VOLUME 13, ISSUE 11 NOVEMBER 2014

ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

513 NASSAU STREET SOUTH ♦ VENICE FL 34285-2816

THE MESSENGER

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ, Over the past couple of weeks, many of you may have noticed an emphasis on stewardship through the lec-tionary readings, bulletin inserts, sermons and our educational programs and speakers. The message of stewardship, and how our time, talent and treasure may be given to glorify God, has definitely been high-lighted. Then all of this was culminated with our gala Stewardship Dinner on Monday night and the won-derful stewardship talk shared with us by our speaker, The Rev. Barney Hawkins from Virginia Theological Seminary. Without a doubt, the theme of stewardship has been “front and center” in our communal life here at St. Mark’s. But why? What does all this emphasis on stewardship really mean in the first place? For many folks, both in our church and other worshipping communities, stewardship is one of those words that can be very confusing and often misunderstood. Too often it is only associated with money or a time of the year—as in a “Stewardship Season.” Nothing could be further from the truth on both accounts. By definition, stewardship entails so much more. So, how then, do we explain it? Well first of all, stewardship does have something to do with money, but the heart of stewardship really lies in how we view and share our gifts from God as followers of Jesus Christ. Stewardship is an attitude, not a church program. So how do we see and embrace what has been given us so freely from our Creator? How do we view our responsibility as caretakers of God’s many gifts to us? How do we use our time, tal-ents and resources to make God’s kingdom a living reality of love today? Where is our heart and our grate-fulness regarding all that is a gift from God? Our honest answers to these questions will help give insight to how we understand stewardship. Like many of you, I have oftentimes in my life associated stewardship with only giving money toward a “seasonal” campaign, paying dues, or contributing to the membership fee of a particular church. Unfortu-nately that has seemed to be the prevailing thought for many people for all too long. The messages we have received countless times are: if we don’t give more, we cant’ pay the bills; we’re behind in the budget and we need to dig deeper; if we want A, B, and C, it is going to cost us D, E, and F. The problem with those messages is that some of those things we hate to hear can be true. Churches do need money to operate—to pay their bills, provide wonderful services and programs to their members and to those in need of help or assistance in our community. That is part of the reality of stewardship. The other problem with those messages is that they don’t address one of the most vital aspects of steward-ship—our natural response of gratitude for God’s goodness. That is where discipleship in Christ comes in and where our theology of stewardship is also defined. That is also where the “dance of love” with God comes in. Continued on p. 6

INTERFAITH OUTREACH Help!

We could use more volunteers to assist with Community Dinners, BackPack Kids, Cold Weather Shelter. There will be a “Stone Soup” supper on Thursday, November 6, 5:30-7:00 p.m. in Punch Hall at Grace United Methodist Church. It’s not too late to sign up. Call 941.202.9527 to speak with a volunteer and learn how you can help.

Episcopal church women

Reminder:

Tuesday, December 2,10:30 a.m. General Membership Gathering Living Nativity by St. Mark's Preschool 11:00 Business Meeting 11:15 Holy Eucharist Lunch at a local restaurant Reservation required. Tuesday, January 6, 2015 ECW Morning Social Hour, 11 a.m. Special Guest: Mrs. Bertha Palmer Spanish Point

Special request from

peter madpak

In January we will have the privilege and joy of having the Voices of Virginia Wesleyan College performing the Fauré Requiem at St. Mark’s along with our St. Mark’s Choir. We need a few volunteers to provide housing for these young adults while they’re in Venice for three nights (January 16, 17 &18). Please contact Peter if you are able to provide temporary lodging for two or three (or more!) students. Your responsibilities will be limited to: providing safe housing; break-fast for 2 days; dinner for one day (all other meals will be at St. Mark’s); transportation to and from St. Mark’s for rehearsals, Sunday ser-

vices and the concert. Call Peter Madpak at 488.7714 to find out more. Other upcoming concerts: Wednesday, Novem-ber 5, following dinner, All Saints’ Evensong with St. Mark’s Choir. Friday, December 5, 7 p.m. First Brass of Sarasota, our own Bob Miller will be conducting.

