November 25, 2015 
In This Issue
Outreach Update
Youth & Family Ministry Update
Service Notes & Music
From the Church Office
Sunday Service Schedule
About the Gospel
Quick Links
The Gospel According to St. Mark's
From the Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Associate Rector

Friends,
The Annual Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence is only two weeks away! On Wednesday, December 9, at 7pm, St. Mark's will host hundreds of visitors in our Nave including eighty-nine family members of victims from nineteen states.

As we learn this week of the shooting of non-violent protesters in Minneapolis as well as the death of a young black man in Chicago, shot sixteen times, the need to mourn together as well as take action to prevent future violence is even more dire. 
 
Many of you have stepped forward to volunteer, but there are still ways you can help.  Sign up online HERE. Or sign up in the church foyer this Sunday.
 
Call or email me with any questions! 
 
Peace,
Justi
News from the Outreach Board

59 Thanksgiving Baskets Collected!
 
A Thanksgiving Basket is much more than just food. Packed in those re-usable grocery bags among the cans of yams and the boxes of stuffing is a huge helping of good will. The distribution of over 300 Thanksgiving Baskets by Capitol Hill Group Ministry (CHGM) happens in many different ways. One way is that CHGM's social workers deliver the baskets in person to their clients' homes in the days leading up to Thanksgiving. During that visit our thoughts, warm wishes and love are delivered to persons who face a multitude of personal challenges from substance abuse to mental illness to unemployment and economic hardship. Knowing that someone cares enough to buy a bag of groceries to help them have a nice meal on Thanksgiving reminds them others in their community care for them and are grateful for their presence. As a volunteer with CHGM I have been able get to know some of their clients at family nights and through the shelter ministry program. This year when asked what I am grateful for I will say that I am grateful for my CHGM family and community. -- Marlan Green, Outreach Co-Chair

From Caroline McReynolds-Adams, Director of Youth & Family Ministries
 
As a new Capitol Hill resident, I have spent quite a lot of time wandering the streets of my new neighborhood. If you have ever done the same, I'm sure you have noticed a few familiar faces-the two men catching sleep on a blanket in Seward Park, the community of people gathered under the awning of the Arcade on Pennsylvania Ave., the older woman on the steps of the South East Library branch, or the man in the wheelchair outside of Eastern Market. These are just a few of our homeless neighbors, and they are Capitol Hill residents just as much as you and me.
 
As many of you know, Capitol Hill Group Ministries (CHGM) dedicates all if its time and efforts to serving our homeless neighbors, and when the temperatures drop this time of year, the efforts to keep them safe amplify. One of their newer initiatives is called HART: Homeless Assistance Response Team. Many of our homeless neighbors are not aware that on Hypothermia Alert nights, they have the legal right to sleep in a Homeless Shelter, regardless of the standard required qualifications to do so. On these cold nights, the HART team canvasses the Capitol Hill area to offer life-saving emergency services to unsheltered residents all while making sure they know that the Shelter Van is available to pick them up if they want a warm place to sleep that night.
 
I was able to go on my first HART walk this past Monday evening with fellow parishioner Marlan Green and another seasoned CHGM volunteer. The overnight wind-chill was in the twenties, yet I was surprised at how many unsheltered residents were still on the street. We gave away all our supplies (sandwiches, granola bars, scarves, hot chocolate, bottled water) after wheeling our wagon over only a small, three-block area.  In some cases, we simply made sure people were warm enough. Other interactions were filled with rich conversation. Some people were waiting for the shelter van to pick them up while others were preparing to face the night on the streets. We finished the walk knowing that at least some of our community members were braving the cold with a cup of hot chocolate and an extra scarf around their necks, and I walked away having learned the names and stories of some of those with whom I share this neighborhood.
 
