A Message from Rev. Hannah….

The Missive The Missive 531 West College Avenue, Jonesboro, AR 72401 December 2017

Happy Liturgical New Year! Few things bring me as much joy as Advent at St. Mark's. This is the season when we are able to let go of our spiritual struggles of the past year and begin again in our Christian narrative and in our relationship with Christ. It is a season in which we focus on the joy and love in our families and our community of faith. It is the season in which we dwell in hope and celebrate what is to come - essentially, living into our Christian identity at its best! This Advent, St. Mark's is offering more opportunities than ever to participate in our life and ministry. Sunday, December 3rd, will kick off our season with a service of Lessons and Carols at 10am, followed by a craft ba-zaar in the Parish Hall. This service sets our hearts and minds on what this season of preparation is all about, and the music is sure to astound us! Our craft bazaar is an opportunity to join in fellowship, do a little holiday shopping, and support the Jonesboro HUB's work to make the holidays as joyous for our underprivileged brothers and sisters as it is for us. On Sunday, December 10th, we will offer our second annual Blue Christmas service at 6pm. This is a quieter, more contemplative service with hymns, readings and prayers that focus on hope and comfort in the face of deep sadness that many of us feel during the holiday season. On Sunday, December 17th, our adult forum at 9am will be about the interaction of our faith and social media. In the midst of one of the most commercialized times of the year, this forum will serve as a place for us to talk about the pressures and responsibilities of the digital age, as well as the faithful Christian response. Sunday, December 24 will be the day of the Lord indeed! During our regular Sunday morning worship, we will celebrate the fourth week of Advent, but that evening, we will switch gears and move into the Christmas season with our Christmas pageant at 5pm and festive service at 10:30pm. Our worship this Advent season, including our liturgy, scripture and sermons, will revolve around Mary, the mother of Christ. I invite you all to take time in the coming weeks to consider the impact that Mary has on your faith. Her strength, her faith, her obedience to God's will and what she suffered all make her a comforting bea-con in a weary world, and a life-giving focus of our own Advent preparation. Be sure to take note of the flyers around the church for dates and times, and pick up an Advent devotional for you and your family on the table in the narthex. There are Advent calendars for children, too! Advent Blessings, Hannah+

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church Presents

Advent

Lessons & Carols

and Craft Bazaar

Sunday, December 3rd Service at 10 a.m.

Bazaar from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Shop crafts by local artisans!

531 W. College Ave

Jonesboro, AR 72401

Vender Information: The Parish Hall will be open from 3-5 pm on Saturday, December 2nd for

venders to set up. The building will be locked from 5pm Saturday until 7:30 am Sunday morn-

ing. Venders may also set up Sunday morning between 8am and 11:30am. If you choose to set

up during this time, we ask tat you use the Flint street entrance to avoid disturbing Sunday

morning worship. All venders must have their spaces cleaned out by 3:30 pm Sunday afternoon.

St. Mark’s is asking that each vender donate 10% of profits made. All proceeds ( profit shares,

raffles, misc. donations) will go to the Jonesboro HUB. If necessary, venders may opt to pay a

$25 booth rental fee. Payment may be given in cash at the end of the event, or a check mailed

by December 18th. Please contact Rev. Hannah Hooker to confirm booth space.

Christian Education

Family Christian Education Christmas gathering. - Please mark your calendars for

Wednesday, December 20 for our Family Parents are to bring some type of finger food to

share with others. Children should bring a wrapped $1.00 exchange gift.

Please note: Due to the Christmas holiday we will not have

Christian Education sessions on Wednesday, Dec. 27. Classes will resume after the New Year holiday on January 4.

Annual Children’s Christmas Pageant - Saturday, December 24 - This year, our annual

Children’s Christmas pageant will be performed during the 5:00pm Christmas Eve Service.

There are two scheduled rehearsals for the pageant. The first rehearsal is scheduled for Sunday,

December 17th at 2pm. The second is Saturday, December 23 at 10:00am. Only main charac-

ters will need to attend practices. Preschool age children who play little angels or little shepherds do

not attend practices. I would like to encourage all school aged children to take part in this won-

derful enactment of the birth of Christ. We will also need volunteers to help during rehearsals

and the day of the pageant.

