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St. Mark’s Messenger

AUGUST 2020

7803 Well Street, Manassas, VA 20111 Phone: 703-368-5790 Fax: 703-369-5799

Web Site: comefollowchrist.net

Bishop Sharma Denise Lewis Minoo Kim Pastor Jeff Mickle, District Superintendent

NEWS FROM PASTOR MINOO KIM

Dear the congregation of St. Mark’s UMC,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

It’s already been a month into my new appointment here at St. Mark’s. And to

say the least, it’s been really all too strange. My first Sunday with you was me

submitting my video and seeing myself and a couple others on my computer

monitor on Sunday morning. There were no hugs, no handshakes, no smiles,

and no formal introductions. We’ve all been doing this for a while, actually…

worshipping online. While I appreciate and am intrigued by the technology that

allows us to continue our ministry, it was still surreal to go through this on my

very first Sunday with you. And I feel like the month just flew by as I was still

pondering and reflecting on this experience.

What’s been a new source of joy, however, is my time at the church (Thank you

for those who’ve prepared my church office. It’s lovely!) and learning more about

the church, especially with the help from our secretary Linda. Our Wednesday

night prayer meeting is something that I am also enjoying, immersing myself in

the participants’ humor while praying together for the community both within and

outside and singing Gloria Patri together. (Please join us on Wednesdays!)

As we’ve been learning from Jesus’ parables (Matthew 13), the kingdom of

heaven begins with things insignificant, small, and mundane. And under God’s

provision, these things grow into something that can shelter and feed others,

something that brings joy and something that brings hope—the hope of

salvation. I pray that we would continue to follow God’s plans and accomplish

God’s will through the things we are able to do under the COVID guidelines,

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knowing and trusting that even though they may seem so insignificant, small, and

mundane in our eyes, these things can move mountains in Christ’s name.

So, I thank you for all the small things you have been doing and let’s continue to

be God’s people in our settings, and exude God’s joy through our small actions

of love and grace!!!

*Also, here is a picture of our family mentioned in the previous newsletter. Grace

and I have been married for 2.5 years (are we still considered newlyweds?).

Sena is now a four-month-old. And Sunny, whom we adopted at the beginning

of our marriage, still doesn’t acknowledge her new baby sister.

Grace & Peace,

Minoo Kim

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LIBRARY NEWS

Do You Like to Read?

We have a library full of books for you to borrow and enjoy? The books

are in categories and listed alphabetically. We have a database with all

the books. Please make sure you sign the books out. Take the card out

of the back of the book and sign your name and the date, then place the

card in the pink box on the shelf under the letter of your last name. You

may check the books out for three weeks but if you need more time just

recheck it out. When you return the books just put them back in the

green basket and I will check them back in and reshelf them. If you have

any questions or want to check database for specific book see Linda

Smith in the office. If you have books that you no longer want, you can

donate them to the library. Just put them in the green basket.

HAPPY READING AND ENJOY

This Phot o b y Unknown Author is licensed unde r CC B Y - N C - N D

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CARE TEAM NEWS

We had fun! I received a call from the recreational director at Fox Trail with a request. Would some of us like to come and sing for the residents at Fox Trail? Sure! After a few phone calls, a group of us joined our voices with Lynn Maletick playing the keyboard and sang hymns and spiritual pieces for them. Lynn brought words for us to help our memories with the music. We were Linda Smith, Mike Maletick, Mary Mellott, and Lucy Brewer who gathered under the carport with Lynn and her keyboard. There were 10 residents and the recreational director sitting on the patio in front of us, happily enjoying the music and company. Several of them were singing along with us, which was a real treat. Such a great time! Another way some of us have been helping is by providing meals for those who needed help. We took dinners to a family who suddenly lost their father and lunches to a person who is recovering from surgery. Lots of smiles and words of appreciation followed! Remember, we all can help each other by sending cards, making phone calls, or communicating electronically. Hopefully, we remember to keep each other in prayer and continue to praise God for all the blessings that He bestows upon us! In Christ, Lucy Brewer

