Sunday, April 2 Palm Sunday 9:00 A.M. Worship with Live-Stream 10:00 A.M. Fellowship Hour with coffee and donuts 10:10 A.M. Sunday School 10:10 A.M. Adult Forum 11:00 A.M. Worship in Fellowship Hall Monday, April 3 10:30 A.M. Classic Chorale Rehearses 2:00 P.M. St. Mark Craft Group Tuesday, April 4 10:00 A.M. Staff Meeting 11:00 A.M. St. Mark Duplicate Bridge 1:00 P.M. First Tuesday Book Club at Peterson Meadows Wednesday, April 5 9:30 A.M. St. Mark Ringers 7:00 P.M. Voices of St. Mark Thursday, April 6 Maundy Thursday 9:00 A.M. Cherry Valley Bridge Group 12:00 P.M. Maundy Thursday Service 6:30 P.M. Maundy Thursday Service 6:30 P.M. Emotions Anonymous 6:30 P.M. Blue Lights Friday, April 7 Good Friday 7:30 A.M. St. Mark Breakfast Group at Denny's Restaurant 12:00 P.M. Good Friday Service 6:30 P.M. Good Friday Chorale Tenebrae Saturday, April 8 4:00 P.M. Holy Saturday Family Service Sunday, April 9 Easter Sunday 9:00 A.M. Worship with Live-Stream 10:00 A.M. Fellowship Hour with coffee and donuts 11:00 A.M. Worship in Fellowship Hall | Join us for Worship this Sunday, April 2 Palm Sunday We hope you will join us either in-person or online from the comfort of your home for this day of worship. 9:00 a.m. - Traditional Worship in the Sanctuary- Prelude will start at 8:55. 10:10 a.m. - Fellowship Hour with coffee and donuts 10:10 a.m. - Sunday School in lower level 10:10 a.m. - Adult Forum in the Adult Ministry Room 11:00 a.m. - Worship in Fellowship Hall If you are unable to be here, click here to join us at 8:55 for our live-stream service. | Easter Lilies Don't forget to order your Easter lily. Tuesday, April 4 is the deadline. Each Easter we have our beautiful Sanctuary and Fellowship Hall decorated with Easter Lilies. It's that time to order yours. The price per plant is $12.00. After the service, you may take your lily home or come to the church that week after Easter to pick yours up. You may fill out an order form and pay at church on Sundays, or click here. | Holy Week Holy Week encompasses the last week of the Lenten Season and begins with Palm/Passion Sunday which recalls our Lord’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, crowds hailing him as the long-awaited “Son of David”, the Messiah. Join us this Sunday at 9:00 or 11:00 for our Palm Sunday Service. Thursday, April 6 is Maundy Thursday. We remember the events of the night Jesus was betrayed. ‘Maundy’ means ‘commandment’ and the sacred meal almost always becomes the emphasis on that night. At the end of the service, the altar is stripped in preparation for Good Friday. Join us at either Noon or 6:30 pm for our worship services. Friday, April 7 is Good Friday. This is the day we commemorate the death of our Savior and is the most solemn service of the church year – rightfully observed by entering in complete silence with a black veil covering the cross and no candles lit. Join us at Noon for the worship service. And at 6:30 pm we will have a dramatic presentation of music and word. The narration will tell the story of Good Friday with beautiful music by the Voices of St. Mark. | Adult Forum on Sundays Luther's Small Catechism is now available online at this link. This Sunday we will complete the course of Martin Luther's Small Catechism that we have been exploring through the weeks of Lent. Bring your coffee and donut and join us. There will be no Adult Forum on Easter Sunday, join us again on Sunday, April 16 at 10:10 in the Adult Ministry room. | First Tuesday Book Club will meet on April 4 at Peterson Meadows at 1:00 pm. Stella Schroeder will review West with Giraffes by Lynda Rutledge. Our hostess is Susan White. Please RSVP to her at 815-298-4419 or lpsusanwhite@yahoo.com | Save the Date for VBS! Mark your calendars: VBS is June 19-23! Every day, our heroes will answer the call and spring into action, learning from Bible Heroes in stories from the Old and New Testaments to work together to bring peace, build each other up, and share with the whole world the great story of God’s love. We will experience these stories together through music, storytelling, arts and crafts, games, and science. Come be part of our ultimate Hero Team! Our Volunteer Team is assembling now – teens and adults are needed to help lead the Heroes through their adventures. Contact julie@stmarklc.com to volunteer! It will be the most fun week of your summer! Registration, for kids who are completing PreK 4 – 5th grade, will open in May. | Lenten Giving Project to Benefit MELD MELD, a program within the Youth Services Network, provides both emergency and transitional housing to youth and young parents. This year for Lent, Children’s Ministry and Outreach are hosting a donation drive to help them in this important work! MELD has specifically requested new or gently used children’s clothes in sizes 2T – 8, and activity supplies such as chalk, play-doh, bubbles, art supplies, coloring books, and card games. We will have bins at the entrance near the cafe and in Fellowship Hall. You can bring