, UMCOR Advance # 418325. 100% of gifts to UMCOR through the Advance support the designated project. More events are being planned to help the people of Haiti - preparation of health kits at a Wednesday Fellowship Dinner and also involvement with a mission trip to Haiti. If you are interested in participating in these or other projects for Haiti, contact Rev. Phillip Thomason. Worship Attendance: Sunday, February 14
Morning Worship: Sunday, February 21
Wednesday Fellowship Dinner
More information AND reservations, 404.873.2636 x16, or complete the registration form in the pews and place in the offering plate. Financial Report
Click here to make a contribution securely online. Welcome, New Members! Jeffrey King, Danny Byars, James Mullen, Kale Wright, and Dennis Duffy joined our Saint Mark family on Open Membership Sunday, February 14. In Sympathy We express Christian sympathy to Bill Forrest on the death of his father, Dr. William Forrest Sr., on Tuesday, February 16, in Mobile, Alabama. A funeral service is tentatively planned for Saturday, February 20.
Click here to view the February 2010 calendar.
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