St. Marks Lutheran Church + Campus Ministry

As we await election results, here are good words from faith ancestor John Lewis, and a prayer for us all.... Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble. - John Lewis (1940-2020) +++ Holy God, We come to you today in prayer, full of emotions. Election seasons always seem to bring that out in us Worry and hope, fear and frustration. The list could go on. So today we bow our heads and ask for guidance. Open our ears to hear the groans of creation. Open our eyes to see the needs of others. Open our hearts to make room for empathy. Give us the wisdom to navigate challenging conversations. Give us the patience to disagree with grace. Give us the compassion to make decisions for the greater good. And when all else fails, bring us back to love. Bring our hearts and our hands, Our dreams and our hopes, Our anger and our frustration, Our hurt and our fear, All back to love. With hope we pray, With hope we are sustained. Amen. (prayer from A Liturgy of Hope and Release, written by Sarah Are | ASanctifiedArtLLC | sanctifiedart.org)

Today is Election Day in the United States. As we were reminded on Sunday: VOTE! As we await results, a prayer for this Election Day. Everlasting God, ... source of all liberty, before whom every earthly ruler must bow and bend the knee, we lay our nation before you as we prepare for an election. Breathe upon us your Spirit of wisdom and discernment. Grant all who seek public office the mind of Christ, who came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life for the freedom of the oppressed. Hold before us those who face uncertain futures, or who have no voice in our political process. Uphold and safeguard poll workers and election officials in their work. Spare us from the crushing weight of cynicism. Give us grace to speak courageously, but with love, without which our words are noise and we are nothing. Remind us of your call to not withdraw from the world, but to be in the world as your very own broken and beloved people. Ignite in us a passion for the welfare of those who are most vulnerable, and empower us to lead, and to vote, with a love that reflects your love revealed in Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen. (adapted from ELCA Worship Resources for a National Election, 2020.)

All Saints Day Worship November 1, 2020.

In a year with too many tricks, a treat from Peace Camp! A multi-station, multi-cultural drive-thru, with Halloween trick-or-treating and Dia de Muertos ofrenda + crafts-to-go. Thanks to the volunteers who came together to pull this off, and thanks to everyone who came out to support!

Happy Halloween! While unfortunately covid has given us a strong dose of tricks, Peace Camp is providing a SAFE and FUN DRIVE-THRU GRAB and GO Halloween at St.... Mark's Lutheran Church (3651 S. Vermont Ave) from 4:30pm - 5:30pm on Halloween day - Saturday October 31st! * FIRST COME - FIRST SERVED UNTIL WE RUN OUT! * BE SURE TO WEAR YOUR COSTUME AND A MASK!

St. Mark's Family, This Sunday, November 1st, is All Saints Sunday. Throughout the Fall Season, we have been gathering with the "Faces of Our Faith," remembering those who have gone before us.... Now comes the culmination of this season, when we remember all of our beloved saints, and gather together with them around the table of grace for a foretaste of the feast to come. On this day more than any other, the curtain between life and death grows thin. On this day more than any other, we remember that we are all a part of the communion of saints, held by a love that not even death itself can break. On this day more than any other, we know that they are with us still. This year, I will remember my grandfather, who died in the first month of 2020. And I know each of you will remember your own saints who have gone on to the kingdom. And. This year of all years, we also open our eyes to the shadow of death that is all around us. We remember the more than 200,000+ who have died from COVID-19 this year. We remember Black men and women killed by the state. We remember migrants who die at the border, separated from their families. We remember. We remember. We remember. And we proclaim resurrection in more ways than one. Join us on Sunday as we rise with the saints of God. This Sunday, we invite you to join us in the Zoom Room with (1) a candle, and (2) a picture of a loved one who has died. We will make space during the service for naming and sharing about the people we are remembering this year. As you prepare this week, you might even set up your own memory table at home, with multiple candles and photos. If you do, we would love for you to share with us what your at-home remembrances look like. (For more ideas, here is an article from Living Lutheran, "Five Ways To Celebrate All Saints Day at Home.") We'll be in the Zoom Room and on Facebook Live at 10am on Sunday. See you there. In Christ, Pastor Matt