In 2014 there were 9 hypothermia-related deaths in the DC area. So far in 2015, there have been 0.  You have the opportunity to contribute to this life-saving effort and to simply get to know your neighbors. Contact Abby Sypek at Sypek@chgm.net or call 202-544-0631 x 200 to volunteer.

From Doris Burton, Junior Warden
 
Around the House...
 
I admit I am stealing the 'title' of my contribution to the Gospel from an Episcopal church in Pittsburg: it reminds me that it's our spiritual home I and others care for, not just any building. So, what's been happening 'around the house'?   
  1. Wagner Roofing has installed the scaffolding on the west side of the nave in preparation for the gutter work to begin on Monday (7:30-3pm, M-F). Ask me if you really want to know more about gutters.
  2. The oak lectern has been removed from the nave. It is damaged and has gone for repairs. In its place is a piece of St. Mark's history: the beautiful (but huge) wood- carved eagle lectern given in memory of our first rector (as a parish), Floridus Steele. Setting it in the nave has forced some adjustments: the eagle sits on the floor so the platform has been turned to give walking space. Readers and announcers will see a carpet-covered box to stand on so you can be seen over the top. I don't know when the smaller one will return but I hope you'll enjoy this piece of history and art in its place (and, yes, some of the eagles wing-tips are broken and need to have new feathers carved...)
  3. While on the subject of damaged goods: the 3-seat, oak, Victorian Sedalia bench has been temporarily moved to the baptistery: it, too, is cracked but the repair of that will take longer and be more costly so it will be stored in the chapel anteroom and out of commission for some time.
And, now a favor: Should you need to get into a space or room for any reason, please handle the doors/locks gently. For the second time, a door was forced, breaking the lock and, this time, damaging the door. If a door doesn't open with a gentle push/pull, it means it's locked. During office hours, you can get a key or fob from Angela. If it's a weekend/evening, please wait and borrow a key/fob to get in. Nothing is so critical as to require damaging property. The repair of the nave door a few months ago cost us well over $200 (locksmiths aren't cheap).
 
I can still dream: Sunday is Advent I, the start of a new liturgical year. In many parts of Europe, church bells are rung at 5 pm in honor of the 'new year'. Wouldn't it be wonderful......?
 
Prelude
Wachet Auf! Ruft Uns Die Stimme (based on hymn 61), J. S. Bach

Opening Hymn
61 "Sleepers, wake!" A voice astounds us, vv. 1-2, Tune:  Wachet auf
 
Trisagion S 100, From New Plainsong, David Hurd
 
Sequence Hymn
57 Lo! he comes, with clouds descending, Tune: Helmsley
 
Offertory Anthem
O Thou the Central Orb, Words by H.R. Bramley, Music by Charles Wood - Chancel Choir                     
   
Presentation Hymn
56 O come, O come, Emmanuel, Tune: Veni, veni, Emmanuel
  
Sanctus S 124 From New Plainsong, David Hurd          
 
Fraction Anthem S 154, From New Plainsong, David Hurd
 
Music During Communion
Once More the Advent Candles Burn, Words & Music by William Flanders
LEVAS 13 My Lord, what a morning, African American Spiritual
 
Closing Hymn
WLP 721 Signs of ending all around us, Tune: Ton-y-Botel
 
Postlude
Chaconne, Louis Couperin
From the Church Office

The church office will be closed Thursday and Friday, November 26 & 27, for the Thanksgiving weekend. The office will reopen Monday morning. The Reverend R. Justice Schunior and Music Director Jeff Kempskie will be on leave until they return to the office on Tuesday, December 1. 
Schedule of Services 
Sunday, November 29, 2015
First Sunday of Advent
 
9:00 am Holy Eucharist
The Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Presider

9:00 am Children's Chapel Leader
The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Leader

10:00 am Sermon Seminar
The Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Preacher 
 
11:15 am Holy Eucharist
The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Presider
The Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Co-Presider and Preacher 
 
5:00 pm Contemplative Eucharist
The Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Presider and Homilist 
About the Gospel
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