ST. MARK’S MESSENGER VOLUME 20 ISSUE 11 • NOVEMBER 2016

Dear Friends, Jesus tells a parable in Luke, Chapter 15, about a shepherd who has 100 sheep. I don’t know if, for a shepherd, that’s a lot of sheep or not. I just know that I have a hard time when I’m left alone with my two daughters and the dog--so that sounds like a lot of sheep to me. At the end of the day, the shepherd checks on his sheep to make sure they are safe and sound and does a head count 97…98…99… and realizes that one of his sheep is missing; one sheep didn’t make it home. Now, if you’re like me, when you realize something is wrong, you get a sinking sensation in your stomach; then you feel it in your head. This usually happens when I learned I forgot something. I can tell you the U.S. presidents, in order…backwards…off the top of my head, but I regularly forget to do things like take the garbage out, make the bed, and turn on the dishwasher. I’m a regular "Forgetful Jones" sometimes. So I know how this shepherd felt when he learned that one of his sheep was out in the wild. What a heartbreaking feeling. He has a decision to make. He has 99 out of his 100 sheep safe and sound; that’s nearly all of his sheep. There’s only one sheep missing. Should he stay with the 99 who are safe, or should he go find the one sheep that is lost? What should he do? Well, he decides that the 99 are safe and sound; they are already home. He must go find that one lost lamb. It would have been very easy for the shepherd to say, "99 out of 100 is not a bad thing." Yet he doesn’t; he leaves the 99 to go find that one lost sheep. As I read this story, I have to think to myself, why would Jesus tell this crazy story? Well, I’m glad you’ve asked! I think this story is important because it is revealing to us the heart of God. While God loves those of us who have come home (the 99 sheep at home), he is crazy passionate about the sheep that aren’t (the one not home). He desires that all of his sheep — every last one — would come home. This is a very telling characteristic of our God. So, why am I writing this story for the newsletter? Because I think that we should have the same heart as God. We should obsess about how we can help people come home. When I say help people come home, I am not suggesting that our church is home; maybe it is, but maybe it's not. Home is people being healed, redeemed, and restored by the power of the Holy Spirit. Home is people moving their lives out of bondage and sin. Home is people who find themselves (re)connected to Jesus. Now, I would love people to come to our church; but if we limit our understanding of “home” to being a member of our church, we’re doing ourselves a disservice. We’re not in the church building business but rather the life transformation business. I love you. I’m glad you’re a part of St. Mark’s. I’m glad that you have years of memories here. I’m glad you participate in our ministries. I’m glad that you enjoy the services. But just coming to church is not enough. God has a mission for you: He wants you to join Him in pursuing those who aren’t home. For His Kingdom, Dan Bellinger Family and Outreach Pastor St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

Prayer Requests John Ford (father-in-law of Mike Muzzillo), Olivia Gadabu (friend of Peggy Badenhop), Teri Fritch (friend of Jane Foell and Peggy Badenhop), The Kaduk’s, Leonard Hines (Mary Heyse’s brother-in-law), Diana Raney (Cindy Warstler’s sister), Jim Friend, Ruby Tuttle, Arnold Krumma, Sue Brown, Kenny Carnahan (cousin of Brenda Myers), Ronda Clayton (friend of the Muzzillo family), Joyce Springer, Mungumio Vine (Kristen Konieczki’s sponsored child), Bill Gulish (co-worker of Rex & Vicki Bergdall), Tim Lowder (Nila Muzzillo’s son-in-law), Judith Berry (Sue Brown’s sister), Bob Friend (cousin of Marge Norris & Marilyn Myers), Jimmy & Jan Robison (Jimmy is a friend of John Foell from work), Cynthia Iravoga and Joshua Okenda (Kris Gartner’s sponsored children in Kenya), Rosie Reade (friend of Marilyn Myers), and our missionary in Kenya, Kathleen Lutz. Also pray for our home bounds and shut-ins: Alden Swenson, Joanne Ruger, Mildred Kruse, Betty Bueker, Marilyn Imus, Evelyn Jungk, Dolores Souder, Thelma Myers, Richard Bowerman, Eleanor Thomas, Joyce Bidlack, Paul Lutz, Betty Saunders, Sandy Muckenfuss

NOTE: If you have someone on the prayer list, please stay in contact with the church office on a monthly basis so we can keep our list current. Thank you!

