825 King St. W, Kitchener, ON N2G 1E3 (519) 743-6309 email: pastor@stmarkskw.org web: www.stmarkskw.org

Pastor: Pastor Annette Smith Pastor Emeritus: Rev. Vernon Cronmiller Community Ministry Coordinator: Rev. Susan ColeCo-Chairs: Brad Ellig and Rick Small

Music Director: Lilla Hall Parish Secretary: Nancy MacLean

Our church on the corner of Green and King

November, December 2017 & January 2018

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reMarks

KEEPIN’ THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING!Duncan D. Wallace, the Anglican Bishop of Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan said in the November 2, 2000, issue of the New York Times:

“When you get down to it, all we need is a bottle of wine, a book, and a table, and we are in business.”

These words were spoken in the midst of the very real possibility of bankruptcy for the Anglican Church of Canada after the financial settlement was made to the indigenous community for the church’s role in the residential school system, which operated in this country until 1970.

“What will become of us?” “How will we carry on?”

In the face of these questions foremost in the minds and hearts of the people of the church, Bishop Wallace climbed out on what seemed to be a very thin limb and reminded his hearers how they had come this far and how they could and would imagine themselves into the future. The limb was not as thin as it first appeared.

In fact, that limb was the strongest possible support and truth: faith shows us the way when all else seems to be somewhat, if not very, uncertain.

Many years ago, Lutherans and Anglicans first began the dialogue that eventually became the Waterloo Declaration of 2001. They began at the table. A very bold and unconventional move for the beginning of such a process. Long before Bishop Wallace offered his words of hope, the Lutheran and Anglican communities acknowledged and understood that the true identity of our Christian life can be found in the book and the wine and the table.

So we, at St. Mark’s, are travelling a road that seems uncertain, and, if we are all honest, there is a part of all of us asking

“What will become of us?” “How will we carry on?”

Our relationship with the community and the Lutheran community has led us to a place of shared mission and a movement toward new relationships. And in the midst of our questions, these words give us the best, the very best starting place: the table. This is the main thing: the gathering at the place of redemption, healing, and forgiveness. The place where we remember the best love, the best hope, the best promise: life guided by the Spirit and the courage to “keep the main thing the main thing”. Then, everything else is possible.

“When you get down to it, all we need is a bottle of wine, a book, and a table, and we are in business.”

Pastor Annette

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Life at St. Mark’s...

Celebrating 102 years with Mildred

Today, October 22, we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our wonderful music director! Thank you Lilla for all the musical (and non-musical) joy you have brought to us these past 20 years!

Celebrating Welcoming Sunday – Potluck Lunch

WORSHIP AT ST. MARK’S

NOVEMBER 5: THE FESTIVAL OF ALL SAINTS8:30 and 10:15 amWe remember family and friends who have died during the past year. Please bring a fresh, long-stemmed flower to add to our Bouquet of Memories

NOVEMBER 12: PENTECOST 2311:00 amTHREE CHURCHES WORSHIP AT 22 WILLOWPotluck Lunch and Fellowship to follow

NOVEMBER 19: PENTECOST 248:30 and 10:15 am(Worship Band)

NOVEMBER 26: THE FESTIVAL OF CHRIST THE KING8:30 and 10:15 am

DECEMBER 3: ADVENT 18:30 and 10:15 am

DECEMBER 10: ADVENT 29:30 amCONGREGATIONAL BUDGET MEETING immediately following

DECEMBER 17: ADVENT 38:30 and 10:15 am (Worship Band and A BLAST Christmas)

DECEMBER 24: ADVENT 410:15 am

CHRISTMAS EVE6:30 and 9:00 pm

DECEMBER 25: CHRISTMAS DAY10:15 am

DECEMBER 31: CHRISTMAS 1Word and Prayer for Christmas10:15 am

JANUARY 7: THE FESTIVAL OF THE EPIPHANY OF OUR LORD 8:30 and 10:15 amMarking of the Doors

JANUARY 14: THE FESTIVAL OF THE BAPTISM OF OUR LORD8:30 and 10:15 am

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YOU’RE INVITED! Friendship Circle

Come enjoy the food and fellowshipIn a gathering of not so young, but young at heart!

