St. Mark’s Lutheran

I have added a catagory called Area Ministries and a link under that catagory called healthy hearts.

That link takes you to a page for a Support Group Ministry based out of Ridgeland Community Church. This Tuesday (8/26) I met with the sponsors and people behind this ministry. You might have seen the front page ad in the Penny Saver this week as well. They will be sponsoring three Groups:

Grief Share - This is a support group for people who have lost loved ones and are finding their way through the grief
Divorce Care - This is a support group for those going through or who have gone through a divorce and the pain that it can cause
Celebrate Recovery - This is a more general group based around hurts, hang-ups and habits. Serious substance abuse might not be the best use, but recognizing and altering personal bad habits.

Part of the vision of this ministry is allowing smaller churches to come together and address hurts and needs in a way they might not be able to otherwise. The groups are 13 week (one quarter) meetings which you can join at any point. They are biblically based and produced originally out of Saddleback (Rick Warren’s church). The organizers clearly have a pure heart for this ministry.

If you are having trouble in any of the areas these would address, please contact me. As your minister, I would like to support you in any way that I can. If you would like to enroll, I would also want to be sure that you have the time and opportunity to process the experience after the 13 weeks.

For further information, the link is above or in the side-bar, or please contact me directly.

Tags: Announcements by Parson Brown
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In the comments Liz Waring asks - “Would it also be possible to post the entire sermon after it’s been given?”

The answer is yes. In fact the full text of the sermon is on the website connected to the word cloud picture in the sermon posts. If you have MS Word or MS Word viewer just click on the word cloud and the full text (at least the written text which is usually 95%+ what is given) of the sermon will pop up. You can also right click on the word cloud and choose the ’save target as…’ option to download and save the file.

There is a second option if you want the text, but don’t have MS Word or viewer and don’t want MS on your system. I post the sermons in text only form to a separate site. On the sidebar under toolkit is a link called Parson Brown’s Sermons. That link takes you to a site that has all of my delivered sermons by date. The format that page uses is strictly text, so the helpful formatting gets lost, but the text is there.

The last option is that if anyone want the text, just drop me an email and I can directly send you the file, or if you want paper contact the office and we can make a copy.

Now that I am delightfully happy that someone asked about what I was saying, my day has been made. May the Lord make your day as happy.

Tags: Announcements by Parson Brown
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I’ve created a league and sent out initial invites. My email list is limited, so if you didn’t get one and want to be a part please email me.

The league website is football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/stmfootball

As I said in the invite, they only question left is: who gets beat by the parson?

Tags: Announcements, Culture by Parson Brown
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There will be a mailing going out to the membership and in the bulletins regarding plans, recommendations and timelines for the Bible Class & Sunday School ministry. The content of that note can also be found on the Bible Class & Sunday School page (click Bible Class & Sunday School above) or click here.

The note is a little long, but it is important for the congregation. Please take a few minutes to read through and then prayfully consider helping out in this ministry.

Tags: Announcements by Parson Brown
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The following letter was sent to the congregational e-mail list today and will be available in this Sunday’s bulletin. It might be a little long, but please take the time to read and consider. The dual messages I believe are important for this congregation to have at the front of its mind…

May the Lord’s grace be with you and your family:

The purpose of this note is two-fold. The immediate spur is the Sunday School. Rally Day is or would be 6 Sundays away from this Sunday (7/27). The larger view is something that I have been talking with the leadership of the congregation about – congregational priorities and identity. How St. Mark sees itself plays out directly in the congregation’s priorities. The congregation’s priorities should see themselves reflected in pastoral time and attention. There are many different congregational identities that are meaningful and viable, but ultimately they all must find their identity in Christ and in His mission to call sinners to repentance and life. Ultimately, finding our identity in Christ means following Him and His lead. That lead always is grounded in witness to the saving power of Jesus and flows out in service to our neighbor. I am far too new to be making recommendations, but what I hope to offer is sound spiritual guidance and some this worldly leadership as St. Mark figures out what it wants to be as a congregation.

