In the sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life,

we commend to almighty God

Ray Polasky

With the passing of Ray Polasky earlier this month, his funeral service will be held at St. Mark's on Saturday, March 15th @ 11:00am with a reception to follow. Please contact the church office if you would like to volunteer to help with the service or reception.

+Rest eternal grant her, O Lord, and light perpetual shine on her+

A Time for Renewal

During the December meeting, St. Mark’s council approved a sabbatical for Pastor Matt spanning May, June, and July of 2026. Plans are still in the early stages, and Pastor Matt will absolutely share more as they develop. But for now... Click here to continue reading.

Between the World and Me

March 9 - March 30

In response to the St. Marks vision goal to continue work of racial healing, we will read Ta-Neishi Coates’ Between the World and Me as part of our Adult Faith Formation class. This book is a letter written by the author to his then teenage son. Coates relates his experiences as a Black man growing up in America to his child. The purpose of the letter is to share with his son the realities of being Black in America. Between the World and Me won the National Book Award for Non-Fiction in 2015. With discussion led by RJ Hroneck, this class will meet March 2 - March 30. *Books are available in the Commons with a suggested donation of $10 per book* Meet in the library!

Concord of Sweet Sounds Resources

from Cantor David

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Concord of Sweet Sounds faith formation class! Your questions, participation, and general enthusiasm for learning made it a joy to lead. As promised, here is a document with clickable links to every piece we listened to during the class sessions. 

LAST CALL - SIGN UP FOR SMALL GROUPS

beginning March 12th

Each week, groups of 6-8 people will spend time together to grow in relationship with God and one another, then join the larger gathering for a provided meal, and Holden Evening Prayer in the Fellowship Hall.  

Small Groups begin at 5:30pm!

Faithful Feet - THIS SATURDAY

beginning March 8th

Looking for a Lenten discipline to support both your spiritual and physical wellbeing? Join Deacon Katie "Faithful Feet" to pray and walk your way through Lent! Each week there will be two morning opportunities to meet out in the community to pray together, then walk, run, skate, or skip for as long as you'd like.

Where:

Meet/Park at the Asheville Botanical Gardens (151 W.T Weaver Blvd) to walk the Reed Creek Greenway

When:

Tuesdays at 8:00am - March 11, 18, 25, & April 1, 8, and 15

Saturdays at 9:00am - March 8,15,22, and 29, April 5, 12, and 19 

The Ongoing Fight for Freedom

March 7th @ 7pm

The North Carolina Black Veterans will present "The Ongoing Fight for Freedom" at the Black Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. Tickets are required but free.

Register and get your ticket here. Find more information on by clicking on the image.

Hood Huggers Historical FREE Tours

Each year during Black History Month, Hood Huggers International offers FREE BLACK HISTORY TOURS to Black youth and adults who live in Buncombe County.  Their Black History tours through Asheville offer a journey through African American historical sites in the downtown area, neighborhoods throughout the city, and highlight historical artwork. If you would like to donate to Hood Huggers to support this initiative, or to find out more about this community gem, please visit their website hoodhuggers.com or call (828) 275-5305 ext 0.

Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women

The RHT will be presenting a small window into the MMIW crisis right here over the next few weeks. MMIW is an acronym for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and refers to the ongoing violence against the First Nations, Metis, Inuit, American Indian, and Alaska Native. MMIW is an urgent human rights issue and has become the rallying cry for action against such acts of violence. The very first action we can take is educating ourselves.

The MMIW Red Hand ~ It is a Native American belief that the dead can see red, so by wearing red it invokes the help of ancestors and spiritual guides. A red hand over the mouth stands for all the missing sisters whose voices are not heard. It stands for the silence of the media and law enforcement in the midst of this crisis. It stands for the oppression and subjugation of Native women who are now rising up to say, “No more stolen sisters!”

Week 6 Resources

The Difficulties & Challenges of the MMIW Crisis (from Justice for MMIW:Unveiled Stories & Our Voices) ~

• Jurisdictional Complications
• Data Gaps
• Financial Constraints
• Indifference
• Slow Progress
• Impact on Communities

Read about the details of these difficulties and challenges here.

Additional Resource ~

Fault Lines: The Search: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women Fault Lines travels across the western U.S. to Washington, Montana and New Mexico to find out why Indigenous women are going missing at alarming rates and what more can be done to address this problem.  

Week 5 Resources

Indigenous women in the U.S. face high levels of violence - more than 4 out of 5 women/girls have experienced violence! Legal limitations hinder tribal prosecution of non-Natives for crimes on tribal lands, exacerbating domestic, sexual violence, and MMIW issues. As you have been reading over the past weeks, these challenges stem from historical government policies affecting Native communities.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reports that MMIW cases are widespread but underreported due to gaps in federal data. Inconsistent data collection and entry challenges faced by tribal law enforcement, due to resource and technological limitations, obscure the crisis’s full scope. 

U.S. jurisdictional complexities involving tribal sovereignty and varied laws impede MMIW case resolution. Determining jurisdiction based on crime location, victim’s, and perpetrator’s tribal status adds to these challenges. Look at this chart for “clarification.” Spoiler alert - it’s confusing!

Search for the movie Wind River on your smart TV and look out for the indifferent attitude of the FBI when it comes to MMIW cases, which in turn affects the timeline of working these cases. 

Contact Information

Parish Administrator

admin@stmarkslutheran.net

Our Mission:

Making disciples by loving Christ,

growing in faith, serving all people

Our Vision:

Experiencing and sharing God's grace as an inclusive, intergenerational congregation through Worship, Outreach, Learning and Fellowship