In Memory

In memory of those who passed away in October:

Danny Brown If you have a family member or friend who has passed away and would like to include their name in the newsletter, please let the office know.

Birthdays

Bonnie Trenary, November 6; Stan Bozarth, November 14; Barry Tilghman, November 14; Mark Velkoff, November 18; Kathy Fribley, November 18; Joyce Springer, November 20; Deborah Hundagen, November 20; Cheryl Myers, November 26; Duane Runion, November 27; Barb Hoff, November 28; Connie Dicke, November 29; Stephanie Reynolds, November 30

Anniversaries

Aaron & Breanna Orwig November 28, 2015

**If you know someone who should be on this list or is on this list and shouldn’t be, please let Kathy know.**

Save the Date

Annual Meeting December 4 Outreach Seminar January 14

It’s not too early to save the date for the annual Carlson Family Christmas Open House. This year it will

be on Saturday, December 10, from 4:00 to 9:30 p.m. Mark your calendars!

ANNOUNCEMENTS Church Doctor Ministries Roundtable Event Check out the flyers in Kraus Korner for more information on future events. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. and is free to members of St. Mark's. Mission/Service Fair After the Sunday service on November 6, we will have our 2nd Annual Mission/Service Fair. Last fall we spent a season talking through our Community Covenant - a set of shared values we as a church commit to live out. (If you’re interested in looking into this, we have copies of the covenant sheet in Kraus Korner.) One of these values is serving our community outside of the church’s activities. As we continually look to live this out, every fall we have a mission/service fair with the goal of connecting the people of our church with the organizations and ministries serving our community. Please make plans to head down to the Fireplace Room after the service to get to know the people serving our community and look for ways to connect and serve. Choir Chimers Rehearsal Choir Chimers will be practicing after worship on November 6 and 13. We will practice before worship at 8:30 a.m. on November 20 and then perform during the service. Service Project In November we will be collecting paper projects: toilet paper, paper towels, and Kleenex. Celebrate Recovery St. Mark’s has partnered with Celebrate Recovery--a place for people walking through hurts, hang-ups, and habits--at the Cupbearer Cafe. There is a community meal at 5:30 p.m. every Thursday with the Celebrate Recovery large group meeting at 6:30 p.m. (There will be an area for kids led by trained and approved youth workers.) If you would like more information about CR or are interested in attending, please see a pastor. Celebrate Recovery meets every Thursday until December 29th (no meeting November 24). Advent Advent (the season leading up to Christmas) begins soon! We want to share with you some of our plans. We will continue to have our regular Sunday services, but we will also have services on Wednesday night as well. Those services start on November 30 (7:00 p.m.), and the last one is December 21. We will be having supper at 6:00 p.m. and welcome anyone to join us. There will be a sign-up sheet for food and help. If we have low interest in the meals this year, we will not do them for Lent or Advent in the future. As always, we will have two services on Christmas Eve (7:00 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.). Christmas day falls on a Sunday, so we will not be having a service on that morning. Grief Share Various churches and organizations are participating in Grief Share, and it is open to the whole community. Grief Share is a great source of help and encouragement for anyone dealing with loss. It provides help and encouragement after the death of a spouse, child, family member, or friend. Grief Share meets weekly at First United Methodist Church in Auburn on Tuesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m., September 6 to December 6. Please contact First United Methodist at 260-925-0885 for more information.

ALPHA We are asking everyone at St. Mark’s (Grade 6 and above) to participate in a new ministry that we are launching called ALPHA. ALPHA is an internationally renowned study of the basics of the Christian faith. We are asking everyone at St. Mark’s to go through it so that we can experience it together, learn together, and have another opportunity for community. It has, can, and will be, an incredible ministry to the community, those we are trying to reach, those new to the church or faith, as well as those willing or interested in exploring Christianity. Again, we cannot encourage you enough to find a way to participate in one of the three offerings of ALPHA over the next year. If you have any questions, please speak to one of the pastors.

