For your thought:

We must always give thanks to God for you, brothers and sisters, as is right, because your faith is growing abundantly, and the love of everyone of you for one another is increasing.

--2 Thessalonians 1:3



Study this Sunday's Readings.

Important dates:

• Sunday, October 30 at 9:30 a.m. - Pledge & Pancake Sunday (bring you pledge card & a side for a parish pancake breakfast) 
• Tuesday, November 1 at 7:00 p.m. - Autumn Rosary for Resurrection & Remembrance (Hybrid)
• Sunday, November 6 at 9:30 a.m. - Feast of All Saints (bring a photo of a recently deceased loved one for the ofrenda)
• Saturday, November 26 from 10-2 - Gathering of the Greens - more info coming soon!
• Sunday, November 27 at 10:45 a.m. - Advent 1 Greens Event - more info coming soon!
• Sunday, December 11th at 4:00 p.m. - Parish-wide holiday concert outing to see Santa Fe Desert Chorale at Immanuel Presbyterian Church

Useful links:

• Fill out a form to volunteer, donate altar flowers, fill out a new member/visitor form, and more!
• Access and/or edit your Member Directory information.
• Access previous sermons.
• To check CDC COVID-19 Risk for Bernalillo County, click here.

Stewardship Celebration Sunday: Pledge & Pancakes

Sunday, October 30 is almost here!

We hope you are aware that this Sunday, October 30th, is our Stewardship Celebration Sunday. We know that you have been prayerfully considering your spiritual growth and the ministry of this Church and are ready to join in Celebrating this essential call of our Christian Life. This week you will receive a Rising to the Challenge, Reconnecting with Joy and Reaching out With Love Pledge Card and Celebration Sunday information packet in the mail (If you don’t receive our mailings, please call the church office (505) 262-2484 and let us know your correct mailing address). We ask that before or during our worship on Sunday, October 30th, you fill out the Rising to the Challenge, Reconnecting with Joy and Reaching out With Love Pledge Card and return it to St. Mark’s in one of three ways:

1. If you are at church for in-person worship place it in the offering plate or designated drop box.
2. If you are worshiping online, place card in your outgoing mail.
3. Drop it by the church in person during the week (we’d love to see you). 

We will be reporting back on our combined commitment to growth in giving on Sunday, November 6th. 

We are changing things up a bit with St. Mark’s Pledge and Pancakes Sunday for this Celebration Sunday event on Sunday Oct. 30th. Please feel free to bring something to add to the feast of pancakes: fresh fruit, chocolate chips, whipped cream, etc. Most importantly, bring yourself and your commitment to support the life and ministry of St. Mark’s. We want to celebrate the generosity of God in our lives as we continue Rising to the Challenge, Reconnecting with Joy and Reaching out with Love. 

Please note: Previous household pledges are not automatically rolled over into the new year, so please fill out a new pledge card.

All Saints Sunday (11/6): Litany of the Saints and Virtual Ofrenda

If you wish to submit names of those faithful departed whom you would have us remember in our prayers on All Saints Sunday (November 6th), you may  submit names using this form. 

If you have photos of the faithful departed that you would like to add to St. Mark's Virtual Ofrenda, please email photos to Mother Sylvia (email her here).

Please submit names and photos no later than Sunday, October 30th for inclusion.

Feast of All Saints Physical Ofrenda

To celebrate The Feast of All Saints at St. Mark’s each year, we build an ofrenda.

Traditionally, an ofrenda (“offering,” in Spanish) was put together around the Day of the Dead (El Día de los Muertos) in Latin cultures to welcome those who have died back into your life. Photographs, mementos, and favorite foods were offered to entice loved ones to return.

In our Christian tradition, we make an ofrenda to celebrate and honor the lives of the saints who have traveled this journey before us – loved ones who have helped build the foundation of our spiritual lives and showed us how to be faithful servants of God.

We invite you to participate in this beautiful tradition. Please bring photos of your loved ones who have died: people who made a difference in your lives, from whom you learned unconditional love, who were instrumental in making you the person you are today.

For in-person ofrenda submissions, framed photos, which can stand on their own, work best, but all photos are welcome. We would also encourage everyone bringing in photos or frames to have the name of the departed and the name of the individual who it should be returned to on the back (a small piece of tape or something of that nature works well). If you would like to drop them off at the church during this week, place them in the basket in the narthex and we can put them on the ofrenda for you. You are also welcome to bring photos anytime until and on Sunday, November 6th.

The ofrenda will go up for Sunday, October 30th and will remain in place through our All Saints’ Day Celebration on Sunday, November 6. Afterwards you may take your photos home.

We hope everyone will take advantage of this opportunity to celebrate the lives of loved ones.

Autumn Rosary for Resurrection & Remembrance

All Saints Day, Tuesday, November 1st, 7PM

In person at St. Mark's and on Zoom Click here for Zoom Link

As we move through seasons in the natural world, so too we move through seasons of grief. As we move through each season, new memories bubble up, and our grief might take on a variety of different qualities. In each season prayer, remembrance, and community are essential sources of support for our journey. We invite you to join us for our Autumn Rosary for Remembrance on All Saints Day, Tuesday, November 1st at 7PM Mountain time. We'll gather in person at St. Mark's and online via zoom, for a quiet time of prayer, silence, poetry, and song in honor of all the departed. These gatherings are open to all, and we warmly welcome you, along with any other family members who might be interested, to join us. 