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY

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Sunday School/Children’s Church

News August 2020

By Robin Cameron

Have you heard the Good News? God loves You! Even though we are missing each other and it seems like things will never be normal again, God loves us. We must have faith that soon we will be able to return to church and school and life will be back to normal. I know I have been praying hard for a solution to the Covid 19 virus and I know nothing is impossible with God. He loved us so much that He sent his only Son to die for us so that we may be saved! In the meantime, while we wait for our prayers to be answered, please join us each Sunday and listen to Pastor Minoo and Jacob present Music and the WORD and Ms. Robin for Children’s moments. You can watch us on Facebook or the church website: Come follow Christ.net, every Sunday. Stay cool!! Upcoming lessons with Ms. Robin will be: God’s Strong Man Esther’s Courage Jacob’s Ladder Jacob Wrestles with God We miss you all and love you. Keep Learning and Growing with Jesus. See you Later Gators!!!

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VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL

The Theme for Vacation Bible School

Under Construction For 2021

Rocky Railway!

Tentative dates are July 2021

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This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

Go Team

We have been separated for such a long time now. I know many people are

struggling with what appears to be the “new normal”. The church building has

been closed for 18 weeks at this point. Many people have not been able to visit

friends and family during this time. Some folks have not been able to work or

have had their income seriously lowered by having to get unemployment. Our

political and social environments seem to be turned upside down. How can we

“see” each other?

Many of you know I follow the website “See All the People”. As a sidebar to that,

I have recently been watching “Chuck Knows Church” videos that are on the

same website. Chuck has partnered with “See All the People” to provide some

“Things We Can Do” during this difficult time. Here are a few suggestions…..

1) Make phone calls to folks to let them know you think about them and care

about their wellness. Using the church directory is a good suggestion.

2) Use Social Media – Emails, Texts, Instagram, etc are good ways to reach

out to folks. If you are not savvy with social media…try to learn…or reach

out to someone you know that can help you!

3) Drop a card or note in the mail. “Snail Mail” still works and folks usually like

getting mail that is personal.

4) Fix a meal for someone homebound.

5) Donate to a Food Bank.

6) See if you can do grocery shopping for someone. Remember the social

distancing rules and remind the person you are buying for to wipe down the

groceries.

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7) When you are able to meet in person, remember to use greetings that are

“non-handshake & hugging”. Use an elbow bump or wave or “virtual High-

Five”.

8) Visit someone’s home, but stay outside and don’t stay too long. Let them

know you care about them.

9) Invite a friend to “online worship”. Share your insights on the sermon with

someone.

10) Volunteer to do yard work.

11) Do “year round caroling”.

12) Do a prayer walk, prayer wall or a birthday parade!

13) Mostly important….Stay connected to God! Although things seem out of

control….God is still in control and we can rely on Him!

I am praying that we can be together very soon. Online meetings are OK…but I

miss seeing you in person!

In Christ,

Lynne Johnson Go Team Chair

Flower Calendar If you would like to donate flowers for our alter, the new flower calendar is

posted on the wall in the office for you to sign–up. The flowers cost $24.00 a

week. If the flowers are in Honor or Memory of a loved one or event, please

note that on the calendar. If you have questions, please call the church office

(703-368-5790). You can put the money in offering plate but mark it flowers.

The new calendar will be up by December 8th if you want to sign up for next

year.

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MUSIC DIRECTOR NEWS

How many hymns can you place in the correct time period? Check the answers on the last page.

Shout to the Lord Sweet, Sweet Spirit Blest Be the Tie That Binds

Blessed Assurance Amazing Grace How Firm a Foundation

O How I Love Jesus Shine, Jesus, Shine ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

1750 to 1800 1850 to 1900 1950 to 2000

Jacob

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ST MARK’S WOMEN’S NEWS Writing about the Women’s Group and activities is quite interesting when there

are no activities happening. Normally, July and August are the two months when

we go out to have meals together, but we didn’t even try to do that this year.