Salvation army kettle

campaign rings true! Beginning the day before Thanksgiving, volun-teers from St. Mark’s will again be participating in the Salvation Army's annual campaign to pro-vide for the needy of the area. We will be ring-ing the bell at Publix on Venice Avenue for 4 two-hour shifts each day, Monday through Saturday, up to and including Christmas Eve. Single bell ringers, pairs and even entire families partici-pate. All agree that it is a fun and satisfying two hours. Most do their assignment in pairs. Some sing, some bring the grandkids, some bring the dog and some even bring the grandkids, the dog and musical instruments. All that is required is that you smile, ring the bell and enjoy the gift of giving. Due to attrition in the ranks, we are asking pa-rishioners who have not yet done this to consider volunteering for this ministry. The more people we have, the lighter the load. Assignments will be mailed in early November. Contact Steve Plichta at 941.480.1611 or at aaplichta@verizon.net. There are sign-up sheets in the narthex and in Gray Hall for NEW volun-teers only. Please consider this easy-to-do, fun ministry. For several years St. Mark’s has been recognized as having one of the, if not THE larg-est collection in our area. Thank you to our vol-unteers and to all who contributed to the kettle.

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MARK’S MEN MOVE MEET-

ING TO VETERANS’ DAY

Since our theme in November is Veterans, the men of St. Mark’s will meet on Veterans’ Day, Tuesday, November 11, rather than the usual third Tuesday. All men are invited to join us for a fine meal prepared by Chef Blow. Following din-ner we are pleased to have retired U.S. Army Colonel Linda L. Gould speak to the group. Colonel Gould is currently the Legacy of Valor Coordinator at The Patterson Foundation. She

will provide an update and overview of the Legacy of Valor project as well as comment on her own dis-tinguished career. Col. Gould retired from the U.S. Army with over 29 years of Active Duty Ser-vice. She served as a Mili-tary Intelligence Officer, and as a Latin American Foreign Area Officer, flu-

ent in Spanish. In additional to several tours of duty in Washington, D.C. her assignments in Mil-itary Intelligence included Frankfurt, Germany, the U.S. Southern Command in Panama and Mi-ami and the Joint Task Force-Bravo Liaison Of-ficer in Honduras and Guatemala. She was the first female Army officer to command a U.S. Mil-itary Group in Latin America. Her military awards include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Honduran Medal of Merit First Class, the Guatemalan Army Cross and the Conference of Central American Armed Forces Silver Medal. Col. Gould holds a Master of Arts degree in Latin American Studies from the University of New Mexico and a Master of Strate-gic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. She received her undergraduate degree in Interna-tional Studies/Latin America from the University of South Florida. Sign up on one of the blue sheets

in Gray Hall or in the narthex. Please show up promptly at 6 p.m. for dinner. For more infor-mation on this particular event, contact Bobby Wood at 480.0077.

THANKSGIVING DINNER Sign-up sheets are posted in the narthex and in Gray Hall for the Thursday, November 27, din-ner. This is wonderful opportunity for those who are not able to undertake preparing such a big meal or who would like to be among good friends on this special day. Chef Blow and family do all the work. You may bring an hors d’oeuvre to share. Everything else it taken care of.

What the youth

are doing November 22: The Youth Group will be doing a Thanksgiving Outreach Project with Pinellas Hope, the tent city in Pinellas Park. We will be prepar-ing and serving dinner to the residents and possi-bly working on another project on site. Youth will meet at St. Mark’s at noon to help prepare the food for the evening. We could use some adult drivers. Any questions or if you’re interest-ed in joining us, please contact Jackie. This is open to youth age 11 and up.

November 21: Thanksgiving Messy Church will be held at St. Mark’s. Messy Church is a time for families to gather, share a meal, hear a Bible sto-ry, sing some songs, and make some crafts. This fun faith filled evening is free of charge; we just need you to RSVP in order to determine how much food to prepare. Volunteers are always wel-come!

December 3: We will be having our Third Annual Intergenerational Gingerbread House Decorating Con-test. We hope you will bring your creativity and appetite and join us for dinner at 5:30 followed by

PAGE 3 THE MESSENGER

decorating. Our finished products will be taken to a local nursing home to help bring some holiday cheer to residents.

December 12: Family Movie Night on the Lawn! Join us at 6:00 p.m. for dinner and a movie on the lawn. We will be watching The Polar Express! There will be hotdogs, popcorn and, of course, hot choco-late! Youth ages 11 and up are invited to join us in spending the night at the church and for our Christ-mas Scavenger Hunt and Adopt-a-Family shopping trip the next morning.

Women of Faith & Fun

“Women of Faith & Fun” warmly invite you to join us for an exciting meeting on Monday, November 10, 6:30 p.m. in the church office building. Our special guest is a friend of St. Mark’s who will be sharing her amazing experiences in Antarctica in-cluding a video she filmed herself! Watch for sign-up sheets in the narthex and Gray Hall. For further information, please call Susanne Isbill at 497.3463.

