The Spirit March 13, 2020
March 13, 2020 |
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A Note from Pastor Jay
“PERFECT LOVE CASTS OUT FEAR”
Living by faith and in faithful response to COVID-19
Grace, mercy and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord Jesus the Christ.
As our government health organizations, communities, schools and other organizations begin to take measurable steps to try and keep everyone physically safe and healthy as we face another outbreak of disease, this time being Coronavirus (COVID-19), I wanted to take time to talk with you about how St. Mark Lutheran Church is also working to ensure no only the physical health and safety of all who come to our campus, but also care for your spiritual health and well-being. God’s Word says in 2 Corinthians 4, “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
I am certainly going to share with you our plans regarding all activities here at St. Mark and how we are keeping everyone safe, but first, I wanted to take a few minutes and talk with you about your spiritual safety and health during this time.
Jesus says in in John 3:6, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit.” As people who have been born again by the Holy Spirit in the waters of baptism and who have been made new, spiritual creations in Christ, it is especially important that while we take prudent and necessary measures to ensure our physical health and wellbeing, we also keep our spiritual health and our faith in Jesus and in God’s perfect love at the forefront of our minds.
When times of fear and uncertainty come upon us, as people of faith and as those who are born of the Spirit, we know that these are also times when the Lord has promised to bring us closer to Himself and deepen our trust in Him. Scripture tells us in 1 John 4 that God’s perfect love casts our fear. In 1 Peter 5 it says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
How much does God care for us? How deep is His love for us? We only need to look to the cross to see the unsearchable depths and the power of God’s love. We see the love of God that provided the only cure for the disease we all are born with and that has a 100% mortality rate. The disease of sin. Though He was without sin, Christ became sin for us, and His perfect blood poured out and His perfect life sacrificed was the only cure. Through His resurrection from the dead, Christ has made that cure available to all. For all who put their faith and hope and trust in Him who defeated death, we do not die. Yes, because of sin, one way or another our bodies will die, but our soul lives in Christ and we will be physically raised again on the last Day. As Jesus said to Mary and Martha just before raising Lazarus from the tomb (after Lazarus had been dead for four days), “I am the resurrection and the life, Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:25-26
Our fears and anxieties over any disease come ultimately from our fear of death. But death has been defeated in Christ’s resurrection. We can know God loves and cares for us, and trust Him above all else, because He has healed us eternally in Christ. This means that in the face of any threat and in any fear, we have a hope that is eternally more powerful and sure.
God has given us His Word to read, to know, and to trust, and it is through that Word of God that He casts out fear and fills us with hope. Hear that Word of God now, trust and believe Him when His Word says in Romans 8, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Amen.
HOW WE ARE RESPONDING TO COVID-19 RESPONSIBLY AND FAITHFULLY
Now a few words concerning our ministry at St. Mark and how we are being good stewards of our health and wellness, while continuing the work of the church.
Though, as I am sure you have heard, many public schools and events have decided to suspend activities, all worship services and church activities on the campus here at St. Mark will continue as normal. This includes all of our worship services, Bible Studies, and our Preschool and Childcare services. My confidence to remain fully engaged in our ministry here together comes from the diligent and careful actions we are taking and have been engaged in to ensure our facilities and environment at St. Mark is clean, sanitary, and as safe as we can reasonably make it.
I have significantly increased both the scope and frequency of our janitorial services, and our operational staff here at St. Mark is doubling their efforts to maintain as sterile of an environment as we can make. If you visit our Facebook page, you will see a message from myself and our Childcare Center Director, Julie Kyriss, listing in detail all that we are doing in this regard.
In addition to all of our operational efforts, I will also be making temporary changes to some of our traditions and customary practices at Sunday morning worship.
- During service we will refrain from shaking hands while greeting one another. Feel free to substitute a handshake with any number of creative (and appropriate) gestures; fist bumps, elbow bumps, head bumps, bowing, waving…you get the idea.
- Before and after service, I will still be there to greet you and see you off, but will not be offering you my hand to shake. If you offer me yours, I will gladly shake it assuming you have been respectful to offer a clean hand, as I will to you.
- For our time of offering, the offering plates will be placed on the altar railing, and I will invite you up to bring your offerings to the Lord yourself and then return to your seat.
- For communion, we will continue to distribute the wine as we normally do; allowing you to take a cup from the tray on your own. Regarding the distribution of the bread, I will be the only one distributing bread to reduce the number of hands being exposed, and will be washing my hands thoroughly before service and applying hand sanitizer adequately prior to handling and distributing the wafers.
