Marimba Registration is open for adults and youth!

• Adult Marimba Workshop: Saturday, June 3rd - morning or afternoon sessions.
   
• Summer Youth Marimba Camp: Mon-Fri, August 21-25 (grades 2-12)

Cost: $50 per person

Forms are available on a table outside the church office, and can be turned in to Linda or Nicole in the office. Space is limited, so get your registration in soon!

Questions? Send to:  cooper.sherry@smlutheran.org

The Endowment Committee is pleased to announce that the St. Mark's Endowment Fund was large enough this year to support three small grants totaling $2,400. Our congregational ministry continues to be blessed by the $40,000 gift given from the Russ and Ann Hillman estate in 2013 and the $10,000 memorial gift given in honor of David Ostrander in 2016. The Fund continues to grow each year through faithful, ongoing gifts by current members of St. Mark's. This year's grants include:

If you would like more information about how your planned giving to the Endowment Fund can help create a future legacy of generosity at St. Mark's, please contact any continuing member of the Endowment Committee: Jennifer Droubay, Jeff Ganung, or Deborah Herforth.

Offerings in April were $105,225 or nearly $18,000 ahead of budget for the month. While we are still below budgeted offerings for the year by more than $44,000, this is the "right" direction for the last quarter of our fiscal year! Thank you to each of you for helping move closer to meeting our approved budget for the year. Compared to last year, giving is basically flat (0.8% above) for the same period, with total income of $876,221 and $868,787, respectively.

 

Expenses in April continued to be well managed, coming in $2,835 below budget. Spending for the fiscal year is now under budget by more than $28,000. Much of that "under-spending" continues to be from staffing reconfigurations. Expenses are 6.2% above last year over the same time period, at $866,905 and $816,526, respectively.

 

The strong offerings in April brought our fiscal year-to-date "bottom line" (income vs. expense)  back from a negative at the end of March ($8,722) to a positive at the end of April ($9,316). Sincere thanks for your continued generosity and support of our ongoing ministry and mission. As we heard from the Stewardship team during worship recently, we have an opportunity to finish the year strong together!

 

Please contact Jennifer Droubay or Mike McKeller in the Church office with any questions (253-752-4966) .

Doris Larsen, Sunday, May 21 at 3:00 pm

Jeanne Forseth, Friday, June 2 at 2:00 pm

Dennis Hulbert, Sunday, June 4 at 4:00 pm

We have just completed a very successful "Blessings in Abundance" campaign for which we can be grateful. 

One of the blessings we have at St. Mark's is an abundance of ministry options for our stewardship of time. 

Five years ago St Mark's received a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Grant to study homelessness in our community.  It was a real eye-opener for me. 

As I drive over the Narrows Bridge to St. Mark's I see nothing but nice homes and well-manicured yards.  But we all learned that our community has many homeless families. 

As a result of this study, our church became part of the Family Housing Network, hosting as many as five families for a week three times a year.  This provides a number of opportunities for service, from meal preparation to overnight hosting. 

We also made a connection with DeLong Elementary School, which has the highest percentage of homeless students (10%) of any school in Tacoma.  St. Mark's supplies backpacks with food for the children to take home on weekends. We also provide "lunch buddies" during recess and lunch one day a week, of which I am one.  Just being there means a lot to these 4th graders.  It's something our "buddies" can count on in their difficult lives.  The commitment of my "time" has become an important part of my week.  

Thank you to all who donated items to the 83 layettes that went out this past week to LWR.  We continue to put these together only with your help so please continue to bring in bars of soap (best buy is at Costco with a package of 10-12 bars), infant socks (badly needed), bag style or footless sleepers, cotton receiving blankets and diapers (always needed) and of course flannel to be made into blankets or diapers.  You can put your donations in the bins marked LWR near the office door.                                                                 

A special thank you goes out to Jana Skaga and Kim Lowe who have been so helpful to me in "wrapping" the layettes up.

Any questions please call Randi Holland at 253-905-5693

Would you like to help with the luncheon?  Sign up sheets will be available.

As we explore this year's congregational theme, "One Great Song", we turn our attention to Israel's songbook.  The Psalms are a collection of 150 songs and poems that have been sung and recited for more than 3,000 years. They are beloved by both Jews and Christians and have shaped the imagination and strengthened the faith of people.  Together we will drink from this deep well as we spend 5 weeks studying the Book of Psalms.  Note-There will be two opportunities to be part of this study:  Wednesdays at 6:15pm  or Sundays at 11:00am (beginning May 7th).  Questions?  Contact Pastor Shjerven