All of us at St. Mark’s share a commitment to our faith and to our community, and we welcome visitors regardless of religious background, race, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Everyone is welcome!

Celebrant and Preacher

The Rev. Gregory L. Millikin

8am Reader

Nancye Kirk

Rector's Message

Dear Church,

Tomorrow's Great Vigil of Easter is the most significant liturgy of the Christian year and is the culmination of the Triduum—the Sacred Three Days. The service begins in total darkness. The church is slowly illuminated by the candles of the faithful as we observe the Paschal Mystery—the passage from darkness into light, from death into life—told through ancient texts, scriptural readings, and sacred music, telling of God’s saving actions through history.

As part of this storytelling, we bear witness to the sacrament of Holy Baptism by reaffirming our own baptismal vows, and being sprinkled by this baptismal holy water during the Asperges. The great moment of this night is the celebration of the First Eucharist of the Resurrection, gloriously announced with Alleluias. The Paschal Candle burns as a sign of the presence of the resurrected Christ and will burn throughout the Easter season, known as the Great Fifty Days.

This is the night, as the magnificent chanted Exsultet says. This is the night when Jesus Christ broke the bonds of sin and death for all time—this is the moment, tonight, in this place, of Easter.

Greg+

This Week at St. Mark's

Save the Date

Saturday, April 6

• 7pm - Spring Concert Series: Amethyst Winds (woodwind quintet) in the Sanctuary. Reception to follow.

Sunday, April 21

• 4pm - Earth Day Eve - Interfaith Litany for the Earth at Raymond Park, Evanston - details to follow 

April 26-27

• Province V "Big Provincial Gathering" in South Bend, IN (More info below)

Sunday, April 28 :: St. Mark's Day

• 8am - Holy Eucharist, Rite II
• 10am - Festal Choral Eucharist with Holy Baptism
• 4pm - May Day Celebration, a continuation of the Feast of St. Mark's hosted by St. Mark's and St. Luke's at St. Mark's Church

Sunday, June 2

• 2-5pm - Interfaith Family LGBTQ+ Pride Fest at Raymond Park, Evanston (See flyer below)

Sunday, June 16

• Race Against Hate 2024

Announcements

Easter Egg Hunt after the 10am Easter Service

Children and the young-at-heart are welcome to search for hidden Easter Eggs in our courtyard during Coffee Hour on Sunday after the 10am service (approx. 11:15am). Any teens or youth who want to help hide the eggs, please join us about 9:30am to help!

First Friday - April 5th at Mount Everest, Evanston

Please join us for dinner at Mount Everest restaurant at 6:30pm on April 5th. The restaurant is located at 630 Church Street and parking is usually easy to find in the library lot. They serve a mix of Indian, Pakistani and Nepalese food. You can preview their menu at www.mteverestrestaurant.com. We'd love to have a good crowd to consider sharing dishes, conversation and community. Also, please think about bringing your own "to go box" for leftovers. Let me know if you will be joining us so I can confirm numbers.

(Photo at right: The "Clean Plate" Club at last month's First Friday!)



RSVP to Rachel Easton at 224-234-9380  or reaston2@comcast.net

Bishop Paula's Easter Message

The world around us is beset by violence, injustice and grief. Yet in the next three days, it is our awesome responsibility to proclaim that in Jesus Christ, death has been destroyed and sin and sorrow have been vanquished.

Our call to preach the good news of God in Christ is always countercultural, but never so much as at Easter. As we journey through these holy days of the Triduum, encountering once again the suffering and sacrifice of our Redeemer, remember to tend your own souls along with those of the people you serve. We are called not to perfection, but instead to love one another as God loves us. The hope of Christ is in us, and the joy of Easter morning awaits us.

I thank God for our shared ministry.

Peace and blessings,

Bishop Paula Clark

Red Cart Sunday - Sunday, April 21st

Help the Wednesday Lunch Program! Bring jugs of juice/non- carbonated drinks (apple juice, cranberry juice, lemonade, or iced tea) or powdered mix for iced tea or lemonade. Package cookies (Oreos, windmill, and fudge stripe, etc. are preferred). We also need grocery style plastic bags that we use to pack lunch items for people who request a lunch to go. Place items in the cart at the back of the sanctuary.

St. Mark's Day (Apr. 28) - Consider Giving to our Trust

This year St. Mark's will be celebrating St. Mark's Day on April 28th. Our tradition since the creation of St. Mark's 1970 Trust Fund, our "rainy day" fund, has been to deposit our open collections on that day, along with any specially designated contributions, into the 1970 Trust. Over the years, this Fund has provided much-needed money for various extraordinary purposes, including both unanticipated operating and capital expenditures. So, please keep this important goal in mind as St. Mark's Day approaches, and give generously to ensure our future financial stability.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's Easter Message

In his message, Curry said he's grateful for all the prayers he's received throughout his medical journey. "Over the last several months, I have not known how this would all work out. But I’ve been very aware, and in some particular moments, consciously aware of being upheld in prayer by you."