There is one activity that we might be able to participate in with the help of the

congregation. We might be able to contribute to Operation Christmas Child, filling

the shoeboxes for Christmas, if anyone is interested. I have talked with a person

at Samaritan’s Purse and gotten confirmation that the shoeboxes are still being

filled and distributed. The information is on their website and is constantly being

updated with suggestions and locations for drop off. Once we establish what we

at St. Mark’s are going to do based on the options available, I will inform

everyone. I do hope that we can participate because there is a need, even more

so now. I ask for any other suggestions for people in our community, or at least

closer to home if someone has any thoughts. Please feel free to contact me with

questions or suggestions. We still need to serve and share with others even if

we aren’t physically at the church, and thanks to the many options available, we

can do that. Above all, please continue to pray for each other.

Praises to God the Father, Christ the Son, and the Holy Spirit for always being

with us.

In Christ,

Lucy Brewer

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From the

HEALTHY CHURCH

TEAM

Grace and Peace to you all and Greetings from the members of the St. Mark’s

Healthy Church Team (HCT). The purpose of this team is to work through all the

State and Virginia Conference requirements while also considering the specific

needs and risks of our church community and to develop specific plans on how

to best approach our return to a “normal” in-person worship experience.

CURRENT STATUSES: State of Virginia - Phase 3 (effective 07/01/20)

Virginia Conference UMC – Stage 2 (effective 06/21/20)

While the State of Virginia has moved to Phase 3, the Virginia Conference is still

at Stage 2. During Stage 2 churches are permitted to start implementing

expanded ways to worship including continuing online remote worship, “Drive-in”

worship and “In-Person (restricted) worship.

The current recommendation of the HCT is to NOT yet return to In-Person

Worship. Here is a list of some of the requirements that we felt would be

obstacles to a healthy worship experience:

Face masks must always be worn by all people

Each person must register and submit a Health Form 4 days in advance

Upon arrival everyone will be asked if there were any changes since

submittal of the form.

Everyone must take their temperature before coming to the church. Must

be below 100.4

No singing is permitted in worship.

No Sunday School or other church gatherings permitted, nor In-Person

VBS.

Limited access to the bathrooms and other church facilities (Nursery,

Playground, etc.)

Do no harm

Do good

Stay in love

with God

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Anyone refusing to comply will be asked to leave. If they refuse to leave, all

must go home.

Considering these requirements as well as the age and risk-categories of many

in our church family, we felt that the best option was to continue with our online

worship but to start phasing in some of the practices required in Stage 2.

Additionally, we are looking at expanding some features and being more creative

with our online worship to not only enhance the current experience, but also to

build up the infrastructure and processes for the future.

The HCT will continue to meet and develop our plans based on the information

we gather and the lessons we learn. We are also working on communication

plans so that we can keep church leadership, the Trustees, the SPPR

Committee, and our church community informed and encouraged. Our focus will

be on Doing No Harm and Doing Good for the church – and I encourage all of us

to continue to Stay in Love with God even while we are not yet back worshipping

in person.

St. Mark’s HCT

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-

SA

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From the

BOARD OF TRUSTEES Grace and Peace to you all. I have been asked to share some more details of

some of the work that is going on around the church and ways that people can

help.

Replacing Carpet - Phase 2 – Children’s Classroom

Location: Children’s Classroom (Beneath the Fellowship Hall)

Why is this Project Needed?

The carpet in this classroom is stained and worn and was last

replaced over 15 years ago. Additionally, the classroom is

dimly lit and in need of general updates to make the space

more welcoming.

How much will

this project cost?

The budgeted cost

for this project is

$3,000.

What will the Project involve?