Contact Rose Mary at rosemarylatanich@gmail.com or call (870) 935-0236

Liturgy of the Word with Children (Children’s Chapel)

Please note: We will not offer Liturgy of the Word with Children on the following Sundays

December 24 nor on December 31 so our staff can enjoy the holidays with their families.

For more information about volunteering in this ministry or any of our ministries for children

contact Rose Mary Latanich.

We encourage all school age children in grades K -6 to be active participants in St. Mark’s

Wednesday evening religious education program. For more information about our ministries

for children contact Rev. Hannah or Rose Mary (935-0236 / rosemarylatanich@gmail).

EYC News

On December 1st we have been invited to a Harry Potter Lock In North Little Rock. We will have to drive back early Saturday morning. We will have our Christmas party on December 13th in EYC room. This is a potluck, so be sure and bring your favorite dish. No EYC until after New Year. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year EYC hosted Parents Night Out. On Nov 4th - It was a success and everyone had a good time. We also enjoyed a Thanksgiving feast on November 15, we had fried chicken with delicious sides. We will also be selling greenery at the Advent Bazaar December 3rd.

Stephanie and Matt

Breakfast with Santa

Sat. Dec. 2, 2017 8-10:30am

At St. Mark’s in the Parish Hall

Cost is $5/ per Adult for Breakfast and $3/per Child for Breakfast

Pictures with Santa are $5 each

All Proceeds go to EYC’s support of the two Foster Children that they have adopted for

Christmas.

“We appreciate your generosity so others may have a Merry Christmas”

Reservation cards are in the Narthex/ Tickets available at the door

Contact Stephanie Matthews Phone: 870-340-5559 or sepmatthews@gmail.com

Christmas Memorials and Gifts in Honor (Poinsettias, Wreaths, and Helping Neighbors Food Pantry)

St. Mark's offers three ways to remember a loved one or give thanks for blessings at Christ-mas. Poinsettias for the Sanctuary are $20, Wreaths are $30, and a donation to Helping Neigh-bors Food Pantry is $20. Payment can be brought or sent to the office or dropped in the of-fering plate on Sunday Morning. There is a signup sheet on the table in the Narthex. Please indicate on the envelope or check memo line which item you are donating and in whose honor/memory. All gifts will be listed in the bulletin on Christmas Eve.

Angel Tree/ Warm and Fuzzy Tree

The Salvation Army Angel Tree is now in the Narthex. Please bring your donated gifts and

place them unwrapped under the tree with the Angel Tree Tag attached by Sunday, Dec. 3rd.

There are also ornaments on the tree for the ECW’s Warm and Fuzzy Drive. Please take an

ornament and bring it back wrapped with your donated item.

Wish List for Holiday Meals at Helping Neighbors Food Pantry

We are looking ahead to distributing Christmas food for our clients at Helping Neighbors

Food Pantry. We are asking all our friends to help us collect the following:-Chicken Broth --

Cream of Mushroom soup-(or cream of chicken)Turkeys (or money to purchase them)

Please don’t hesitate to call, text or email if you would like a pick-up of the items.

Andrea Levy Mobil: 505-903-9293 or Alevy5816@gmail.com

Helping Neighbors Food Pantry News St. Mark's is a principal contributor to Helping Neighbors. Although this report is in numbers and statistics, we never forget that it is people the numbers represent. In October, Helping Neighbors served 816 households, or 2022 people. We distributed 51267 lbs. of food, an amount only surpassed by a much larger church, $185.00 dollars, and 64 hours of volunteer work. For Thanksgiving, Helping Neighbors distributed 539 turkey dinner fixings in addition to the monthly groceries to families. Many families had a much happier Thanksgiving thanks to the generosity of our church. Rhinda Kesselring

Men’s Club will meet Thursday, December 14

at 6:00 @ Church

Terry Barnett will be our cook, Adam Weeks will be our guest speaker, and we will discuss our 51st Annual Pancake Day, which will be Saturday,

January 27th.