ALPHA Offerings for the Congregation Winter 2016-2017 Spring 2017 Sunday mornings Sunday mornings 11 a.m.-Noon 11 a.m.-Noon December 11-March 19 March 5-June 4 (does not meet 12/25 & 1/1) (does not meet 4/16) *Childcare will be provided by request. Outreach Seminar We will be hosting a seminar on outreach and reaching the unchurched at St. Mark’s on Saturday, January 14, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The whole congregation is invited and encouraged to come. There is no cost to those who call St. Mark’s home. Operation Christmas Child Suggested items for your Christmas shoebox: crayons, pencils, and paper; other items that do well are hard candies (nothing that will melt); personal hygiene items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, or a bar of soap with a nice wash cloth wrapped around it. Little girls like hair accessories and little boys like matchbox cars. One thing they have emphasized is to put one special thing in your box like a big toy or something special to wear. I know some of you don’t do more than one box because you feel you have to put a check in every box—that is not the case. If you put a check in one box you can do many more boxes without having to put a check in each one. There are many people who don’t pack boxes and donate only financially so their donations will cover your extra boxes. Please tape the label to the box and rubber band the box closed. St. Mark’s collection deadline is Wednesday, November 16, at noon. Thanks for all your help! 2017 Germany Luther Tour On this the 500th anniversary year of the Reformation, Pastor Marcus will lead a Luther tour, seeing the significant places that were a part of Luther’s life and ministry. This trip has been booked and brochures are available. The trip will be April 24-May 4, 2017, with a total cost of $4,627.00 per person from Fort Wayne. This includes everything except lunches, meals while flying, travel insurance, and incidentals like souvenirs and alcohol. See Pastor Marcus with questions.

Sunday Morning Adult Bible Study The last class for the Book of Job is on November 13. The Sunday Adult Bible study group will be joining the Alpha course on Sunday mornings in December through March. We will start our next Bible Study book on April 9. Pastor’s Bible Study Pastor’s Bible Study continues every Thursday at 10:00 a.m. Bring your Bible and join us!

Upcoming Sermon Series Below are the topics for our upcoming sermons. We encourage you to read the passage for each week the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday before worship and the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after worship as a way to further prepare for, reflect on, and listen to God as we look to the Bible together. 11/6 Core Values: Mission & Service External Focus Acts 1:6-8 11/13 Core Values: Church Unified Acts 2:42-47 11/20 Core Values: Lutheran Home Matthew 26:17-29 11/27 Advent: Gospels-Matthew Facts Matthew 12:1-21 11/30 Advent (Wed): Christmas View Matthew-Fulfill Matthew 1:18-2:12 12/4 Advent: Gospels-Mark Mark 1:29-42 Sermon Series We have two great sermon series this fall that you will not want to miss. In our current sermon series we will feature preaching through our core values at St. Mark’s leading up to Advent. For Advent, our Sunday sermon series will be to look at the Gospels. Our Wednesday night sermons will be looking at the Advent & Christmas stories through each of the four Gospels. September 2016 Financials Income Expense Difference September Budgeted $ 22,561.25 $ 22,561.25 $0 September Actual $ 14,115.29 $ 20,209,34 -$6,094.05 Year-to-Date Budgeted $203,051.25 $203,051.25 $0 Year-to-Date Actual $187,024.19 $191,809.71 -$4,785.52 Important Financials Note We continue to be behind on giving from our planned budget. For the first time this year, we are in the negative. We continue to be very skim on budget expenses (most new things we do are through grants and Funding our Future), spending only what is absolutely necessary. If you need to catch up on your giving or pledge, please do so. If you are able to help us close the gap by giving additional dollars to our general fund, that would also be helpful and appreciated. People of St. Mark’s We have an opportunity to help one of our schools! McKenney-Harrison wants all students to feel welcome and always have someone to play with at recess. Buddy benches are specific benches where students can sit to signal to others that they need a friend to play. The school is asking the community to start collecting plastic caps to have these benches made. Any plastic CAP is fine. A collection box can be found in Kraus Korner. Strategic Plan As many of you know, this year we are working on our strategic plan for 2017-2021. We welcome your input and are asking for your prayers for the leaders of our church and for this process. Part of the process was outlined in our March newsletter. A couple things to be thinking about as you pray are:

