St. Mark’s members contribute to designated organizations as our quarterly benevolences. As a reminder, the Quarterly Benevolences are not supported through your regular weekly offering, but by you making a special donation. You can support these organizations financially by check, made out to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, using the regular offering envelopes or a red-bordered Supplemental Offering Envelope. Please write “Quarterly Benevolence” in the memo line of your check and/or on a Supplemental Offering Envelope. You can also give a one-time or recurring gift electronically by clicking the DONATE ONLINE button on the front page of St. Mark’s website (or this link). Simply select Quarterly Benevolence, enter the amount you wish to give, select the frequency of your donation and a starting date, and click the Add to Basket. You may choose to use a debit/credit card or to pay with a checking or savings account.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Q1 - In this first quarter of 2024, the contributions you make to the St. Mark’s benevolence fund will be split evenly between our own Food for Others (FFO) program and ECHO. What is Food for Others? Each Tuesday, volunteers from SMLC pick up food from local grocery stores, combine that with non-perishable food donated by congregation members, and supplement this food with protein (e.g., eggs or tuna) purchased in bulk with donated funds. This food is brought to the church and bagged up by teams of volunteers and given out to those in need—literally at our back door off the Fellowship Hall. Your donations will allow FFO to purchase more much-needed food, particularly protein items.

St. Mark’s has been involved with ECHO since its founding. ECHO, run entirely by volunteers, makes every penny count in its work to provide a safety net for those in need. Many lives have been upended by COVID—ECHO has provided much-needed support to those out of work because of shutdowns or because continuing health issues prevent individuals from re-entering the workforce. Want to learn more? Visit ECHO’s website at www.echo-inc.org.

It’s said that charity begins at home. Nowhere is this more evident than through FFO and ECHO, where your donations will be used right here in our community.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Q2 - Our Second Quarter (April-June) 2024 Benevolence recipients will be our area Lutheran-affiliated camps and conference/retreat centers: Caroline Furnace and Mar-Lu-Ridge. You may designate "Quarterly Benevolence" on your check and special offering envelope or donate through the e-giving portal on the St. Mark’s website. 

  • Caroline Furnace is in a special valley of the Massanutten Mountains - a place to disconnect and rediscover God's creation. This is a year-round retreat center and summer camp with a range of lodging, indoor and outdoor meeting space, group rentals, service opportunities, summer camp, day use, programmed retreats and more. Summer camp provides new experiences, close friendships, limitless fun, and faith made tangible. Experience classic summer camp or specialty sessions to include Horse, Culinary, Environmental, Hammock, Acoustic, or Adventure. Learn more  https://www.carolinefurnace.org/.

  • Mar-Lu-Ridge Year-Round Retreat and Conference Center is a year-round ministry of the ELCA. Situated in the beautiful Catoctin Mountains of central Maryland, Mar-Lu-Ridge ministers through summer camp, retreats, their conference center, and a variety of programs offered throughout the year. In addition to their traditional summer camp sessions, they also offer many specialty camp sessions including, but not limited to: adventure, arts, horseback, Night Owls, Civil War, and space camps. Learn more at https://www.mar-lu-ridge.org/. 

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Q3 - Contributions from you to St. Mark’s benevolence fund for the Third Quarter of 2023 will be directed to ELCA World Hunger. It’s said that it takes a village to raise a child. Expanding that out to the estimated 820 million people in the world who don’t have enough to eat, much less the means to learn a trade to secure a livelihood, and it’s easy to see how big this challenge is and how large the “village” needs to be to help our neighbors in need. While the need is huge, the challenge great, your response—at any and every level—will help lift men, women, and children out of poverty Learn more about ELCA World Hunger at www.elca.org/hunger—and Thank You for your generous contributions!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Q4 - Our Fourth Quarter 2023 Benevolence at St. Mark’s is divided between two local groups, each of which helps the homeless in our community, as part of our CONNECTING OUT solutions for this year:

* The Lamb Center is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, Virginia Corporation and an ecumenical center serving the homeless in Fairfax, Virginia. The Lamb Center focuses on ending homelessness and providing hope. But to make a difference in homelessness, food, clothing, and hot showers are just the first steps. Almost every person The Lamb Center encounters needs job counseling, transportation, and housing. We work with other organizations, ministries and government agencies to help people get back on their feet. The Lamb Center is working to end homelessness by transforming lives through Christian spirituality, counseling, and service. Learn more at https://www.thelambcenter.org/.

“We are serving the poor and homeless, transforming lives, and sharing God's love.“ ~ The Lamb Center

* Founded in 1988, FACETS, which stands for Fairfax Area Christian Emergency and Transitional Services, is a well-established 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that touches and improves the lives of thousands of families and individuals every year. We open doors by helping people meet their emergency shelter, food, and medical needs, helping them gain safe, sustainable and permanent housing and working with them to end the cycle of poverty through educational, life skills and career counseling programs. Our multi-disciplinary professional staff manages a comprehensive range of programs and services and a volunteer base of several thousand.  As a founding and active partner in the Fairfax-Falls Church Community Partnership to Prevent and End Homelessness, FACETS is committed to working collaboratively in the county-wide effort to help our neighbors in need of safe and affordable housing. We invite you to be and feel a part of our work to open doors for people in need in Fairfax County. Learn more at http://facetscares.org/.

St. Mark’s volunteers our people and our facility to host our homeless guests one week each winter under the FACETS Hypothermia program.