Men’s Club

Daughters of the king

Daughters of the King will meet at 11:30

December 3, 2017

ECW

ECW met on Nov. 4th. at San Francisco Bread Co. Our Christmas will be Dec. 2nd @ 10:00 a.m. at 3808 Sunset Drive

(*Jane Gill's home). It is a potluck brunch so please bring your favorite appetizer.

Also, we play the White Elephant Gift Swap game, so do bring a wrapped gift to participate.

Upcoming Two Saints’ Schedule

December 2 Team 9

December 9 Team 10

December 16 Team 1

December 23 Team 2

December 30 Team 3

January 6 Team 4

……….From the Diocese……….

‘Expect Joy’ Advent Retreat at Camp Mitchell

Camp Mitchell will host a special Advent retreat Dec. 1–3. Weekend and day op-tions are available. Register online at campmitchell.org or call 501-727-5451 for more information.

‘Christmas Is for Children’ Concert at St. Luke’s,

North Little Rock

St. Luke’s Festival of the Senses will present

ARmusica’s program “Christmas is for Children”

on Tuesday, Dec. 12, at 7 p.m. The program will

feature pianist Julie Cheek and violinist Andrew Irvin, along with other violinists, performing a

variety of Christmas favorites including Jascha Heifetz/Irving Berlin’s “White Christ-

mas,” Enescu Ballade, Cantique de Noel, and other Christmas carols. There will be a meet-the-

artists reception following the program. The concert is free and open to the public, thanks to

the generosity of the series’ sponsors, donors, and by grants from the Arkansas Arts Council.

For more information, please contact the church office at 501-753-4281

St. Mark’s Day School Christmas is here! Wish lists are being written and decisions are being made about who is "naughty or nice"! December is a very busy month for the children and staff at St. Mark's. Christmas parties and celebrations are being planned. Christ-mas Chapel will be December 13th at 10:00. The fire alarm system is installed and working. The firemen tested it and it is very effective! Our last day of school will be December 15th and we return January 2nd. We wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Peggy

“Through a Child’s Eyes”, Artist: Sheila Guinn

Single item Auction with bids starting at $100 and must increase be increments of $20.

Proceeds go to the St. Mark’s Day School Playground fund. An Auction signup sheet is in

the Narthex. You may call or email the office and we will write down the bid for you.

The winner may have their child’s face added to the painting.

December Birthdays

December Anniversaries

12/09 Bill and Ruth Keisker

12/17 Bill and Marilyn Brown

12/21 Phillip and Becky Wells

12/27 Rusty and Sheila Guinn

12/02 Bill Smith

12/03 Ryan Steed

12/04 Gregg Smith

12/09 Al Poston

12/11 Edward Gary III

12/15 Sarah Wofford

12/17 Margaret Guinn

12/18 Madelyn Stone

12/20 Rebecca Carr

12/20 Tom Haynes

12/20 Jo Ann Steed

12/22 Aiden McBride

12/22 Perry Moses

12/24 Holli Davis

12/31 Barbara Cart

Upcoming Events...

December 2017

Dec 3 - 10:00 am Lessons and Carols

11:30 am Daughters of the King

11:30 am–1:30 pm Advent Bazar in Parish Hall

Dec 10 - 7:00 pm Blue Christmas in the Nave

Dec 17 - 9:00 am Adult Forum

Dec 24 - 5:00 pm Children’s Christmas Pageant/Christmas Eve Mass

10:00pm Christmas Ever Mass, Prelude at 10 pm service at 10:30 pm

Dec 24-25 Office Closed

Dec 31 - 7:00pm New Year’s Eve Watch Night Service

Financial Update

November Year to Date

Pledges and Offerings Received $ 14,795 $ 258,713

Needed to meet budget 25,582 $ 281,399

Budget Surplus (Shortfall) ($ 10,787) ($ 22,686)

Actual Expenses Paid $ 21,998 $ 234,343

Actual (Shortfall) $ 3,584 $ 24,370

Loan Balance $146,387