The immediate situation of Sunday School is a particular reflection of the congregational identity. Sunday School is also one of those unique opportunities for witness and service. When you ask most Christians for the list of the three people who most influenced their faith, after parents and a beloved pastor, comes a special Sunday school teacher. A supported and well run Sunday School is a fundamental ministry of any congregation. It should also be of primary importance to parents whose kids are of Sunday School age. The lesson of Mark 10:13-16 is clear; children are a priority and in fact only those who are children before God will inherit the Kingdom. From a more mundane leadership standpoint, Sunday School, Bible Class and other small groups are the backbone for witness to the non-Christian. From Surprising Insights from the Unchurched (p117), 85% of the formerly unchurched become active through these routes. 83% of new Christians remain active 5 years later if they are involved in a Sunday School or Bible class. Only 16% of those involved in worship activities only remain active (p118). From The Unchurched Next Door, 82% of people responded that they were ‘somewhat likely’ or ‘very likely’ to attend if asked (p. 267). The Social Science and the Theology are on the same page. To be effective in reaching people with the Love of Christ, children are a priority. A Sunday School offers those chances for growth, both to the children being instructed and for the instructors to do the good works laid out in advance for us to do (Eph 2:10).

With that information there will be two upcoming activities. As per the Bulletins the last couple of weeks, there will be a 7 PM meeting on Tuesday the 29th with the purpose of estimating interest, need and brainstorming on implementation options for Sunday School and Bible Class. There will follow an education board meeting on Aug 12 at noon (following VBS). The immediate purpose will be to ensure plans to get successfully to Rally Day, September 7th. Part of those plans will be curriculum and proper support and training for the instructors.

Please prayerfully consider this ministry opportunity. Be open to the Spirit’s guidance. Please come to either of the above mentioned meetings, or give me directly your thoughts, ideas or concerns. My contact numbers are here at the church, 585-486-4474 at home or pastor@saintmarkslutheran.org. May the Lord bless your walk with Him.

In Christ,

Mark Brown

Tags: Announcements, Witness, Youth by Parson Brown
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If you look at the sidebar you will find a new catagory and a couple of new links. I wanted to give a description of them and why they are on the site as they branch out beyond the narrowly sectarian and purely bible links I started with. It won’t be a common thing, but these two seem to deserve a nod.

The first one is GetReligion. It is a blog by a group of religion beat reporters whose main beef is that scare-quotes ‘mainsteam reporters’ just don’t get religion or the religious. The lack of understanding colors all the news that we receive as their metal filters never get or even inquire about the religious angle. This site is their attempt to point eggregious examples and to encourage better understanding.

The second site is On Faith. This is a response by the Washington Post and Newsweek to ‘get religion’.

Neither site is written from a strictly Christian viewpoint (GetReligion might be closer than On Faith), but both are well written attempts to treat religion as something other than a ghetto or subculture story.

Tags: Announcements by Parson Brown
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Please check out the VBS tab. We will be teaming with West Henrietta Baptist to bring Group publishing’s POWER LAB where kids will discover the Power of Jesus. There is a link to preregistration on the page and further information about dates, times and places.

Tags: Announcements by Parson Brown
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Welcome to the St. Mark website. I’m making a guess that you are already associated with the congregation and have either just read about this site in the newsletter, or you’ve heard about it through the grapevine. This is the currently spartan blog page that the newletter mentioned and I’m the minister arriving at the end of June. The main purpose of the site is communication in a variety of ways. Poke around the site a little. You will see pages (about, history and preschool) that contain some static info like worship times, the historical narrative created by St. Mark (from text to pictures) and contacts. This piece that you are reading is a post on the blog. As this page becomes active, something new will appear here almost daily. Off to the side (called the sidebar) I’ve filled in some helpful links (and steered clear of controversial links at this time). And something I want you to click through on after reading this is the Survey page. Right now, it has two surveys (maybe more by the time you read this). One won’t be interesting until I get there, a Sermon feedback form. On this I ask for the date of the sermon, a simple 1 to 5 rating and any comments you might have - all submitted anonymously. I’m hoping not to give too many 1’s from the pulpit, but feedback is necessary for growth. The other survey currently there is a way I can start to get to know everyone until I physically get to NY. I’ve asked for your name, email and most importantly you favorite Hymns. The drop down box has all the Lutheran Service Book (LSB) Hymns in it. Just click the arrow and select your favority hymn. I’ve also included a text box for input of the name of a hymn or song that didn’t make LSB. (Not my absolute favorite but one of my favorites was in LW but didn’t make the LSB cut - St. Francis’s beautiful poem All Creatures of Our God and King with Alleluias. I could just as easily add I’ll Fly Away or Mighty to Save.) Anyway, please click survey and send me your favorite hymn or song. That song usually says a bunch. My grandmother’s was The Old Rugged Cross. Mine, Of the Father’s Love Begotten (#384). I’d like to know yours, so click surveys and fill out the form.

Tags: Announcements by Parson Brown
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