1. We need the eyes of all to see all that God has for us. 2. The key question we should be asking ourselves is this, "What is God doing or saying, and what

should we do about it?" We will continue to keep you updated on this process through the bulletin, newsletter, and events and will share specific prayer requests from time to time. If you have any questions, see one of the pastors or council members.

Strategic Plan Prayer for November Personal Prayers 1. Lord, bring revival and let it begin with me. 2. Lord, how can you use me today? Funding Our Future As a reminder, Funding Our Future is our three-and-a-half-year campaign (July 2014 to December 2016) to help propel St. Mark’s into the future God has for us. Each year the Council approves projects as a part of Funding Our Future. These projects include things that help us discern, live into, or move forward into our future. Building projects, ministry initiatives, staffing, learning experiences, and other items that are important to our future are considered. No project is started until funding is completely secured. Funding is not limited to the Funding Our Future account as grants are utilized as well as gifts from Memorials and the Endowment Fund. When appropriate, budget or building funds may also be utilized. We are thankful to the many who have given regularly of varying amounts to this fund in addition to their regular giving. We would not have been able to move forward without you. We are also thankful to St. Mark’s Endowment Fund and the Lutheran Foundation for all that they have and continue to do for St. Mark’s as we move into the future. As a reminder, our 2014 Funding Our Future projects were the hiring of Pastor Dan and the installation of our screen. The 2015 Funding Our Future projects included carpeting on the main level, launching the preschool (all grant money except required match funds per grant), and the installation of the chair rail lift. Our 2016 projects include the England immersion trip, the Eagle Scout project to build a tech room in the balcony, the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, strategic planning expenses (retreat, resources, training), the US immersion experience, the LCMC National Gathering, a day of service, boiler work, the pastor spouse retreat, signage work, and finally a sound and video upgrade. All of this work is completed or in progress except for the work on the boiler. November Challenge Each month we will be announcing a challenge for the entire church congregation! We will have the challenge in the newsletter, have copies in Kraus Korner, and will post it in the Facebook page. Some months the challenges will be intense; some months the challenge will be a simple act. We hope you’ll join us. Here is November’s challenge: November’s challenge is to fast a meal. For centuries Christians have fasted and prayed. The point of fasting is to give up something in order to focus more clearly on your prayer--in this case, food. It has been through times of prayer and fasting that Christians have cried out to God, have asked for guidance in making big decisions, and have asked that God would work in their city or town. Specifically, in this time of fasting, we ask that you pray that God would work in our city. We fast to ask that people would come to know Jesus--that their lives would be transformed. While you are fasting, pray for people who you know, that God would work in their lives; pray that God would work in our city and county; and pray that our church would be a beacon of light here in this place. And if you feel hunger pains, pray this prayer: “Lord, help us to reach our city with your love.” If you do this as an entire family, please take a few moments after the fast and talk about the experience. How did you feel during the fast? What were some things you noticed about yourself? Did you find fasting easier or harder than you thought?