Thursday, November 16, 201712:00 Noon – Parish Hall

Cost of lunch: $6.00

RSVP by MONDAY, November 13th, to Carol Totzke, 519 885-6173 or

lloydandcarolt@hotmail.com .

Also, if you need a ride, please let Carol know in your reply.

FUTURE DATE

Thursday, December 21, 2017

YOUTH MYSTERY DINNERSaturday, November 18, 2017

5:00 p.m.at St. Mark’s Prestigious Camping Resort

Chef Trevor Exner catering

Adults $ 20.00Children (6-12 $ 10.00

Tickets available starting October 16th

Proceeds to help support the youth attending the Canadian Lutheran Anglican Youth 2018 gathering

FriendshipCircle

Shape the 21st century: reformcaptialcampaign.ca

For more than a century Waterloo Lutheran Seminary has formed pastors for Evangelical Lutheran churches in Canada, and prepared lay leaders for congregations and the broader community. Forming pastors remains a vital role for the seminary but, through the years, the school’s pastoral counselling programs have surpassed the Master of Divinity degree program in popularity. As a result, the seminary is educating a record number of undergraduate, graduate and Ph.D. students: Last year WLS was home to 178 full-time and part-time students, and roughly 250 Wilfrid Laurier University students took seminary courses for their electives.

As the seminary works to form new leaders for our communities, it has increasingly contended with an aging building. So this past spring, work crews started the construction phase of a major renewal and modernization project. Over the coming month, the seminary’s Reform Capital Campaign aims to raise $1.5 million from congregations, alumni, and private donors to help pay for the $9-million renewal and modernization project. When completed, in mid-2018, the seminary will include more classroom space; bigger and brighter gathering areas; charging stations; and energy efficient building system.

In this 500th anniversary year of the Lutheran Reformation, the seminary is truly at a historic turning point. By helping educate leaders for congregations and the community, you can help shape the 21st century. To donate to this project, or for more information (including construction update videos), visit the website reformcapitalcampaign.ca or contact Mr. Don Stockman, campaign chair, at 519-498-7216. (Major donations can be spread over a five-year period, and will be given appropriate recognition).

OLD ONE...GOOD REMINDER!

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COMMUNITY MINISTRY UPDATEBy Susan Cole

Ever year Community Ministry hosts important fundraisers needed to support this wonderful ministry that is making a difference in peoples lives every day. But of course, fundraisers are not successful without the support of our community! CM would like to thank all those who came out to Boston Pizza to enjoy a great meal and attended our freewill offering concert “Soul Sauce” at Calvary. We hope you had fun while supporting CM. We also are grateful to those who sent money because they were not able to attend these events.

On Wednesday, October 11, 2017, Community Ministry celebrated another wonderful Thanksgiving meal. There were many donations from both the congregations of St. Mark’s and Calvary and there was an abundance of food for all. 100 people enjoyed a turkey supper with all the fixings! Barb and Kirby Julian from Calvary entertained us on piano & violin. Jen Kirkey made fall leaf decorations for the tables. A lot of morning volunteers did the prep work of peeling and cutting up carrots and potatoes and there were many people in the kitchen to serve and clean-up. Thanks to all involved!

As you know, there are people in our community who are in need 24/7, 365 days of the year! CM has recently seen an increase in the needs of those persons living on the streets. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. Susan @ 519 743 6309 or email her at communitymin15@gmail.com.

LOOKING AHEAD:

The Christmas season will soon be upon us!

Wooden Angel Pins are still available for purchase. $3 each, two for $5.

See the church administrator or Rev. Susan.

BLUE CHRISTMAS:

Wednesday, December 13, 2017, 7:30 PM, Calvary Memorial United Church, lead by Rev. Lynne Bandy, Rev. Annette Smith & Rev. Susan Cole. A service for those in our community that may have trouble being “merry” at Christmas and for those who want to support them. A quiet, reflective service with music and candle lighting where we acknowledge the struggles/pain/grief we experience in our lives during this time of year.