Bishop Hunn's Visit

Many blessings and congratulations to the following Confirmands: David Duncan, Debora Bluestone, Else Tasseron, Sara Carroll Johnson, Sarah Camp, Talia McLaren, and Ty Camp, Received into the Episcopal Church: Catherine Penick, Charles Mark Hendrick, and Marcus Barreras, and Reaffirmations: Diane Ball, Karen Pound, Marceliano Varoz, and Susan Smith-Pierce.

Photo credit: Stephanie Varoz at St. Mark's Episcopal Church on Sunday, October 23rd, 2022.

Thursday Bible Study: Non-Violent Communication + Jesus

Thursdays, 12PM

In Stoney Chapel & On Zoom (link is here)

Our Thursday Bible Study group just finished a 20-week study on the Beatitudes. For the first 3 Thursdays in November: 11/3, 11/10, and 11/17, we are going to take Jesus' saying "Blessed are the Peacemakers" a little deeper, by exploring the practice of Peaceful Communication, using short videos from Bishop Hunn as a starting place for reflection and conversation.

All are welcome. 

Parish Group Outing: Holiday Concert

You are invited to join in a parish group outing to attend a holiday concert of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. If you have never heard the Desert Chorale, they are one of the most accomplished choirs in the United States. The group will present Benjamin Britten's "Ceremony of Carols," a classic of Christmas music. We will sit together at the concert and then optionally go together for dinner at a tasty restaurant on Central. The concert will be Sunday, December 11th at 4:00 p.m. at Immanuel Presbyterian Church, just south of Carlisle and Central in Albuquerque. The tickets will be available at a discounted rate of $35/person. To reserve a ticket please contact Taylor Spence via email here. Please reserve by Sunday, November 20th. Ticket subsidies are available. Please contact Jeremy Wirths via email or Taylor Spence (via email) with any questions.  

Thanksgiving Weekend: Pilgrimage in Place

A self-designed offering of gratitude

November 25-27, 2022

Register: pilgrimageforunity.org

Share gratitude as a pilgrim: Walk, Pray, Give Thanks

11/25-27 Self Designed Pilgrimage

Include others or walk alone; walk 1, 2, or 3 days; shorter or longer distances; consider walking with friends from other faith communities; seek blessings of unity

11/25 Pilgrimage Zoom Blessing Service, 8AM MT

• 11/27 Pilgrimage Zoom Closing, 6pm MT

Athletic Shoes Needed for Asylum Seekers

We are still working to help immigrants, mostly Venezuelans, who are coming through town on the way to sponsors. They still need athletic shoes, lace-up or slip-ons, for men, women and children. The sizes for men are 7-12 and women 5-10, children's all sizes. We are only collecting new (or could-pass-as-new) shoes at this time. Please bring the shoes to the big box in the narthex (entry area). We are grateful for your continued help and support. 

Diocese of the Rio Grande Convention

Bishop Hunn is inviting our entire Diocesan Family to Diocesan Convention this year: clergy and lay delegates, volunteers but also families including our youth and young adults. All are encouraged to attend!

Everyone is welcome to:

• Opening Eucharist (Friday, November 11 - 6:00pm) - Children and families are welcome!!
• Diocesan Choir (all comers are welcome! - practice at 4:30pm on Friday) 
• Bishop's Report (Friday, November 11 - 3:00pm)
• Keynote Speaker - the Rev'd Harry L. Atkins, Jr. (Saturday, November 12 - 9:00am)
• Workshops - (Saturday, November 12 - 10:00am)
• Borderland Ministries Learning Session
• Children's Ministry Learning Session (for children, and adults too!) 
• Ultimate Acolyte Pedagogy
• Working the CPG

More information can be found on the DRG website: 

Convention — The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande

Help Get Out the Vote!

Please join Albuquerque Interfaith on Saturday 10/29, 9-noon, to "knock doors" and urge New Mexicans to vote for Constitutional Amendment #1 to increase funding for early childhood education and k-12 public schools from our $26B Land Grant Permanent Fund. We'll be using a great "app" with good lists of registered voters who haven't voted yet.

Please let Kip Bobroff know if you plan to attend or have any questions by at: 505-459-4227

Annual Fall Women's Retreat DRG

Don't miss the Annual Fall Women's Retreat on Nov. 4-5. This event if for all women, and friends, even if they aren't attending church--so invite a friend or two to join you for what is sure to be an inspiring and refreshing time.

This year we're at St. Mark's, ABQ and via Zoom.

Registration of $60 covers a light dinner Friday evening and lunch on Saturday. Zoom registration is $20. (Some partial scholarships are available for in-person attendees.) You can Zoom Friday and attend in person on Saturday, if that works, too. 

Register on the Women's Ministry website or here or contact Cindy, and/or Download a flyer to share with parish and friends. 

“Joy”—what do you think of when you hear the word JOY? Br. Angel Roque, diocesan Youth and Young Adult Missioner and member of the Brotherhood of St. Gregory, is our speaker. Plan to come and invite a friend, who doesn't have to be Episcopal, to discover how Joy can fill our lives even, and perhaps especially, in times of loss and change as well as happy and pleasant days. Jesus said, “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” In the same way, Joy is the seed that bears fruit in our lives and ministry. 

Annual Fall Women's Retreat DRG

Download a printable flyer here.