St. Mark's Lutheran Church Youth and Family Ministry
Welcome back to a new year at St. Mark's! It was great seeing some of you at the Ministry Fair. We hope to see many of you this Sunday as we kick off Fall programming.
Email Youth Director Alice Real at youth@stmarks-elca.org with questions or to be added to the mailing list.
* * * In order to participate in activities, all youth/parents must register to provide up-to-date information for youth leaders,
as well as complete the 2025-2026 medical release/consent form. English or Spanish * * *
This Week at St. Mark's:
Sunday, February 15, 2026
Confirmation: Grades 7 and 8
Teachers: Peggy Harris and Peter Weekly
Sundays, 11:00 am-12:00 pm, Room 217
This Week: Christian Denominations
High School: Grades 9-12
Adult Leaders: Alice Real and Jim Kyger
Sundays, 11:00 am-12:00 pm, Room 215 Youth Room
** High School will explore the Bible this year, from Genesis through Acts and the birth of the church, seeking examples of God's love and call in the scriptures and in our daily lives. **
This Week: High School will attend the Honduras Mission Trip Meeting in the sanctuary at 11:15 AM.
Honduras Mission Trip
An informational meeting about Grace Presbyterian's 2026 mission trip to Honduras will be held at St. Mark’s at 11:15 AM this Sunday, February 22. This is the trip in which Pastor Saul has participated in the past. This year, an invitation is extended to St. Mark's youth and adults to participate. Pastor Saul will be present on Sunday and a member of Grace Presbyterian Church will offer the presentation. Attendance at the meeting does not obligate one to make the trip. We will all, however, gain from the meeting as St. Mark's has now been supporting this important work for a few years.
Trip Details
Last Sunday: Shrove Sunday Pancake Brunch
and Variety Show
A big thank you to Rob and Jen Mertz for coordinating the cooking for Shrove Sunday and to all of our other volunteers. We raised $753 for youth ministry activities!
Synod Middle/High School Retreat
St. Mark's had a great time attending the Middle/High School Youth Retreat, "Called in Our Wandering," Nov 21-23 at Skycroft Conference Center in Middletown, MD. Organized and led by youth in the Lutheran Youth Organization (LYO) from the Metro-DC and Delaware-MD synods, we enjoyed large group worship, small group discussions, service projects, games, great food, and of course, a bonfire. Click here for a short video of the event compiled by St Mark's youth, Landon Snyder: https://youtu.be/irB5EpVTQu4?si=YxFHaaQz2gmKP_ja.
Photos below from recent Youth Group projects …
See you Sunday!
Youth Ministry Calendar 2025-2026
Looking Ahead
February:
2/22- Honduras Mission Trip Meeting, 11:15 AM in Sanctuary
March:
3/21- “Rise Against Hunger” at Nativity Lutheran
3/28- Eggstravaganza
April:
4/5- Easter Sunday (No Sunday School)
May:
5/17- Last Day of Sunday School
5/31- Youth Sunday Rehearsal (11:00 AM- 12:00 PM)
June:
6/7- Youth Sunday Rehearsal (11:00 AM- 12:00 PM)
6/14- Bilingual Youth Sunday Service and Graduate Recognition
In order to participate in activities, all youth/parents must register to provide up-to-date information for youth leaders, as well as complete the 2025-2026 medical release/consent form. English Spanish
Full youth ministry calendar
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For more information, contact Alice Real, Director of Youth and Family Ministries, at youth@stmarks-elca.org.
The St. Marks Youth had a great time raking leaves at church member homes on a recent November Sunday afternoon!
Watch worship on St. Mark's Youtube channel!
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Youth Group Parent Handbook
Parents! Click HERE to download and view your Youth Group 2021-2022 Information Meeting Handout.
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See photos of our 2018-2020 gatherings and 2021 Youth Sunday below:
St. Mark’s Mission Trip to Red Bird Work Camp
July 2024
In July 2024, St. Mark’s sent a team to participate in Red Bird Mission Work Camp. Jim Kyger, Harriet Latta, Maureen Murphy, Alice Real, and Mary Crumrine (Alice’s sister) spent July 21 through July 26 in Beverly, Kentucky, working on home improvement projects in the surrounding community. Guided by Red Bird Crew Leaders, Brett and Kevin, they repaired and replaced a bedroom floor and water heater in an elderly couple's trailer home, and they mudded drywall and installed underpinning around an addition to the couple’s nephew's home across the street. The addition will be a new bedroom for several of the nephew's children.
