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.

The Council approved the following quarterly benevolences for 2026:

Q1 – Food for Others / ECHO
Q2 – Caroline Furnace / Mar-Lu-Ridge / Joy Ranch (http://www.joyranch.org )
Q3 – ELCA World Hunger
Q4 – The Lamb Center / FACETS

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Q1 - In this first quarter (January-March) of 2026, 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.

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Q2 - Our Second Quarter (April-June) 2026 Benevolence recipients will be our area Lutheran-affiliated camps and conference/retreat centers: Caroline Furnace and Mar-Lu-Ridge, and we’ve added Joy Ranch. 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/. 

  • Joy Ranch provides a safe, loving, and structured home for children from crisis situations. The children have endured difficulties out of their control and need a place of refuge. They provide trauma-informed care, empowerment, and protection for all of our children in a family-style, home setting. Since opening its doors in 1961 under the direction of the Rev. Richard and Mary McHenry, Joy Ranch, has served over 5000 children and their families in crisis. Their Mission is to provide a safe, caring, and Christ-centered home to meet the spiritual, physical, emotional, and social needs of children in crisis. Learn more at (http://www.joyranch.org )

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Q3 - Our Third Quarter (July-September) 2026 Benevolence at St. Mark’s is ELCA World Hunger, which addresses food insecurity in the United States and abroad by providing immediate relief to the hungry and addressing long-term needs to access sustainable food supplies and fresh water. ELCA World Hunger works in over 60 countries, partnering with local churches and organizations. Learn more about ELCA World Hunger at www.elca.org/hunger—and Thank You for your generous contributions!

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Q4 - Our Fourth Quarter (October-December) 2026 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:

* FACETS is the nonprofit that coordinates the Hypothermia Week program in Fairfax County, in cooperation with many churches that take turns hosting our neighbors for a week at a time during the winter months. When you volunteer for the St. Mark’s Hypothermia week, the staff members you see supervising our guests are FACETS employees. We time this benevolence to provide resources to FACETS just before their peak season of winter support for those with housing insecurity issues. FACETS works year-round to provide emergency response, stabilization services for those who have lost jobs and housing, and transformational services to break the cycle of poverty. You can learn more about FACETS at https://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.

* The Lamb Center is located in Fairfax, VA, providing a daytime drop-in center for those experiencing homelessness. They provide clothing, laundry, showers, lockers, meals, nursing and dental care, pastoral care, and workforce development. The Lamb Center is expanding their mission, constructing a new housing community center, called Beacon Landing, to support those experiencing or at risk of chronic homelessness. Our fellow members Hugh and Noreen Linnemann have been long-time volunteers at the Lamb Center. Please consider making a special donation to the quarterly benevolence this time in honor and remembrance of our Brother in Christ, Hugh, who passed away this past May. You can learn more about the Lamb Center at https://www.thelambcenter.org/. 

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