Community Ministry will be continuing the tradition of collecting gifts for our Spirit of Giving event where students from the KCI Life Skills classes can come to St. Mark’s to choose gifts for family members and have them wrapped. Please watch for details in the church bulletin. Donations of Christmas cards and Christmas Gift bags and wrapping paper are also appreciated.

Watch for upcoming Reverse Advent & White Christmas campaigns. Personal care products and emergency basic need supplies are needed all year long!

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MUNITY MINISTRY

Please consider donating:

• Ensure/Boost• Protein Bars• Adult Toques • Adult Waterproof Gloves • Deodorant• Travel Size Toothpaste • Shaving Cream

Thanksgiving at St. Marks

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Matthew 25:41 Then he will say to those at his left hand, ‘You that are accursed, depart from me into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels; for I was...in prison and you did not visit me.’ Then they also will answer, ‘Lord, when was it that we saw you...in prison, and did not take care of you?’ Then he will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, just as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

PRISON BARS, THEN AND NOWBrian Rude (15 – 16 November, 2016)

Twenty-seven years ago “ they thought they took it all

from us”

Today, it is proclaimed “they took nothing from us”

Pondering back those twenty-seven intense years ago, still so vivid, so now they dragged us two young Salvadoran women and me along with the subversive cross from Resurrection Lutheran Church in San Salvador scant kilometres from the campus of the Jesuit massacre

scant hours after that tragedy and another dozen faithful from the clinic they dragged us behind bars without explanation blind-folded and hand-cuffed interrogated us repeatedly in that dank, dark dungeon suspected us of being fmln sympathizers

but no on the side of truth on the side of life on the side of freedom giving voice to the voiceless

Now...twenty-seven not-so-long years later they don’t allow us behind bars without explanation muzzled and straitjacketed suspected of not being fmln sympathizers

but no still on the side of truth still on the side of life still on the side of freedom still giving voice to the voiceless a listening ear to the unheard a conversation with those abandoned a smile for those beaten down a loving hug to the trampled

inmate criminals? qutie likely many, if not most still human beings always human beings always citizens always children of God redeemable lovable loved by God through us

A beautiful morning at Brantview Apple & Cider Farms with the Blast families!

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St. Mark’s on the MoveBy Robin Pearson

Update on Amalgamation

Since our last newsletter, the work of the St. Mark’s Directions Task Force has been pretty much completed. We are very grateful to all of the members of the task force for the hours that they invested in learning about our options for the future. Rather than pursue redevelopment on our own, it makes more sense to put the redevelopment question on hold for the time being and move forward with the proposed three-church amalgamation of St. Mark’s, St. John’s, and Reformation. We are pursuing a plan to amalgamate the three churches into one new church, transferring all of our assets and liabilities to a shared new congregation, which will likely meet at 22 Willow. (In view of the fact that the congregation will have a new name, we will refer to the St. John’s property as 22 Willow.)

Look for the comparison of the three properties in this newsletter to understand the reasons behind this proposal. Sale or redevelopment of the properties will become the responsibility of the new congregation and a new task force will be developed in due course.

Special Congregational Meetings

Because of the recommendation to postpone the vote on redeveloping the property with LHKW, the special congregational meeting on September 17 was adjourned fairly soon after being called to order. What followed was a question-and-answer session in which information was provided about the change in direction. Laurie Kitchen, Benjamin Lefebvre, and Robin Pearson are the St. Mark’s representatives to the Three Lutheran Churches (TLC) Steering Group, which has met twice in September and has many initiatives underway.

Similarly, the special congregational meeting planned for October 15 was cancelled, and instead an information session was held after the 9:30 worship service on that day. The meeting was originally intended to vote on the proposed amalgamation with Reformation; however, since we are likely to become a three-church amalgamation, we are waiting until all three congregations can be ready to vote on the same question. We are expecting that vote to happen on Sunday, November 26, with more details to follow about the timing of worship on that day. This vote will be a mandate to allow the Steering Group to develop an amalgamation agreement, which will be put before the congregations for their final approval.