As much as we are doing as a church to respond appropriately to COVID-19, your participation in healthy practices is just as critical to ensure the work of the church continues, especially during this time. Please do the following:
- Stay current on all information about COVID-19 using reliable sources. Not only can you go directly to the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html, and the website for the World Health Organization https://www.who.int/, but the website for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod is also being updated regularly with a lot of useful information. lcms.org.
- Visit these sites and learn if you are at elevated risk for Coronavirus, and take the recommended preventative measures.
- If you have any symptoms of illness such as a cough, fever, runny nose, or soar throat, please do not come to service or any church function until your symptoms have been gone for at least 48 hours or you have seen a doctor and been told it is safe for you to go to church.
- We stream all of our services and are already sharing all communications in a wide variety of formats online, via email, social media and our mobile app. You can very easily stay up to date and participate with us in worship and ministry if you determine it would be best for you not to be physically present.
If you have any questions or additional concerns, please feel free to reach out to me directly. ejay@stmarkomaha.org.
Finally, and most importantly, remember that God has forgiven yesterday, is with you today, and has already taken care of all of your tomorrows, even into eternity. Amen.
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MEN + MUSIC + BBQNo, it doesn’t get any better than this… Are you a man? Do your vocal-chords work? Then put them to use for what they were made for and sign up to sing the praises of your God on Easter morning! Join Pastor Jay and 12 other brothers already signed up for our Easter Service special men’s choir. We will be singing two (2) great pieces on Easter morning for both services. Kick-Off Rehearsal and BBQSaturday, March 21st beginning at 4pm Email Pastor Jay to sing up! |
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WE STILL NEED TEACHERS!!Our childcare center enrollments and responses have been incredible…we can see the Lord’s hand at work! We really need to find additional Preschool and Childcare professionals to help this ministry! Are you or do you know someone that is experienced and passionate about children, teaching and caring for the Lord’s little ones? Please see our new JOBS PAGE on our website and be sure and tell those you know who may be interested. Candidates should contact our Center Director, Julie Kyriss, at jkyriss@stmarkomaha.org or by calling 402-913-2255. |
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I want to send the biggest thank you to everyone who donated for my service project. 
For the month of March the suggestion is Quality Crafts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Theme: In today’s story four men brought their paralytic friend to Jesus to be healed.We’re on week 5 of a 6 week theme series connecting Biblical teaching points to some favorite cereals. During this series kids are welcome to bring cereal to donate to Project Hope’s food bank as an offering. After this series we’ll spend a couple of weeks learning about Holy Week events and Easter. This week’s cereal was Lucky Charms. Later this month with St. Patrick’s Day there will be talk of luck and 4 leaf clovers, but we put our hope in something infinitely greater than ordinary or even ‘lucky’ things—Jesus. In today’s story 4 men brought their paralytic friend to Jesus to be healed. They were so sure that Jesus could help him that they even cut a hole in the roof of the house where Jesus was and lowered him down to the savior. Jesus loved him, forgave him, and healed him. Today the kids played an oversized board game where they were the playing pieces. As they journeyed around sometimes the luck they encountered was good and sometimes it was bad, but squares labelled ‘faith’ reminded them of God and His love as it kept them moving toward their final home. The kids also made crosses with bakeable clay and they really enjoyed squishing and rolling the little balls of colored dough before combining them to make their own unique creations. The crosses are not good luck charms, but meant to be reminders that Jesus does so much more for us than a 4 leaf clover or a rabbit’s foot dangling from a key chain. Remember if you see a kid from Sunday School walking around with their craft ask them about it. It gives them an opportunity to share God’s Love. If you would like to volunteer in this fun ministry please contact Kelly in the Church Office at kthompson@stmarkomaha.org or call 402-913-2258. |
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YOUTH MINISTRY NEWS!Mark Your Calendar:March 15th – 2:30 pm MS Youth Group / 4:30 pm HS Youth Group March 22nd – Spring Break – No Youth Group March 29th – 4:30 MS & HS Groups practice for Palm Sunday April 4th – 4:30 MS & HS Groups practice for Palm Sunday April 5th – 10:30 am Help with Palm Sunday Service April 11th – Volunteer to Help with Spring Festival – 9 am to 12 pm (Noon) April 12th – Serve Easter Breakfast – No Youth Group April 19th – 4:30 pm HS Youth Group June 14th thru June 18th – GOCO Nov 14-15 – NE MS Youth Gathering Grand Island November 20-22 – NE HS Youth Gathering LaVista |
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Act, Love, Walk…SimplyWhat does the Lord require of you? But to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8) 5th Annual Seek & Serve Day Saturday, April 25, 2020 – 9am – 4 pm Bible Study Leader: Remkea Ockander, Family Youth Ministry Director at Good Shepherd Lutheran Activities include: Making Cards for military personnel, missionaries, and new pastors/vicars coming to our district. Polar Fleece tied (adult size) blankets for Orphan Grain Train and district LWML scholarship recipients For 2020-2021 school year.