Children, Youth, & Family Team Update The Children, Youth, & Family (CYF) Team have been looking to rework itself and do some re-organizing to become better at leading the ministries for children, youth, and families in our church. We believe that the CYF Team’s purpose is to equip and assist the families of St. Mark’s in the process of discipling their children. This is the goal of all of our ministries and activities; we want to participate with families in making disciples. In this, we wrote a brief statement to explain our mindset: We believe that our church is called to work side by side parents in the discipleship of their children. Our role is to (1) provide support to the parents by equipping and empowering them to disciple their children, and (2) to provide age-specific programming with the intent of stirring within them a vibrant faith towards Jesus Christ. The members of the CYF team include Cindy Reese, Tina Meschberger, Lora & Kristen Konieczki, Mandy Kintz, Carol Sigler, Vicki Marhenke, Barry & Janice Tilghman, and Pastor Dan. If you would like to participate in ministering to children, youth, and families, please look for one of these leaders and speak with them about it! Servant Spotlight: Jessica Carlson Family: Spouse, Marcus Carlson; children, Micah age 11, Abby age 9 Work: Instructional Coach at Garrett Middle School Church involvement: Nursery, choir, wedding coordinator, coffee-time volunteer, youth group volunteer, confirmation mentor, Sunday school teacher, VBS volunteer Interests and hobbies: Educational reform, beekeeping, gardening, raising chickens, teaching swimming lessons, reading, spending time with family Part of my story: I attended a Bible School for my first year away from home. After that year, I transferred to a Christian college where I majored in English and Secondary Education. Fun facts: I traveled to the Philippines in 2001 for my student teaching at a missionary boarding school in Manila. It was an incredible experience. I have been blessed to be able to see the world and have visited 11 countries outside the U.S.

Loft Dates November 06 — Loft Gathering November 18 –- Lock In November 20 — Loft Gathering December 04 — Loft Gathering December 11 — White Elephant Gift Party November Lock In The Loft is joining with community youth groups to host an all night lock-in on Friday night, November 18, through Saturday morning, November 19. We will be spending all night together at the CCC (just across from DeKalb High School) with a time for worship, games, and hanging out with area students. The cost is only $10 per student, and we would love for you to invite all of your friends!

Our classroom has turned orange for the month of October as we begin a new study of pumpkins. There are many different activities on our shelves--from parts of a pumpkin to pumpkin scrubbings. We will be cutting a pumpkin open and exploring the inside as we pull out the seeds and then roast them for a food-tasting activity. We have also enjoyed pumpkin bread for snack. We continue our study of fall and the changing color of the leaves. Ms. Kathy brought in a variety of leaves from her trees so that we can study the different types in our area. The children have made some beautiful and colorful leaf projects. Our first field trip for the school year has been planned. We will travel to Lemper Farms for a fun morning exploring and learning more about pumpkins and agriculture on the farm. Thank you to Kathy Fribley and Vicki Bergdall for volunteering in our room. Ms. Kathy helps with arrivals in the morning and with lunch and half-day dismissal. Ms. Vicki comes to our room on Wednesday afternoons and stays until dismissal. The children look forward to their visits, and we love having them as part of our class! John Fribley and Mary Widenhoter are also part of our volunteering family. We appreciate all their time and efforts helping our program! Every month we receive new Scholastic book order forms. We will hang the flyers in Kraus Korner with our class info. Books make wonderful birthday and Christmas gifts for family, and Scholastic has some really good deals. Any order that is placed using our classroom code (Q6PHH) earns our school points to purchase books and other curriculum for our class. So if you're looking for gift ideas, please take a look at the flyers. LCMC Update Article by Mark Vander Tuig, Service Coordinator Recent and Upcoming Events Inspire Us This summer has been busy. In June the district coordinators from the 18 districts and fellowship groups from around the U.S. gathered together. We welcomed two new groups: The Georgia Fellowship and the Great Lakes District! We meet to share ideas, help each other develop resources for the congregations in our areas, get to know each other, and learn about new and developing ministries, agencies and resources. This group meets annually for just 24 hours, hosted by Hosanna Lutheran Church, St. Charles, Illinois—great hosts and an outstanding facility. We just completed our 2016 LCMC Called 2 Serve Youth Event at Grand View University, Des Moines, IA. Just over 300 youth and adults from 13 states spent four days together considering God’s call on every life. With great music provided by a praise team from Lutheran Church of the Cross, Altoona, IA. The keynote speakers were Alex Krumm from Grand View Student Ministries and Pastor Culynn Curtis of Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Maple Lake, MN. Pastor Jody Skogen was the MC for the event, and Cathy Nichol from our LCMC staff did an amazing job of organizing registration, housing and more. The event challenged each person to consider God’s call on their life to serve Him, but also challenged them to consider the vocation of ministry as well. We need to raise up leaders and pastors for our congregations for the days yet to come.