This project will actually involve a few projects – the primary focus will be to

remove the existing carpet in the classroom to the door thresholds. New carpet

will be installed in this area as will new carpeted cove base. We will also be

removing the hanging wall cabinets and hopefully a few of the other cabinets that

are cluttering the room. The walls will then be repaired and painted in advance

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of the new carpet installation. We will also be replacing the existing lighting

fixtures with brighter and more efficient LED fixtures to make the space more

welcoming. A new smart TV has already been installed and Wi-Fi is now

available in all basement classrooms.

How can we help?

We are asking if anyone is willing to contribute to this project above and beyond

your regular tithes and offerings to please send a check to the church address

ATTN: Pam and be sure to write “Children’s Classroom” on your memo line of

your check. We will be collecting contributions to this project thru the end of

September. We will provide periodic updates on funding status for this project. If

you have any questions, please contact B. J. Bookwalter

(bjbookwalter@verizon.net or 703-915-9641)

EMERGENCY FOOD PANTRY

The food pantry is currently closed until the church is opened back up. If you

have food to donate please hold on until we open.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

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OVER 50 LUNCHEON

The Over 50 crowd will be taking a break from our outing of having lunch at

1:00pm until further notice until a later date when it is safe. NOTE: We are

changing the day of the week we will be meeting on Wednesdays instead of

Thursdays. Anyone over 50 who would like to join them is welcome. If any

questions or want more information, please call Dot Obenchain (703-368-

3969) or the church office (703-368-5790). You do not have to be 50 to join

us, come out and join the group we always have a wonderful time of

fellowship and good food.

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

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Aug 1 Terri March Aug 16 Vincent Davis

Aug 2 Bernie Posey Aug 20 Sara Pritt

Aug 4 Lisa Pelehowski Aug 21 Linda Smith

Aug 7 Sharon Shubert Aug 22 Stanley Ashford

Aug 11 Larry Ziolo Aug 22 Kennedy Willey

Aug 11 Jason Davis Aug 26 Betty Ashford

Aug 14 Dickie Dombrowski Aug 26 Stephen Elliott

August 7 Michael & Lynn Maletick—49 years

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND

This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA

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August 2020

SUN MON TUES WED THUR FRI SAT

1

4th of July

2 3 4 5

Prayer Mtg

7:00 on Zoom

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Thursday

Night BS on

Zoom

7:00pm

7 8

9 10 11 12

Prayer Mtg

7:00 on Zoom

Admin Council

7:30 online Go

To Meeting

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Thursday

Night BS on

Zoom

7:00pm

14 15

16 17 18 19

Prayer Mtg

7:00 on Zoom

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Thursday

Night BS on

Zoom

7:00pm

21 22

23 24 25 Prayer Mtg

7:00 on Zoom

20

Thursday

Night BS on

Zoom

7:00pm

28 29

30 31

St. Mark’s Messenger is published by the staff of St. Mark’s Church in Manassas, Virginia, who are solely responsible

for its contents. It attempts to inform, inspire, and communicate with both membership and friends about programs of the

United Methodist Church, the Virginia Conference, the Alexandria District, and the program offerings of St. Mark’s as a

connectional member of the United Methodist Church. Deadline for submission of articles is five working days before the

end of each month. Worship every Sunday at 8:30AM and 11:00AM, and prayer meeting on Wednesdays at 7:00pm.

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Saint Mark’s Worship Volunteer Schedule for August

Date

Usher

Money

Counters Lay Readers Nursery

Aug 2 NO SERVICE Lisa Pelehowski

Aug 9 NO SERVICE Lynne Johnson

Aug 16 NO SERVICE Pam Bryan

Aug 23 NO SERVICE Lucy Brewer

Aug 30 NO SERVICE Marty Powell

Children’s

Church

Robin Cameron Robin Cameron Robin Cameron Robin Cameron

Answers to music

Answers (put on last page):

1750 to 1800 1850 to 1900 1950 to 2000

Amazing Grace ‘Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus

Sweet, Sweet Spirit

Blest Be the Tie That Binds

Blessed Assurance Shine, Jesus, Shine

How Firm a Foundation

O How I Love Jesus Shout to the Lord