Cost is $15 Registration. Contact Lorrie Wacker lorriewacker@cox.net if you would like to go to this |
Women’s Bible StudyJoin Us for Women’s Bible Study. We will meet in the Fellowship Hall every other Thursday at 6:30 pm. Enough For Now: Unpacking God’s SufficiencyThe concept of ‘having enough’ is one that is not often experienced. If I only had more money … more success … more time … then I would be fulfilled. Yet, even when more is attained, it rarely satisfies. An eight-lesson Women’s Bible Study, Enough For Now, explores the idea of ‘enough’ through the study of Scripture – specifically the parable of the rich fool, personal stories and practical experiences. Over the course of the eight lessons, women will discover how to escape the insatiable quest for more by finding their ‘enough’ in God. About the Author There are are some books available to our group that were given to us. Please let Jolene or Lorrie know if you need a book. Books will be available for approximately $14.95 after we deplete the supply of available books. Please let Jolene Scalzo or Lorrie Wacker know if you would like to join us. |
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Verse of the Week: Quote of the Week: Fun Fact of the Week: |
Service Project Update: Saturday at 10:30 we will begin work on moving some landscape rock on the church grounds. Lunch provided. This Week: Our current study is called “Echo”, led by Pastor and author Jonathon Fisk. Christianity is not the ability to memorize or recite from books of Scripture or doctrine. It is not magic. It is not social club, counseling group, or self-help support group. It does not promise that you will be healthy, wealthy, wise, or even happy. Christianity is a truth—a truth first heard at the beginning of time that has echoed to this present age. A truth so profound that no man can master it, yet even a child can learn it. “As Iron Sharpens Iron, Men Sharpen Men!” St. Mark Band of Brothers: Raising up men to be warriors and disciples for Christ… for their families… as single men… in their workplaces… and in their community! All men and high school aged boys are welcome to join the St. Mark Band of Brothers on Saturday Mornings at 9 am in the St. Mark Youth Room. Join us as we work to center our lives around God’s Word to be the man God is calling us to be. To request the Band of Brothers weekly updates and study guides contact Jack Swanda at jswanda@cox.net. |
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T-SHIRT / POLO ORDERS UPDATENEW ORDERS BEING TAKEN!! No fees or charges for ordering online! Go to www.stmarkomaha.org and click on the “Store” top menu item. Or you can click here
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The Days Ahead
Thursday, March 12th Friday, March 13th Saturday, March 14th Sunday, March 15th Monday, March 16th Tuesday, March 17th Wednesday, March 18th Thursday, March 19th |
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OUR CHURCH STAFF AND LEADERSHIP |
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| Rev. Eric Jay, Pastor Kurt Harmoney, Director of Ministry Operations Julie Kyriss, Preschool & Childcare Director Kirsten Suhr, Administrative Assistant Daren Clark, Facility Technician |
Elders Kim Burger Steve Barry Doug Doerr Andy Groothuis Terry Matuska Peter Oldenburg Mike Ringler Jack Swanda |
Parish Leadership Council Alan Meyer – President Chuck Kuntz – Vice President Mike Munderloh – Treasurer Jolene Scalzo – Secretary Lisa Buchele Lisa Hayes Bruce Sharp Gale Suhr |
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This Week’s BirthdaysFriday, March 13th Saturday, March 14th Sunday, March 15th Tuesday, March 17th Wednesday, March 18th This Week’s AnniversariesSaturday, March 14th Kenneth & Carolyn Worrell James & Tammy Bailey |
Next Week’s BirthdaysFriday, March 20th Saturday, March 21st Sunday, March 22nd Monday, March 23rd Wednesday, March 25th Next Week’s AnniversariesSaturday, March 21st |
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