While great things are happening in our association, some of our congregations are struggling as well. Being the church today is not like it used to be…everything has changed. But Jesus is still Lord of lords and King of kings. This world, for all its trouble and confusion, is still held in the palm of His almighty hand and we trust in Him for life itself. Whether we are experiencing joy or suffering, Jesus is the same today, yesterday and forever—and He is all we need.

Thank You, Thank You Dear Friends, Thank you for the beautiful crib blankets. The women who come to the DeKalb Pregnancy Center will love them. We have lots of infant blankets, but these larger ones are just what we needed. I’m grateful that you included our Center with a Faith in Action project. God bless, Marcia Provines, DPC Director Dear Pastor Marcus & Congregation, We are overwhelmed by your congregation’s generous response to the Faith in Action day on Sunday, September 18. Our heartfelt thanks goes out to the volunteers from St. Mark's Lutheran Church and First United Methodist Church of Auburn who worked together to prepare 158 kits, fully packed and designated by age group, along with 50 blankets, to be distributed to children removed from dangerous homes. Our Covered with Love program has never received such a huge number of prepared care kits at one time from a church. Working with Child Protective Services, Covered with Love has distributed over 600 care kits to children in five counties since 2009. Thanks to the financial and volunteer support of community members you, this ministry brings a bit of comfort to dozens of children each year who are experiencing very stressful situations. Thank you for partnering with DCIC to bring the love of Christ to the most vulnerable in our community. With Thanks, Brad Harris, Executive Director Dear Friends, You folks are ‘awesome’ for the great job you did cleaning sheds, cutting limbs, and washing windows at our agency. We are truly in your debt! Also for the delicious treats delivered to our agency. Respectfully, Meg Zenk, DART Executive Director Dear members of St. Mark’s, Thank you for all the cards and prayers during my recent surgery and current recovery. They have lifted my spirit. Thank you so much. Jim Friend On behalf of myself and members of our family, I would like to thank Pastor Carlson & Pastor Bellinger, members of St. Mark’s, Jane Foell, and Laura Deckard for your compassionate care during Buzzy’s nursing home stay and our final tribute to him. Your thoughtfulness is greatly appreciated.  Sue Brown, Michelle & Joshua Hausbach, Derek & Kelly Brown, Judith & Richard Berry, Lauren, Emma, and Keaton Brown, Zachary & Shelby Hausbach   Christmas in September - Stockings for Soldiers Thank you so much for the outpouring of love and generosity for our deployed military! We collected over 300 items which are in route to the Stockings for Soldiers organization in Delaware. That organization will fill homemade stockings (of which our church made 134 stockings!) and then send them overseas to our men, women, and K-9 soldiers for Christmas. Your support for this project is greatly appreciated! Kathy Bergdall