Tonight in our Virtual Bible Study we’re studying Lydia, whose story is found in Acts 16:11-15, 40. It’s part of our fall series with A Sanctified Art (sanctifiedart.org). About the series, A Sanctified Art writes: There are many heroes of the faith, people we admire and wish to be. However, there are even more ordinary people of faith - those doing what they can with what they have to make a difference. We’ve selected 16 bold stories of those often overlooked in our Biblical narratives. Using visual art and prompts for reflection, we hope to dig deep into the worlds of these characters, entering their stories with curiosity and openness for what they have to teach us.

Peace Camp gathered at St. Mark’s tonight to pack trick-or-treat bags for our Safe Halloween Drive-Thru! Hope to see you drive-thru this Saturday - wearing your costume and a mask!

This Sunday, November 1st, is All Saints Sunday. This year, of course, is different, but we know that God is with us, even in this time of gathering virtually. This year, we invite you to join us in the Zoom Room with (1) a candle and (2) a picture of a loved one who has died. We will make space during the service for naming and sharing about the people we are remembering this year. As you prepare this week, you might even set up your own memory table at home, with candles ...and photos. If you do, we would love for you to share with us what your at-home remembrances look like. We look forward to remembering with you this All Saints Sunday.

"Where Do We Go From Here?" Reformation Sunday Worship 2020!

St. Mark's Family, This Sunday is Reformation Sunday. Five hundred and three years ago, Martin Luther, our namesake, nailed a list of 95 reforms on a church door in Wittenberg and kicked off the Reformation.... (For a primer on Luther and the Protestant Reformation, check out this 15-minute Crash Course video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1o8oIELbNxE.) Fifty-three years ago, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., named after our namesake, published a book titled "Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community." (You can hear his sermon on the topic here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GHJQCzv3dko.) This year, 2020, has been a year when we have been re-formed in so many ways. Much of this re-forming has been challenging and unjust. The medical, economic, and educational impact of COVID-19 has fallen disproportionally on people of color, and inequities in our health care system, economy, and educational systems that existed before have been exacerbated, made even more extreme, by the pandemic. At the same time: Some of our re-forming may yet "bear fruit worthy of repentance," to quote John the Baptist. In its great revealing, its powerful pulling-back-of-the-curtain, 2020 has also been a chance for us to see more clearly things that were hidden, and, in the midst of it, to re-evaluate our priorities as individuals, as families, as a nation. We have an opportunity to re-set, re-think, and re-form. Some of these changes happen at a bird's eye view. No doubt many of you have already voted in federal, state, and local elections, and you are playing your part in some of the "big picture" change that needs to happen. But some "re-forming" is closer to home. I continue to believe that our little church community has a role to play in the weeks and months to come. What will that role be? What will our ministry look like? For months now, we have gathered online for virtual worship and virtual small groups. I believe this ability to gather virtually, to interact with each other, to share music and prayer and the Word together, has been a gift. It has been one of the ways we have lived out Dr. King's call to Beloved Community in a chaotic time. But Reformation Sunday seems like a good time to ask the question: What's next? Should we continue to build community online, deepening our work in virtual spaces? Or should we do some different things in the months to come? Since we're Lutherans, your clergy doesn't issue a decree to make these decisions; rather, we discern together as a community. In that Spirit, this Sunday, we'll open up our sermon time for a conversation as a community under the question "Where Do We Go From Here?" You'll have an opportunity to share your own thoughts and to listen to others as we listen together for where the Spirit is leading us next during this time of challenge and change. We'll be in the Zoom Room and on Facebook Live at 10am on Sunday. See you there! In Christ, Pastor Matt

Worship in Pink Sunday, 2020 Edition!