your items any time between now and Easter. If you would prefer to give a monetary gift, please write “MELD” in the memo line of your checks or on your cash envelope. You can also select the “MELD Lent Project” fund on PushPay. Your gifts will show the children at MELD shelters that they are loved and cared for by their community. Thank you so much! | Let’s get “crafty” St. Mark “maker’s” will be meeting Monday, April 3, 2:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. In the St. Mark Cafe. We will be making spring flower-inspired “signs.” Please sign-up in Fellowship Hall or RSVP by March 31, Melinda Alekna 815-871-0390. The cost of supplies is $5. You will need to bring scissors for cutting felt. | May Day Make and Take “pop-up” Event Join us Saturday, April 29th, 10:00 A.M.-12:00 P.M. (Please join us for a half hour within that time) We will be making May Day projects in the St. Mark Cafe space. All are welcome! Take home your completed project and deliver to family, friends, co-workers, etc. Sign- up in Fellowship or show up the day of. Make something, take something…make someone’s day. May Day is May 1, 2023. “Kindness is many small gestures that together make all the difference in the world.” | Looking for a Summer Internship? Attention College-aged members of St. Mark, the Summer Intern application for 2023 is live. Please click here at this link to fill out the application if you are interested in being the Summer Intern. If you have any questions please email Pastor Katrina at prkatrina@stmarklc.com. | Holy Saturday Family Service Relaxed, Multi-Sensory Worship for All Ages April 8th, 4:00 pm On Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, come experience what it means to find hope in an empty tomb. People of all ages are encouraged to come to this peaceful service, which will be unlike any other in Christianity’s most holy week. We will tell familiar Bible stories and journey with one another through worshipful moments that engage all our senses. A good portion of this service will be self-directed, which means you will be able to visit different areas in the sanctuary and worship at your own pace. Whether you come with others or by yourself, there will be plenty for you to discover about the great promise of Easter. Weather permitting, this service will begin outside before moving to the sanctuary. Accommodations will be made for those with mobility challenges. | The 2023 Altar Flower Chart is Up Each Sunday we have two beautiful bouquets of flowers on the altar. The 2023 flower chart is up in the narthex on the bulletin board. You may sign up on the chart, call the church office or click on this link. We will continue to purchase them from Cherry Blossom. The price per arrangement will stay the same $40. If you sign up online, put your memory or honor of in the comment line and pay here or write a check to St. Mark. If you have the mobile app you can do all of it on there. You may take your flowers home after the service or stop by the office during the week to pick them up. | UPDATED Youth Group Schedule - Meets from 6:30-8:00 pm April 2 - No Youth Group - Palm Sunday April 9 - No Youth Group - Easter Sunday April 16 - 2nd Sunday Youth Group at St. Mark April 23 - St. Mark Youth Group April 30 - St. Mark Youth Group May 7 - St. Mark Youth Group May 14 - No Youth Group - Mother's Day May 21 - 2nd Sunday Youth Group-Grace Lutheran May 28 - No Youth Group - Memorial Day Weekend June 11 - 2nd Sunday Youth Group at Volcano Falls In June Youth Group will be on Wednesday evenings. Please watch for more information regarding our Summer Youth Group events. | Our St. Mark Members: Marsha Carlson, Mark Honzel, Kris Steinke, Elton and Sandy Olson, Lisa Belk, Lorine Kortus, Beth Johnson, Carol Kilts, Rita Olson, Fritzi Panjkovich, Bev Johnson, Jack Sowl, Jan Cotter, Diane Swanson, Sherri Lindquist, Bette Patterson. Family and Friends of St. Mark Members: Bonnie Juarez, Terry Backen, Denise Nichols, Carrie Nack, Barbara, Buttchen, John Ayotte, Carrie Kielty, Ed Sobczyk, Elizabeth Woodworth, Carrie Nelson, Bill Hart, Ellie Krepfle, Tom Montgomery, Jon Baylander, John Mortensen, Carolyn Neagle, Jenny Hobby, Bill King, Carolyn King, Norma Comstock. Those serving in the military and their families: Logan Gehrke, Hunter Haggestad, Tristan Davenport, Scot Hornick, Bailey Panjkovich, Jim Tammen, Brandon Ballenger, Taylor Eversole. Strengthen and encourage those in public health services and in the medical profession: care-givers, nurses, attendants, doctors, all who commit themselves to care for the sick and their families. | Office Hours Monday through Thursday 9:00 A.M. - 4:00 P.M. Friday - 9:00 A.M. - 1:00 P.M. Telephone: 815-398-3557 Publications St. Mark Memos, the weekly e-newsletter, is distributed each Thursday. The deadline for submission is Monday by 3:00 P.M. Please click to send submissions. Worship Services Miss a Sunday at St. Mark? Please visit our website and watch the service online. Please click to watch. | |