ALL FAITH'S FOOD BANK

FOOD DRIVE Please don't forget to begin saving canned and boxed food to bring to whichever church service you attend the weekends of November 8 & 9 and November 15& 16. We hope to have more food than ever to fill the All Faith's Food Bank Truck to help those who are in need. If you would prefer to make a monetary donation, remember for each dollar that is donated, All Faith's can purchase more than two dollars worth of food. Make your check out to St. Mark's Episcopal Church and put "All Faith's Food Bank" on the memo line. Maury will send a check to All Faith's Food Bank so they will have it before Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for your continued support.

—Lunetta Knowlton, Chairperson Mission and Outreach Committee

National Health

Observances

November is a very busy month for National Health Observances. So why do we as a nation need to be awake of these health issues? By bringing aware-ness to many health care programs, the public can evaluate their own personal risk, get new ideas for prevention and treatment, and access resources on health topics of interest to each of us as individuals. This month’s observances are:

American Diabetes Month (www.diabetes.org) COPD Awareness Month (www.lungusa.org) Diabetic Eye Disease Month (www.preventblindness.org) Lung cancer awareness Month (www.lungcanceralliance.org) National Alzheimer’s Disease Awareness Month (www.alz.org) National Family Caregivers Month (www.thefamilycaregiver.org) National Healthy Skin Month (www.aad.org) National Hospice Palliative Care Month (www.nhpco.org) National Stomach Cancer Awareness Month (www.nostomachforcancer.org) Drowsy Driving Prevention (www.sleepfoundation.org) November 15 is the Great American Smokeout (www.cancer.org) November 17 is International Survivors of Suicide Day (survivingsuicideloss@afsp.org) November 18-24 is Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease Awareness (www.aboutgerd.org)

Be informed! What health issue are you interested in? Check out these organizations for in-depth in-formation and available materials. Let us take care of the personal resources God gave to each of us— our health.

April Merrill, R.N. Parish Nurse

� Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spir-it within you, which you have from God, and that you are not

your own? —I Corinthians 6:19

PAGE 4 THE MESSENGER

Newcomer social

Degen and Dave Sayer will host a Newcomers’ Welcome Reception at their home on Sunday, November 16, at 5 p.m. Church newcomers within the last year who did not come to a similar event previously should consider this a cordial in-vitation to attend. If you plan to do so, call Degen at 941.445.5071 for further information.

ALL FAITH'S FOOD BANK

FOOD DRIVE Please don't forget to begin saving canned and boxed food to bring to whichever church service you attend the weekends of November 8 & 9 and November 15 & 16. We hope to have more food than ever to fill the All Faith's Food Bank Truck to help those who are in need. If you would prefer to make a monetary donation, remember for each dollar that is donated, All Faith's can purchase more than two dollars worth of food. Make your check out to St. Mark's Epis-copal Church and put "All Faith's Food Bank" on the memo line. Maury will send a check to All Faith's Food Bank so they will have it before Thanksgiving. Thank you so much for your con-tinued support.

—Lunetta Knowlton, Chairperson Mission and Outreach Committee

GRIEF AND THE Holidays A one-hour session with Dr. LaGrand

Wednesday, November 19 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. in the church office building

Bring an hors d’oeuvre to share Open to all

BLACK & WHITE NIGHT

Thank you to everyone who attended St. Mark's Preschool Black & White Silent Auction Dinner and thank you to all those who supported the event! Special thanks to Royal Air Conditioning Event Sponsor and Hoskins Pest Control Platinum Sponsor. We had a spectacular evening complete with a gourmet meal from Paul Skulitz and Jim Blow, piano music from Sharon Watson, a slide show of all the children who attend St. Mark's Preschool and more auction items then can be re-counted. Especially wonderful was being able to socialize and talk with families of the preschool, preschool and church staff, parishioners and com-munity friends. Proceeds from the auction will help build our bus fund (our buses are aging at 15 years despite low mileage), provide some scholar-ships for families in emergencies, add to classroom educational supplies such as building blocks, math and literacy toys plus other needs. And now on to planning next year's event—our 14th silent auc-tion and dinner!

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Singles United is holding its first meeting of the 2014-2015 season. We will meet for brunch at EGGS-TRAordinary, 2282 Tamiami Trail, Nokomis on Sunday, November 16 at 1 p.m. The group is open to all single men and women of St. Marks and their friends. We are a social group and our aim is to make it easy for single people to connect with others so that they have friends to join in activities with them. Please bring your ideas for activities for us to the meeting. If you have any questions, please call Bernice Allison at 941-493-6078.

