Many thanks for keeping Holy Week with us

We have so much gratitude for everyone who helped keep our beautiful traditions going - and reaching new people with Jesus on their hearts and minds - this season. Thank you to our clergy, staff, sextons, choir and musicians, ushers, lectors, acolytes and assisting ministers, Altar Guild, Flower Ministry, Parish Life, Vestry, devotion writers, and all who volunteered of their time and talents to enrich a Holy Lent and a Blessed Easter. It takes a whole church!



Happy (almost) Easter!

Other Announcements and Celebrations

Church Office and Youth Program Holidays: The church will be open on Good Friday but closed Monday, April 6.

No Sunday School on Easter Sunday (there will be Celebrate Jesus and the egg hunt).

No Sunday School nor Celebrate Jesus on April 12. 

A Note on Easter Flowers: Thank you to everyone for your patience and flexibility with the Easter Flower Offering letters arriving in Holy Week this year. For anyone who usually submits names and didn't this time, there is a small acknowledgement at the end honoring all our beloved departed. ~ Kate

 Congratulations to the Dwyer family on Sunday’s Baptism of their child Maeve, who joins her older sibling Remi in our family of faith.

“Waste-Not” Gratitude: While you enjoy this Sunday together, you will see our new 3-bin waste systems in the kitchen and on both ends of the Parish Hall. Each bin is clearly labeled as Compost (green), Recycling (blue)and Landfill (black), with pictures on the front showing what goes inside. Help us minimize landfill waste and improve local soils with compost. Thank you to Steve and the Creation Care Ministry for this project and the Social Hour last week to launch it. Thank you to our sextons, staff, Judy and the Breakfast Café teams, and Pastor Laurie of the weekly college lunch for all your work managing the project and applying it to your ministries. Finally, thank you to everyone for learning the new 3-bin system and helping teach it to others. Please let Steve, steven.mark.mulder@gmail.com, know if you have questions or concerns. 

From the Life of the Church

Good Friday sisters

Breakfast Cafe

Any photos you'd like shared with the congregation can be emailed to Kate (or send her a Google Photos shared album invite or Drive link).

All Ministries Meeting: All ministry leads will be contacted soon about an all hands and staff meeting at the end of May to coordinate the entire program year. 

Info on the Earth Day youth retreat, Plainsong Farm Earth Day Birthday, and a few exciting upcoming musical opportunities and more - coming soon!

Safety and Security Ministry Monthly Topic

Spring brings unpredictable weather hazards, so preparation, 

awareness, and emergency planning are essential for safety.  

Please click to read important tips that will help keep you and yours safe.  

Calling all actors!

St. Andrew's Summer Music Camp



Save the Dates -

Performances Fri. & Sat., Aug. 14-15th

Rehearsals beginning Aug. 2nd, 5:30-8 pm

All ages from 3rd grade through age 80+ are welcome!

For more information on this 4th annual Intergenerational Musical, contact Dr. Monique Salinas, 616-890-1164.

Meals Ministry: When you're cooking dinner, please consider making a double recipe and putting one in the freezer. Then, when you hear somebody is sick, or just home from the hospital, it would be so easy to drop it off at their house. It doesn't have to be anything fancy – but it would mean so much. If you would be willing to do this once or twice a year, please email nancy.mulder@gmail.com.

Community Center Opportunities

As a member of Partners in Ministry, St. Mark's is committed to recruiting volunteers to use their gifts to provide hospitality, meals, activities and companionship. Please use the attached form to register for shifts, individually or with a group. A background check and 30 minute training are required. Signing up for a regular time helps build relationships.

We are also committed to contributing supplies that are needed by the guests.

Here is a link to an Amazon wish list. 

Children & Youth Offerings

Make a Joyful Noise with Mr. Alex is at 9:15–9:35 a.m. in the Choir Room. Sunday School for ages 5 and up is 9:35-10:15 a.m. on the 3rd level. Nursery ages are invited to the Sanctuary soft space. For grades 6-12, Grand Rapids Episcopal Youth (G.R.E.Y.) is a joint youth ministry between St. Mark’s and St. Andrew’s Episcopal Churches. We meet on afternoons for formation gatherings, service opportunities and social activities. Contact Jeff Brown, Director of Faith Formation, jeffb@stmarksgr.org.

All staff, Vestry and volunteers in contact with vulnerable youth or adults must re-certify with Safe Church every 3 years. For the online, self-directed platform, reach out to Kate or Jeff for instructions.

Zoom opportunities for this training are forthcoming from the diocese.

St. Mark's partners with Westminster's Downtown Food Pantry. Items needed for March are canned vegetables and baked beans.

St. Mark's Volunteers:

St. Mark’s relies upon a significant volunteer effort to fulfill its mission – within the congregation and in the community. There is an online form to see volunteer opportunities you can fill out to alert staff and ministry leads. If you prefer a more personal option, do not hesitate to reach out to Mike or Kate, 616-456-1684. Thanks to all our ongoing volunteers!

Sunday Services at 8:00 a.m. and at 10:30 a.m. (recorded live)

Healing Prayer during Holy Communion, near the piano in the South Transept

Mid-week Eucharist at noon on Wednesdays from September-May

St. Mark's Episcopal Church is a growing, welcoming, and affirming community of faith in a vibrant urban community. In our worship and in our service to the community, we proclaim that all people are worthy of God's love. We celebrate and uphold the dignity of all people whose ethnicity, cultural heritage, and denominational traditions are examples and celebrations of God's love. We welcome visitors and parishioners from all social, political, and educational backgrounds, and all abilities, sexual orientations, and gender identities. We affirm all people and celebrate diversity, as we work to fulfill God's love for all people as a community of faith.  

Parking and Restrooms on Sundays

Please respect the handicap parking spaces at St. Mark’s, especially on Sundays. These are needed by many parishioners.

Sunday parking options are free metered parking on Pearl, Ionia, Lyon, Fountain and other streets near the church, the Kendall Lot across Division Ave, the upper levels of the GRCC ramp off Fountain Street (only until 2 p.m.), and (with validation from ushers) the Ellis lot just west of Lyon at 210 Ionia. On weekdays, staff will park offsite and have some validation slips day-of for GRCC lots.

Main floor restrooms are limited. The lower level has a men's restroom. Upper level restrooms are not available while Sunday School happens above.

Weather policy reminder- if the church will be closed for Sunday services, the decision will be made by 7 am and posted shortly thereafter on Wood TV8, WZZM 13, our Facebook and the website. Please prioritize your wellbeing, especially if you're one of our faith families in the harder-hit lakeshore areas, who drives a significant distance to attend, or who has limited mobility even when it isn't icy. You can always livestream a service or pray from home, and even the once-a-year Annual Meeting isn't worth truly risking your safety.

St. Mark's Episcopal Church

134 N. Division Avenue

Grand Rapids, MI 49503

616-456-1684

https://www.stmarksgr.org

https://www.facebook.com/stmarksgr/

officeadmin@stmarksgr.org