Parish Retreat/Sermons on the Web/Parish Work Day and more!

I am writing to let you know about the progress we are making on planning for the All Parish Retreat at the Claggett Conference Center scheduled for Saturday June 11^th and Sunday June 12^th.

Rob Hall, Josie Jordan, Kit Arrington, Jennifer Holland, Michele Morgan, Caroline McReynolds-Adams and I have been hard at work and here is what we know so far:

The focus of the weekend is "Growing and Deepening Our Spiritual Home." Over the next five years we are going to attract 50 new people each year and we will discuss how to do that while preserving the best of what we already have in place.

55 people have made initial deposits of $50 last summer to reserve a space in June. Kit will be contacting them all in the next few days to confirm their continued interest. If you believe that you made a deposit and have not heard from Kit by mid next week please contact her at kit@tulsablue.com or call her at 202-543-1214.

If you didn't make a deposit last Fall but want to join us please contact Kit very soon because we will have to keep Claggett apprised of the number in our group.

We will start our first session at 10:30 am on Saturday and finish after a worship service lunch on Sunday.

There will be a free and fun bus leaving St Marks on Saturday morning to take people who would rather ride than drive the 75 minutes to Claggett.

The fee for a single room and all meals is $146.50. The fee for a double room is $131.50 per person.

There is modest fee for coming up for the day Saturday but not spending the night. We hope everyone will want to spend the night because we are going to have big fun on Saturday night.

There will be plenty of fun activities for kids of all ages so please plan to bring the whole family. There is also a ropes course that will be very appealing to our teens.

More to follow. In the meantime, mark your calendars and let Kit know that you want to be included.

Hugs all around.

Peter

From the Reverend R. Justice Schunior, Associate Rector

FINALLY! Sermons are up to date on the website! Click HERE to listen to and/or read recent sermons. We apologize for the delay in posting, but we are making good and fast progress on our new website (coming very soon!) which will have new and current information. Thanks to Mike Townsend for helping us stay current while working hard on our brand new site!

Bicycle Blessing May 7

Washington, D. C.'s first annual Blessing of Bicycles will be held on Saturday, May 7 at 11 a. m. at the

Church of Ascension and St. Agnes, 1217 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, otherwise known as at the bike-friendly corner of Massachusetts Ave. and 12th St. NW.

The service will last just under half an hour, and will be followed by a group ride led by Bishop Mariann. The event includes food, music and a chance to talk with representatives from local bike shops. A free-will offering will benefit wheelchair accessibility efforts at the church.

A group of us will be leaving from St. Mark's on bikes at 10:15 am.

Parishioner Mary Cooper in honored at Diocesan Senior Celebration this past Wednesday at the National Cathedral!

Bishop Mariann honors Mary Cooper

Michele and Mary take a selfie!

From Doris Burton, Junior Warden

Around the House...notes from the Junior Warden

The past is not with us It hasn't taken us long to realize how much institutional memory the men of Green's Maintenance had. Parish Administrator Diana Church and I discovered this when two space bookings were impacted by the changeover to PMM. We now realize that the space arrangement requests submitted to Green's Maintenance were not left for us. Thanks to Diana, Rosie Brooks, and Margaret Crenshaw, a set-up problem was resolved.

If you submitted a room arrangement request prior to April 17, we ask that you re-submit it to Diana.church@stmarks.net asap. Diana will try to contact upcoming event leaders to double-check but it will be very helpful if you take the lead.

Please be patient with us as the transition may be complicated and lengthy.

If a space isn't set the way you'd like it, please do it yourself, take a photo and send to me. We're creating a resource notebook for Monica and Pedro as well as for us.

Good news: the dishwasher is not dead. It does, however, require the installation of a pressure-reducer valve to allow the hot water to re-set between washes, quickly returning the water temp to the required level for the next wash. We'll be using biodegradables/disposables until that is installed.

Parish Work Day is next Saturday, May 7 starting at 9 am and going until ? Please sign up to help us do gardening work (weeding, mulching, removing dead shrubs, pruning the boxwood and yews, re-locating plants from the 3^rd Street Parking, and planting) as well as some inside work (scrubbing Baxter Hall tables, cleaning the fridge, warming cabinet, and convection oven , installing shelf mats in the pub, cleaning out the coffee maker, collecting bricks from around the grounds, cleaning out the nave floor vents, cleaning the nave light controls, hosing down door mats, and painting the Lions Den, etc.). Whew! What isn't done this round will be on the fall workday schedule. The more the merrier! (If it rains, we'll do inside work only and outside on May 14).