Shared Information

Adult Education Hour was very well attended on October 1, 2017, when Robin Pearson and Jana Kelly presented an update and discussed questions and comments with

St. Mark’s members. A 2nd Q & A Information Update was provided, which followed up on September’s Q and A backgrounder. Members of Council were also there to hear people’s concerns and answer questions. The 3rd Q & A, as well as a property comparison, was presented on October 15, 2017, at the Information Meeting following the 9:30 service.

All of these Q and A Information sheets are available from the church office, either on paper or electronically.

Shared Worship at 22 Willow

Members of the TLC Steering Group have asked our pastors to plan for shared worship for the three congregations together at 22 Willow and they have agreed that 11:00 a.m. on Sunday, November 12, 2017, is the first occasion for this to occur. Following the service, there will be lunch, shared fellowship, and tours of the 22 Willow property.

Moving Forward

There is an excitement and optimism about the amalgamation, which gives hope to the idea that we will carry forward some part of each of our histories into a new, blended congregation. There is also the very honest realization that change is hard and presents many problems and questions for the church moving forward. We particularly regret the uncertainty that this causes our staff. To date, we have reached out to the Synod, our pastors, our staff, legal counsel, and members of our congregations as we build teams to continue with this important work. We do need and value your contributions.

Become Involved

There are many ways to become involved, but the simplest one is to attend information meetings and to read all communication that is provided for you. We need our congregation to become engaged in the process and to keep up to date with information.

There are many jobs to be done, from contributing to social events to being part of committees. We hope you will consider volunteering your time and talents. As well, we hope that you will come out to events that appeal to you and get to know people from both Reformation and St. John’s. More updates will follow, with specific needs and opportunities for members.

Your Thoughts on Change

Please note the special bulletin board, Thoughts on Change, in the hall opposite the church parlour! You are invited to add your thoughts, to read what others have written, and to reflect. ☺

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Three Property Comparison

Krug Street (Reformation) King & Green Streets (St. Mark's) 22 Willow (St. John's)

Size of Property > 2 acres < 1 acre 6 acres

Seating of Sanctuary Smaller – seats up to 100 Medium – seats up to 200 Large – seats up to 400

Size of Sanctuary – Alternative Modes of Worship Music

Would likely not accommodate St. Mark's worship band

Does accommodate St. Mark's worship band; recently renovated chancel to remove pews for more flexibility during worship

Would accommodate St. Mark's Worship Band

Sanctuary During Summer Air conditioned Not air conditioned; gets warm and have had member complaints

Not air conditioned but is not too bad with cross ventilation and fans – may also be able to blow cool air up from basement (since it is heated by ducts installing air conditioning is possible)

Seating of Chapel n/a n/a 75 – is air conditioned

Availability of Parking Good – > 40 spots on the property; some street parking on the side street

Limited – 10 spots in front of church + 2 handicapped spots; 3 staff spots on Green Street; free parking until noon in Pay & Display lot behind church; at other times there's also paid parking available in lot across King Street

Very good – 100 spots on property; additional free parking on weekends and evenings in nearby municipal lot

Size of Main Meeting Hall 100 maximum in Fellowship Hall Parish Hall – 100 (around tables); 125 just chairs

Fellowship Hall – fire rules say maximum occupancy is 180; can comfortably sit about 140 at round tables, more if chairs only

Nature of Congregation Due to Location

Suburban Downtown Close to downtown but also close to neighbourhoods (Mary Allen Community)

Shape of Building; Repairs Needed in Near Future

Everything OK right now; in future need windows, part of roof and boiler repairs

No major repairs on horizon at this point; set aside money in a Special Projects account for when major repairs are needed (roof / organ etc.)

No major repairs on horizon, roof on sanctuary is concrete and good for many years, roof on Fellowship Hall is metal and good for many years, roof on educational wing replaced last year and is good for 25 years, boiler has been replaced and is good for 20 years

Amenities - Washrooms Good Limited Good

Amenities - Kitchen Small kitchen Small to moderate kitchen Very large kitchen, parlour also has small kitchen area with cupboards, sink, microwave and bar fridge (parlour is also air conditioned), and two other meeting rooms have cupboards and sink

Amenities – Library No Yes – small Yes – small to medium size

Amenities – Nursery yes Yes – recently refurbished Yes – in good shape

Amenities – Approximate Number of Meeting Rooms Available to User Groups to Rent

4 > 10 About 7 (2 are air conditioned)

Accessibility Issues All on one floor so fully accessible Sliding glass doors installed off back parking lot in recent years; one accessible washroom outside Parish Hall

Entrance to foyer facing Willow St. is accessible and gives access to the sanctuary, Fellowship Hall, washrooms and parlour; chapel is accessible from its own outside entrance

Close to Public Transit On a bus route On LRT 2-3 blocks off LRT; No. 5 bus route runs down Erb St. past Willow St.

