Upcoming Events
For daily/weekly events, see the information on the Services and Live Events page and the Calendar!
ECHO news for Fall
ECHO’s Thanksgiving Holiday
Meal Project
Once again, the people of St. Mark’s are being invited to support ECHO’s annual Thanksgiving holiday meal project. This year, ECHO has promised Thanksgiving food to over 200 families in the 22150 zip code. It is very easy to participate—all you need do is to send a Giant gift card to a family whose address will be provided to you by Linda Vretos. The gift card amounts run from $35 (for a single client) to $75 (for a family of 5). If you would like to participate, contact Linda at 703-455-4841—if no answer, leave a message. Linda has the client names and will return your call.
+ + + + + + + + + + + +
Click HERE to see a compilation of ECHO’s current needs !
***
Donations that cost ZERO … click HERE for info …
Click HERE to see how Target shoppers can help raise funds for ECHO …
Click HERE to find out what to do for a “Food Donation Option When You Can’t Come to ECHO”
ECHO desperately needs your help to help fill the shelves of their Food Pantry … Need info on donating? Call 703-569-7972 or go to https://www.echo-inc.org/needed-right-now for their current needs.
Need help? Call 703-569-9160 … To find out what ECHO has to offer its clients, click HERE for English and HERE for Spanish.
Donation Hours
M, Tu, W, Th, F - 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM
Tu, W, Th - 7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Christmas Carol Sing-Along
and Potluck—Save the Date!
Sunday, December 7th at 12:30 PM
in the Fellowship Hall
Learn more HERE!
Funerals and Memorials Info
St. Mark’s website now have a separate informational webpage for upcoming funerals and memorials. See it at https://www.stmarks-elca.org/funerals-memorials-info.
Don’t Let Your Giant Reward Points Expire!
Do you know you can use your points for other products besides gas? Right now you can get a dozen eggs for 200 points. If you don’t need them, or only need a half dozen, please consider donating them to Food For Others. Just mark the container as FFO and leave in the kitchen refrigerator. Thank you!
Pull POP tabs from Soda Cans!
… and place them in the narthex in the container shown at the left! Cindy Hausch-Booth is collecting pop tabs for Ronald McDonald House Charities, Greater Washington, DC! It's just so simple! Pop tabs are easy to collect and store and are less messy than collecting entire cans, and there is more concentrated aluminum in these tabs than in the cans, so we can get more money for something a lot smaller! 100% of the money we earn is used to offset the cost between the amount families are able to donate for their stay and our actual operating costs—a difference of about $197 a night. You can easily see that the little pull tab you used to throw away is very valuable to the guest families at our Houses.
Thank you for helping RMHCDC by “Pulling for the House!” Your pop tabs make a difference!
Fourth Quarter Benevolence: facets and the lamb center
4th Quarter Benevolence
From October through December, we will be collecting benevolence donations for FACETS and The Lamb Center..
See also “the latest info” on our Q4 benevolence on our Quarterly Benevolence webpage.
As a reminder, our quarterly benevolences are not covered through the regular offerings to the St. Mark’s operating budget. If you donate online, there is a Quarterly Benevolence button on our Vanco e-giving portal. If you make your donation at the offering plate or mail in a check, please make out the check to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church and annotate the check with "Quarterly Benevolence."
ESOL Classes at St. Mark's
Classes in the fall began Tuesday, September 12, 2023. Classes are Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7:00 PM-8:30 PM; cost of books is $45. There is a need for ESOL teachers as well as volunteers to provide childcare (perhaps high school students who need community service hours).
For more information, contact Yvette Moy at at ymoy@stmarks-elca.org.
YOU ARE INVITED …
** The Prayer Ministry invites anyone who is interested in committing to a renewed prayer life at St. Mark's to join us on Sundays after the service at 11:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Learn more HERE!!!
** Also, the "Watch and Pray" Lunch Bunch is scheduled for Tuesdays at NOON in the Fellowship Hall. Bring a bag lunch and come to share in prayer, food, and fellowship. All are welcome. Contact Ken Anderson for information.
** Everyone is invited to join the on-going Wednesday morning (10:00) “Watch and Pray” meeting via Zoom at https://us02web.zoom.us/j/894781064 (password 5800)
For questions or more information contact Raelene Long (llong41@verizon.net) or Cherry Moser (clmoser@cox.net).
Connecting with Students at Lynbrook Elementary School
Coat Collection for
Lynbrook Elementary School
November 2-16
If you don't have gently used coats and would like to purchase coats, we have set up a List on Amazon. If you choose to order and don't have Prime, Cheryl Dwyer or Trudy Stellar can order for you on their Prime accounts. Or, if you would like to donate money toward this cause we will handle the purchases. See more info HERE!
Filled Christmas Stockings for children of Wise and Hazard
Once again, we want to ensure that impoverished children in Wise and Hazard get some Christmas smiles from our filled Christmas Stockings, sewn by Quilts and More and members of St. Mark’s. Although the idea is to fill the stockings, larger toys and fun items/toiletries are also welcome; even toys in good condition that are no longer “in play” will find a new home where they will be cherished! HERE is a suggested list of items requested.
November 30th will be the last day to collect.
Community Meals Are Back!
We have begun to serve our Community with lunch meals each Sunday at 1:30 PM, immediately following the Spanish service. The meal will be on the order of sandwiches, chips, and a sweet treat.
What do we need?
We need volunteers—sit has been suggested that our various groups/ministries sign up for a Sunday every few months to prepare and serve the lunches.
We need prayers that God will:
(a) gs strength and wisdom as we recommence this effort, and
(b) bless our efforts to satisfy not only physical hunger but real spiritual need.
Military Packages for End of November/Early December
We are waiting for information about the deployed military folks who will be receiving our end-of-November/early December packages—which will become Christmas packages for them. If we get any specific requests, we'll let you know. So, collection of items will be on Sunday, Nov 30 and Sunday, Dec 7. Many of you have already donated lots of items, including candy from Halloween, so we have a good head start—thank you!
See the thank-you note that we received from a Marine group we sent to a month ago HERE!
Flower Committee
The Flower Committee needs new members. If you are interested in joining the flower committee to help “dress” the altar on Sundays, please contact Trudy Stellar. We will be happy to train you. Click HERE for more information!
2026 Flower Dedications: Click HERE for the form to dedicate flowers or one or more Sundays in 2026!
Flower Ministry
On Mondays and Tuesdays the Flower Ministry team delivers small arrangements made from the altar flowers to St. Mark's members who are sick or housebound. We are in need of more volunteers to deliver. Please contact Lance Quesenberry lques48@gmail.com or call 703-401-1500 if you would like to volunteer or would like to ask questions.
Food for Others Teams
Need Help!
Please let Nan Ackerman or Debbie Brown know if you will be willing to help on a Tuesday evening from 5:00 PM-6:30 PM. The teams will be happy to train you. These teams are short-handed due to members with illness, and some with travel plans. Families are welcome to come work together. This is a great experience for teaching children to help others.
St. Mark’s continues to receive blessings of opportunities to help serve our neighbors. Our renewed outreach to the community is reaping benefits in new and renewed connections with the county, non-profits, and area churches —geared toward meeting the needs of our neighbors. Fairfax County Neighborhood and Community Services has reached out to St. Mark’s about connecting with children at Lynbrook through the GrandInvolve program, and twelve of our members responded!
Seniors who register through this program sign up for an hour or two per week to spend at the school tutoring and mentoring. Please see Pastor Triolo if you are interested.