ARKANSAS IMMERSION TRIP REPORT

Diann Hines, Sue Brown, Rod Knox, and Pastor Marcus traveled to Hot Springs, Arkansas (population: 35,000), from October 14-16. We were led by the Church Doctors (Tracee Swank and Kent Hunter) who facilitated our discussion among active leaders from LakePointe City Church. We were enlightened by the theme of a “Kingdom Culture” which was visible and expressed by leaders from LakePointe. LakePointe congregation ranged from babies to senior citizens. We conducted interviews with church leaders on Friday and Saturday and attended two worship experiences on Sunday. Below is a short summary of our observations and takeaways from this experience: ** LakePointe demonstrated a culture of total acceptance of any person in the community (Least, Lost, and the Last) Everyone is welcome. ** Leaders knew their mission statement and practiced this in their role. Language such as: our DNA, plugged in, and authentic were frequently used during separate interviews ** The church is a “hospital,” accepting all people, forgiving their sins no matter what their sins are. Ultimate salvation is for all. ** Church leaders (Volunteers) expressed a strong spirituality as they spoke about their role in LakePointe City Church. It was authentic in discussion and demonstrated as 22 people were baptized on Sunday. ** Special programs help unify members and build relationships. Leaders spoke proudly about: Celebrate Recovery, Band of Brothers, Girl Friends Club, Cross Point, Pastoral Ministry, Sunday School department consisted of 40 volunteers with two in each department. ** Bricks and mortar along with special programs will not change “culture,” but the people can make the culture change. ** If God gives you a vision, he will equip you to see it through; but it will be through people and relationships. ** Culture comes out of mission and vision. ** If you want to reach Millenials, show them that Jesus matters. QUESTIONS TO ASK OURSELVES?? Do we actively practice our Mission and Vision? Can we change our “culture”? There are no “silver bullets” or “magic tricks.” This will take time. . .it is not an overnight change or fix. Can we become disciples for Christ inside St. Mark’s and outside the walls of our church?. . .In the community, county, state, country, and the world? Lord, how are you going to use me today for your glory? Are you ready? Are we ready? WHAT’S NEXT? Self reflection . . .Prayer . . .Prayer Attend “Alpha” series to better understand our own faith.

Why do we???…

This is the fourth in a new series of articles that we will publish in our newsletter every other month or so. It’s an opportunity to look at the ‘why’ of what we do. So often in the church, whether it is something new or something that has been done for years, we do not realize why it is that we are doing it. The meaning and purpose behind what we do is far more important than the action itself.

Why do we??… Have Communion Every Sunday

Why do we have communion every Sunday? Some churches do it once a year, twice a month, once a month, every week, not at all, or some other arrangement. In our own history, we have had times where we have done it less than weekly. Why do we now continue to do it weekly? It's one of our two sacraments. In the Lutheran tradition we have two sacraments, or sacred practices. Those practices are baptism and communion. We practice baptism at every appropriate moment. We practice communion at almost every worship service that we have. Sacraments are those things that are held above other practices or just common traditions. A sacrament is ordained by God. A sacrament is something that is not about what we are doing but is, instead, about what God is doing. The water in baptism and the bread and the cup in communion all represent something bigger and connect us to what God is doing rather than simply being a tradition or practice in which we engage. Jesus told us to. This is one of few things that Jesus specifically told us to do. In fact, Jesus told us to do this every time we gather. We do it for the remembrance of Jesus. This was the last intimate moment that Jesus had with his disciples. It’s the last significant thing they did together before he was arrested and would die. It was important to Jesus that they did this together; but more importantly, Jesus wanted to model this practice for all of his followers. It’s the central part of our worship service. Every worship service has a central or focal point. For many churches that central or focal point is the sermon. For some others, music or perhaps an altar call may be the focal point of their service. The central part of our worship as Lutherans--the focal point of our worship--is communion. Everything we do builds up to and prepares us for communion. Everything we do after communion is a celebration and reflection of communion. For us, communion is the one thing that we do every week that is based entirely on what God is doing, and it is the most important thing that we do in our worship service. Communion is a huge part of our identity. It is not a requirement to participate, but all are welcome to receive communion. Communion can mean as much as you will allow it to mean to you. It is an incredible time to focus on God, to remember what Jesus has done for you, and to listen to what the Holy Spirit might have for you. I am thankful to be a part of a church and faith tradition that values this rich and deeply spiritual practice.

ST. MARK’S LUTHERAN CHURCH 211 West Ninth Street Auburn, IN 46706 Web Page: www.stmarksauburn.org Pastor Marcus: pastormarcus@stmarksauburn.org Pastor Dan: pastordan@stmarksauburn.org E-mail: office@stmarksauburn.org Return Service Requested

St. Mark’s Messenger is published monthly by St. Mark’s Lutheran Church The Rev. Dr. Marcus J. Carlson Senior Pastor Rev. Dan Bellinger Family & Outreach Pastor Laura Deckard Director of Music Kathy Fribley Church Secretary Linda Vandemark Preschool Director

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