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Adult Education Schedule: Sundays, 9:00 a.m. in the Parlor • Oct 29th to January 7th, 2018

DATE TOPIC SPEAKER(S)

October 29 Reformation Sunday

Luther’s 95 Theses Dr. Robert Kelly, Professor Emeritus, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary

November 5 All Saints Sunday

DREAMS: How did ancient Israelites, Greeks and Romans View Dreams? Predictive, healing, suspect...?

Dr. Harold Remus, Professor Emeritus, Wilfrid Laurier University

November 12 Joint Worship Service with St. John’s and Reformation at 22 Willow Street, Waterloo No Adult Education

November 19 DREAMS: Our Personal Dreams: what we can learn about ourselves

Dr. Peter Van Katwyk, Professor Emeritus, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary Week 1 of 2

November 26 DREAMS: Dreams in the Bible: what to learn about their message

Dr. Peter Van Katwyk, Professor Emeritus, Waterloo Lutheran Seminary Week 2 of 2

December 3 Advent 1

Was Thomas truly ‘doubting’? Dr. Tim Hegedus, Christ Lutheran Church

December 10 Advent 2

Congregational Annual Budget Meeting – No Adult Education

December 17 Advent 3

Was Thomas truly ‘doubting’? Dr. Tim Hegedus, Christ Lutheran Church

December 24 Advent 1

No Adult Education this week

December 31 New Year’s Eve

No Adult Education this week

DATE TOPIC SPEAKER(S)

January 7, 2018 What would you like to see in next year’s Adult Education Hour? Come and have your say

Prijna Gingrich, Facilitator

20182017

20182017

At adult ed in September, Pat Nosal taught the group about felting and about the beautiful gift that hangs at the cancer centre. They made their own trees.

Reformation Display above the showcase.

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St. Mark’s on the Move: Transitions = Loss & Hope Combined

by Holly Mathers, Registered Psychotherapist

We are in the midst of a significant transition at St. Mark’s. Seriously exploring joining together with two other churches to begin a new church together is a massive undertaking.

Every life transition brings a mix of loss and new opportunity. Even typically positive transitions, like marriage, bring the loss of some aspects of being single, along with possibly moving, making other practical changes, and adjusting to co-create a life with a partner. There are also exciting aspects of marrying someone and having a future with new possibilities and companionship.

Times of transition or change carry this combination of losses that need to be mourned and the joy of looking toward the future. Mourning is the outward expression of grief (internal feelings and experiences of loss). Active mourning is what helps us move through grief. There is no avoiding grief by trying to go around it – the only way is through it. During transitions, it is also important to look at the reasons for moving forward and the positives that are a part of those new decisions. Planning and preparing are important to the transition process, along with celebrating. Transitioning needs to include time to look at where we’ve been, where we are, and where we’re going.

There is a path of transitioning and we are at different places on that journey. Some, like the council and transition team, have been processing this for a long time and are feeling more ready for the changes. Others are only getting caught up with what has been happening now and feel more grief about St. Mark’s becoming something new and not carrying on the same way anymore.

Each of us has a blend of feelings of loss and hope about joining together to create a new faith community. Maybe you would miss the beautiful sanctuary, the place you grew up or got married, or the memories of ministry in our church building and location. You might be looking forward to having more people to work together with in ministry or feeling like our future is more secure and the financial pressures are lessened. For some at St. Mark’s, the blend seems to be 90% grief and 10% hope, for others, that ratio is reversed. But we are all in this transition process together, no matter what our personal ratio is. We all have a need to do the work of transitioning.