Mulch GiftWe have the offer of a small load of mulch from a parishioner in northern Virginia. Problem is: it's loose and needs to be shoveled into bags so they can be delivered next Saturday. If you are so inclined to do some (all??!) of that over the next 7 days, please contact me ( dmburton21@gmail.comor at 410-798-7417 or at church). This would be a wonderful gift as it will allow us to spend the small amount in the Garden Fund on plants instead of on mulch.

Have you seen a wood box, about 15" x 5" X 5" made by Paul Mahany as a pledge box for youth? If so, please contact me.

Do you havea pop-up awning? It would be great to have a few in the garden for the Labor Day Picnic and/or other Sunday garden events. Please let me know if you are willing to loan it to us.

From the Worship Pillar

This Sunday, long time parishioner Scilla Adams along with her daughter, Susan, will be saying goodbye to St. Mark's. Scilla is moving to North Carolina. She will be giving her "liturgy of departure" at the 9:00 am service. We take membership very seriously at St. Mark's. Being a member means we are part of a community; each and every one of us matters. So, when one of us leaves, we take the time to say goodbye - in public, during the worship service. Instead of someone disappearing from our community or fading away, we all get to say, "During your time with us, where there has been hurt or sorrow, let it be forgiven. Where there has been growth and joy. Now go in peace."

Pentecost is coming! May 15!

On Pentecost we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit to everyone in every land. As in years past, we will read the passage from Acts 2:1-21 in as many different languages as we can. If you are able to read in a foreign language and can be present at one of our 3 services (9 am, 11:15 am, or 5 pm) please contact the worship pillar at stmarkslpt@gmail.com or Justi at justi.schunior@stmarks.net.

From Caroline McReynolds-Adams, Director of Youth & Family Ministries

Dear Families,

Spring has finally sprung on Capitol Hill, and it is time to celebrate! All youth and families are invited to gather at Garfield Park (145 F Street SE, just a few blocks South from the church) at 11:30am for an informal potluck picnic. Bring a picnic dish to share (there will space in the church kitchen fridge to store your food on Sunday morning), and come enjoy some outdoor fun with your St. Mark's family. Drinks and paper serving-ware will be provided. Questions? Email me!

See you there!

-Caroline

Service Notes and Music

Prelude

Gott sei gelobet und gebenedeiet (O Lord, we praise Thee, bless Thee, and adore Thee), Heinrich Scheidemann (1595-1663)

Opening Hymn

208 The strife is o'er, the battle done, Tune: Victory

Gloria in excelsis S 280 Robert Powell

Celtic Alleluia, Fintan O'Carroll & Christopher Walker

The First Reading

Last Night as I Was Sleeping, by Antonio Machado

The Second Reading

Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

The Gospel

John 5:1-9

Offertory Anthem

Let the Peoples Praise You, O God, Bruce Neswick -Chancel Choir

Presentation Hymn

193 That Easter day with joy was bright, v. 5, Tune: Puer nobis

Sanctus S 129 Robert Powell

Fraction Anthem

This is the feast of victory for our God, Tune: Festival Canticle

Music During Communion

(9:00) Jesus, Debby Kerner-Rettino

LEVAS 141 Shall We Gather at the River, Words & Music by Robert Lowry

Hymn 178 Alleluia, alleluia! Give thanks to the risen Lord, Tune: Alleluia No. 1

Closing Hymn

671 Amazing grace! how sweet the sound, Tune: New Britain

Postlude

Was Gott tut, das ist wohlgetan (What God does is well done), Johann Gottfried Walther (1684-1748)

Schedule of Services

Sunday, May 1, 2016

The Sixth Sunday after Easter

9:00 am Holy Eucharist + Laying on of Hands

The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Presider

The Reverend Susan Flanders, Co-presider

9:00 am Children's Chapel

Ms. Caroline McReynolds-Adams, Leader

10:00 am Sermon Seminar

The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Preacher

11:15 am Holy Eucharist + Laying on of Hands

The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Presider & Preacher

5:00 pm Contemplative Eucharist

The Reverend Michele H. Morgan, Presider & Homilist

About the Gospel

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