Click Here to Read.

Register Now for Race Against Hate 2024 - Sun. June 16th

Join with our Episcopal kin in saying NO! to Racism in Evanston as we support our friends at the YWCA in their battle to End Racism. St. Matthew's, St. Augustine's (Wilmette), St. Andrew Pentecost, St. Luke's and St. Mark's are participating again in this annual event, a walk/race for a cause: to support the equity work of the YWCA. Last year, the Episcopal team was the top fundraising team. What will we do this year?

Register here today and look for the team: Episcopalians Unite Against Hate. And Save the Date, June 16th.

Westley is the BPG Musician!

(from the Province 5 Website):

Westley Art Hodges is a native of New Orleans and resides in Chicago, IL, as of 2018. Westley is the Director of Music Ministries at St. Mark's Episcopal Church (www.stmarksevanston.org) in Evanston, IL. Before being at St. Mark's, they served as Director of Music for The Annunciation of Our Lady Episcopal Church in Gurnee, IL, St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Peoria, IL, St. Joseph's Episcopal Church, McDonough, GA, St. Aiden's Episcopal Church, Alpharetta GA, and St. Patrick's Episcopal Church, Long Beach, MS. Outside of church work, Westley performs as an accompanist and solo artist and teaches private music lessons to a studio of 24+ students.

Westley earned their Associate of the Arts in Music Education at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Perkinston, MS, studied Clarinet Performance at Delta State University, Cleveland, MS, under Dr. Andrea Cheeseman, earned a Bachelor of the Arts in Liberal Studies with a Minor in Women and Gender Studies at The University of Illinois Springfield and is currently completing a Masters of the Arts in Liberal and Integrative Studies with a focus in Women and Gender Studies at the University of Illinois Springfield. 

Outside work, Westley enjoys spending time with their fabulous husband, Joseph, and their eleven-year-old black lab, Daylie-Lark. Westley and Joseph are both Lakeside Pride Symphonic Band (www.lakesidepride.org) members, and Westley is also the clarinetist in the Amethyst Wind (www.amethystwinds.com), a professional woodwind quintet in Chicago. For more information about Westley, please visit www.westleyhodges.com

Creation Care Corner

In Our Prayers

Celebrating Birthdays

London Lytle (3/27)

Lynette Murphy (3/27)

Sandra Howard (4/5)

Elizabeth McElhatton (4/6)

Ellen Bergman (4/7)

Dan Whitmore (4/9)

Bob Barr (4/10)

Jeremy Greene (4/16)

Rudy Burke (4/23)

Timothy Himrod (4/23)

Dick Brooks (4/28)

Holly Benz (4/28)

Michelle Mbuki (4/30)

Celebrating Anniversaries

Andrew & Sandra Howard (3/26)

Gary and Elizabeth McElhatton (4/19)

Nathan Waller and Michael Schoen (4/26)

Have we missed your birthday or anniversary? 

If so, please send an email to elion@stmarksevanston.org

so we can correct our records and include you in the next issue of the eLion.

Clergy, Staff & Ministry Chairs

The Rev. Gregory L. Millikin, Rector

(847) 864-4806, ext. 114

(310) 721-6356 (mobile)

rector@stmarksevanston.org

Westley Art Hodges, Director of Music Ministries

(847) 864-4806, ext. 118

(312) 241-5308 (mobile)

music@stmarksevanston.org

Andrew Schaeffer, Interim Parish Administrator

(847) 864-4806, ext. 102

office@stmarksevanston.org

Rudy Burke, Sexton

(847) 687-9172 (mobile)

sexton@stmarksevanston.org

Tim Heuer, Senior Warden

srwarden@stmarksevanston.org

Nancye Kirk, Junior Warden

jrwarden@stmarksevanston.org

Chris Schultze, Treasurer

(847) 864-4806, ext. 112

treasurer@stmarksevanston.org

Allison Ashley, Creation Care Team

creation@stmarksevanston.org

Donna Richardson, Outreach & Social Justice Committee

outreach@stmarksevanston.org

Patrick Furlong, Investments Committee

investment@stmarksevanston.org

Vestry

Gretchen Constantine, Adrianna Dangremond,

Julia Ferguson, Aina Gutierrez,

Kathy Hart, Deane Johnson,

Hardy Murphy, Chris Schultze

and Dan Whitmore  

vestry@stmarksevanston.org

Have news to contribute to the eLion? Send it to elion@stmarksevanston.org