Our church council and transition team are all committed to supporting our community through loss, grief, excitement, joy, and any other emotions that come up along the way. There are many ways we are and will continue to, provide opportunities at St. Mark’s to process this transition together. You will now find posters up in the entrance hall that give space to share the losses you are experiencing, as well as the excitement you have for the future. The transition team would love to hear your perspectives about this process too. There will be more events coming that will give room to express your joy and grief. If you have an idea of other ways to do this, please reach out to Laurie Kitchen, Ben Lefebvre, or Robin Pearson (St. Mark’s members of the Three Lutheran Churches Steering Group) with your suggestions, and/or put them in the Suggestion Box. By being intentional about our process of transition both personally and collectively, we can move forward in the best way possible together.

Thank you to the Members of St. Mark’s who so willingly share items for ReMarks. Articles submitted may be edited, always focusing on the information being presented. Pictures and graphics are used where possible to replace a myriad of words. The ReMarks Committee suggests 800 words as a maximum for submissions.

We encourage members to receive their copy of ReMarks electronically via e-mail. You can request this service at office@stmarkskw.org. An added benefit of receiving your newsletter via e-mail is that it is in full colour!

If an article is submitted late it may not be printed, articles may be edited – an article may be deferred to a later issue at the discretion of the Editorial Board.

2017 Newsletter ScheduleMonth Deadline Date February/March January 2April/May March 5June/July/August May 7September/October August 7November/December/January October 1

Editing ReMarks A Note from the Editors

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The sound of animated conversation is delightful. And if you listen on Sunday morning, you will likely hear lots of that bursting from the walls of the youth room between 9 and 10. We happily welcomed many new youths this fall as quite a number started grade seven this September. Energy and ideas and learning abound.

Some of our sessions include a reform video series from Augsburg Fortress where we learn about our Biblical ancestors. We consider where we are in our lives now, and how the stories apply to us. Sometimes these conversations lead us strange place...like snap chatting with Mary Magdalene.

Most of our sessions include a look at the world around us. This fall we are collecting socks for the ToastyToes sock campaign, and we’re asking for NEW (in the package) warm socks from October 22 to November 5. The youth will then count and sort the socks to get them ready for distribution in November and December. Last year groups in our Region distributed a total of 12, 389 pairs to our neighbours experiencing or at risk of homelessness.

We want to thank Jacob Letkemann for his leadership over the past three years. He had to make some difficult decisions about his schedule this fall, however. He is unable to continue in the role of youth leader. As a result, the youth will have sessions with Julia on Sunday mornings for half the month and some alternate events (including a showing of the ‘Love is a Seed’ video) for the other half.

We are looking for a new youth leader for one or two Sundays a month. In this time of transition, we are very open to new ideas and opportunities. Maybe you have an idea that is a little different. This is a great time to share it. Let’s have a conversation. Please speak with Julia Beddoe, Fay Albrecht, or Sharon Cassidy.

Confirmation Camp 2017Camp KintailAugust 27 – September 1, 2017

St. Mark’s folks there:Morgan, Rachel, Laura, Zoe, Makenna, Lucas and AmyLeaders: Helen Weber & Pastor Annette

Youth Update!By Julia Beddoe

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THE HALIL FAMILYSeptember 20, 2017, marked one year since the Halil Family arrived in Canada. One year later, the journey continues. There have been many settlement milestones, big and small. Among the biggest, Muhammed Emin has finished three months in his job. Language continues to be a challenge, but he has found renewed focus in improving his English.

At the end of September, members of the core group met with Taco and Muhammed Emin to celebrate one year, and to talk about next steps. While our friendship and visits will continue, our formal sponsorship has ended.

We look forward to formalizing the sponsorship again with the arrival of Ibrahim (Taco and Muhammed’s teenage son currently in Germany) and Leila (their son Hozan’s wife currently in Turkey).

Both sponsorship applications have seen some forward movement; however, the wait times in both cases seem long and unpredictable.

CHIRIN, AHMAD AND HANAA

We continue to wait for more news about the applications for Chirin, Ahmad and Hanaa. Chirin and Ahmad are siblings living on their own in Turkey. Hanaa is an older woman with family living in Waterloo who eagerly await their reunion with her. As of October, the application processing time for Turkey was 19 months. These three people are somewhere between their 11th and 14th month. However, the wait time is going up continuously.