Letter from the Rector continued from p. 1 I remember as a youngster my older sister teach-ing me how to dance. Even though I was an eager learner, I had trouble at first because I became preoccupied with making sure I knew all the cor-rect steps when dancing. I needed to get it right and felt an obligation to “do the steps” exactly as I had been instructed. I was definitely focused on making sure I followed what was expected of me. Unfortunately, in my desire of getting it right, I missed the dance—the joy of the dance, the beau-ty and rhythm of the dance, and whom I was dancing with. Stewardship is a lot like that. Stewardship is a way of life, an attitude, a “sense of being,” in how we take care of ourselves, our neighbors, our world and our resources. It is an expression of our love for God and our love to God. Giving to God, whether through our time, talents or treasure, should not be about counting the steps or making sure we are getting it right, but rather, about enjoying the dance. Our pledge (or tithe) this year to the ministry and work of God at St. Mark’s should not be a stum-bling block due to what we have always associated with stewardship or “getting the steps right” but rather as a reference to help us determine if we are truly enjoying the dance, or simply standing by the punch bowl of life. May our rhythm be entwined with the rhythm of God and may we dance with God in the “dance of love” that brings music and joy to all of humanity. For in doing so, our understanding of stewardship may finally make sense.

In Christ’s love, Jim+

PAGE 6 THE MESSENGER

MEMORIAL

GIFTS

Donations received to honor the memory of:

Pauline S. Walther by

Rose Hightower Jane Marcin

Pat Winegard

Emeritus—Englewood Britta Swanson

Gardens of Venice Lee Phillips

Harbor Chase Barbara Gerrish

Harbor Inn South Jean Albanese Joyce Backhaus

Village on the Isle Barbara Bryant Ann Dover Louise Hood

Windsor Rocky & Bonne Bryan

OUR HOMEBOUND

FAMILY

U.S. POSTAGEPAID

MANASOTA FLPERMIT #900

WE ’RE ON THE WEB !

WWW .STMARKSVENICE .ORG

L IKE US ON FACEBOOK !

church located at: 508 Riviera Street 941.488.7714

church fax: 941.484.0596 preschool: 941.484.8707

Clergy: James H. Puryear (Rector), Judith S. Roberts (Interim Associate Rector), John Lawrence (Assisting Priest), Keith Backhaus (Deacon), Lynne Greene (Deacon, retired), Joyce Treppa (Deacon) Vestry: Bobby Wood (Sr. Warden), Larry Lewis (Jr. Warden), Sam Corns, Jim Duval, Gary Dowrey, Maureen Maigret, Jane Marcin, John K. Moore, Susan Park, Jane Rexinger, Paul Skulitz, Clover Webster, Michael Knowlton (treasurer), Debbie Pfender (secretary) Church staff: Peter A. Madpak (Choirmaster & Organist), Jackie Overton (Youth), April Merrill (Parish Nurse), Sandy Albanese (Parish Administrator), Carlotta Woolpert (Administrative Assistant), Maury Leman (Finance), Vicki Mahon (Sexton), Jim Gietek (Assistant Sexton)

ST. MARK’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH

513 NASSAU STREET SOUTH

VENICE FL 34285-2816

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord! —Romans 12:11

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St. Mark’s

Book Circle

The book discussion group meets the third Tuesday at 10 a.m. in Gray Hall, unless other-wise announced. You are invit-ed to attend just to listen or to participate. Readings are select-ed by the participants and each month we have a different facili-tator.

For November we are reading and discussing:

Tolstoy and the Purple Chair, by Nina Sankovitch

Hope to see you at the meeting on November 18 when you can pick up a list of the readings for the rest of the year.

Vestry

nominations

If you know someone who would make a good candidate to serve on St. Mark’s Vestry, please submit their name to the church office before November 30. Nominees should, at a mini-mum,

♦ attend St. Mark’s Church services regularly

♦ partake in Holy Communion

♦ be known to the treasurer

♦ be able to attend monthly vestry meetings

♦ have their letter of member- ship at St. Mark’s

Also, vestry members should make every effort to attend church functions such as

Wednesday night dinners, clas-ses and programs and more. Election is held at the Annual Meeting on Sunday, January 25, 2015. Saturday night, November 1, remember this!

CHURCH OFFICE CLOSED: Tuesday, November 11 Thursday & Friday, November 27 & 28 Please return calamon-din jelly jars to Carolyn Wolf. You may also leave them at the church office. Thank you!