With thanks for your continued prayers for these families, Julia Beddoe and Jacob Letkemann

Refugee Sponsorship and Newcomer Family Update!

I have written down a few comments to express some thoughts, suggestions and concerns that I have.

Communication continues to be a key factor and the foundation for all members to make responsible and appropriate decisions within this process.

From this meeting forward, I am asking for re-assurance of Council and the task force, that all information is communicated to the congregation and beyond with ‘one voice’ of authority. Information that is being shared is daunting and complex. If St. Mark’s doesn’t communicate with a single voice from those charged to lead this process, especially to other congregations or partners or people who are helping facilitate our options, it may lead to confusion, doubt about our intentions, gossip or worse factors that may further complicate this multifaceted process especially if we, as a congregation, have not yet made decisions or voted on specific outcomes.

Council and the Task Force have given so much time. My comments are meant to help everyone realize your efforts to continue working effectively and efficiently for the whole congregation need to be respected. I wish to emphasize the point I am making that if we are to work within structures of another congregation and yes, eventually be welcomed

and accepted, I think it is vital that we continue to support a process that involves the whole congregation speaking with one voice – a process that requires trust and has integrity in its direction that we have given into the hands of the leadership of our hard working Council and the Task Force.

Considering how quickly information seems to have unfolded and changed this week, I also can’t stress enough that the congregation needs to be kept informed in a timely manner. I found it troubling that information was distributed on a holiday long week end just after summer holidays only two weeks before the meeting (even though this is the minimum time required before a meeting such as this).

I am so relieved that there is no vote today because to understand and consider all the information of this magnitude at a meeting and then be asked to vote as well, is unfair.

As members, we are all equals and respectfully, each of us needs to be given equal time to clearly understand, consider, and ask questions about all what is presented.

This is exhausting work, so I also would like to suggest that perhaps it is time to broaden the scope of tasks to other members of St. Mark’s who are interested in undertaking a larger role in this process.

Comments from a Concerned Member By Diane Bonfonte

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Daily Discipleship Packages Request for Information

It is that time of year again, the Daily Discipleship Group are assembling a list of students who are attending a post-secondary institution and of service men and women. Do you have a child or grandchild that is attending a post-secondary institution or is a member of Canada’s armed forces? If yes, please provide as much of the following information to the church office, as you can: the name of the student or service person, that person’s address (to which the Package is be mailed), program – course of study and post-secondary institution, or posting; your name and phone number. The required information must be provided by Sunday, November 5th. Thank you. The Daily Discipleship Group.

What is the Daily Discipleship Package? It is a form of outreach which has provided opportunities for family members to hear from their student or service person that they appreciated the thought and the gift card. It is a Christmas card signed by each of the members of the Daily Discipleship group. Sometimes, depending on the information that is provided by a family member, a special note pertaining to the recipient is written which makes it that much more personal. A gift card and, sometimes, a note from the Pastor are included.

The Packages will be mailed in late November or early December.

Change in the way we are doing the Daily Discipleship Packages. Help requested!

The Daily Discipleship group has been busy preparing a list of students and service persons who will be receiving the Daily Discipleship Packages. The Daily Discipleship Packages include a gift card. The Daily Discipleship group would appreciate help with this project.

Because of the location of some of the students the gift cards will be from various vendors. This is what is changing: rather than asking for Tim Horton cards we are asking you to put money into an envelope marked “for Daily Discipleship” with your name and envelope # on it. YOU WILL RECEIVE A TAX RECEIPT FOR THE MONEY DONATED, this year.

Please put the envelope on the offering plate and/or hand in to the church office before Monday, November 20th. Thank you for assisting with this program – the Daily Discipleship Group.

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 12: 11:00 am

Three Churches Worship at 22 WillowPotluck Lunch And Fellowship To Follow

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26Stay tuned for more information

TLC (Three Lutheran Churches) Update

Krug Street

Reformation

King & Green

TLC

St. Mark’s

Three Lutheran Churches

22 Willow

St. John’s