_THE SERVANT_ A monthly newsletter for

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church June 2020

The months of June-August we will continue to stay away from one another because we “love our

neighbor as ourselves.”

What will not happen in June-August

No indoor worship

No on-site meetings, Bible Study, Quilt-

ers, Book Study, Choir, Youth Group, etc. No communion in keeping with the guid-

ance of our bishop and our executive commit-

tee

What will happen in June-August

Daily devotions: Monday, Tuesday,

Thursday and Friday via email

Each Wednesday a midweek meditation

via email by Pastor Lori

Each Saturday a weekend service sent out

via email

Until further notice the building doors will

stay locked. The office will be covered Tues-

day - Thursday, 9:00 am - 4:00 pm to answer

phones and check messages.

If you are not signed up for “Simply Giv-

ing” we ask that you try to continue to give

your offering. If you cannot because of lost

wages and income, please do not feel guilty;

we will be fine. If you need help, please don’t

hesitate to call Pastor Lori.

We can continue to pray, write cards,

email and trust God.

OUR MISSION STATEMENT NURTURING FAITH AND LIFE FOR LOVING SERVICE

St. Mark’s: Called and empowered to be

Christ-Centered

Proclaiming the Word of God through worship, sacraments, prayer, and study.

Loving Community

Giving importance to human relationships, celebrating individual gifts, and maintaining a sense of belonging.

Action Oriented

Seeing the image of God in all people and striving to do God’s work in the community and the world.

Devoted

Serving faithfully with passion and dedication.

Dear family of St. Mark’s, Colossians 3:15 “Let the message of

Christ dwell among you richly as you

teach and admonish one another with all

wisdom through psalms, hymns, and

songs from the Spirit, singing to God

with gratitude in your hearts.” In the midst of everything we are pre-

paring to welcome our first intern, Lynn

Marlowe, in August. It will not be the

public celebration and welcome we had

anticipated when we first pictured host-

ing an intern. As we get ready for her ar-

rival I am currently being trained via

Zoom to be an Internship Supervisor. Our

internship committee will be meeting

soon, most likely through Zoom. A few things to keep in mind: -An intern is a guest in our congre-

gation for one year. -We are a teaching place for the in-

tern. Internship is over 25% of learning

and growing for someone becoming a

pastor. The intern will spend more time

with the supervisor and congregation

than any one professor. -We will be a community of practice.

A place where the intern learns to preach,

visit, lead, teach, and listen. -We get to be supporters, faith sharers,

teachers, consultants and ministry part-

ners.

This is new for all of us, so I ask in the 2

months we have before Lynn arrives we

spend time praying for her and her wife,

Katy. They have sold their home and are

moving to a place they have never been

and to a congregation they have never

met during a time we will not even be

gathering for worship or a meal. Pray for

our congregation in how we can offer

hospitality especially when we are not

together in person. Please share any ideas

you have for welcoming that can be done

from a distance. This is an exciting time

for our congregation even though the

state of the world is unprecedented.

God’s people are called to a place and

time and we respond in trust and hope. Love and peace, Pastor Lori Hope

Meet our Intern: Lynn Marlowe She will be arriving in August

Hello St. Mark’s! I am Lynn Marlowe and, in a couple more months, I will be your intern. I am a cradle Lutheran born and raised in Pittsburgh,

Pennsylvania. Go Steelers! In the church where my father had been bap-tized and confirmed I was also baptized and confirmed. The congrega-tion, from the day of my confirmation put me to work. First, in the choir and teaching Sunday School. Then serving as chair of various commit-tees and on church council. I was often told I should consider seminary but like Jonah running from Nineveh I avoided seminary. After meeting my spouse, Katy, we moved to Florida with our two cats. Over the years I have worked as a salesperson, Executive Assistant, Medical Assistant/Biller, and most recently an Accounting Assistant. How-ever, I never felt settled in any career. It is true what they say about a call-ing from God. God never gives up until you finally listen. So, after years in the belly of the whale I went to my Nineveh, seminary. A decision that has brought me a wonderful peace. In this unprecedented time, I have heard many pastors proclaim that they were not taught in seminary how to deal with a pandemic. I count myself blessed to be entering my internship at this moment in time. I look for-ward to serving alongside St. Mark’s as you walk through this unique time of gathering virtually. I pray for the moment when we can all gather in the presence of the Lord’s Table to share in His meal. Most of all l look for-ward to praising God with the people of St. Mark’s and working with you and the community to bring the Church to all of God’s people. God’s Blessings, Vicar Lynn

Holy Communion In A Time Of Pandemic:

Bishop Constanze Hagmaier

Many of you have asked about the sacrament of

Holy Communion in a time of pandemic. We

believe that Christ is really present in, with and

under bread and wine, when we gather around

the sacrament of the altar. Following Martin

Luther’s directive, we also believe that in times

of emergency and pandemic, we can celebrate

the sacraments (baptism and communion) in the

privacy of our homes with those around us.

Help With Mowing & Yard Work:

There are still a couple spots left to sign up using

the link below. We have a riding mower, push

mower and a string trimmer. If you have any

questions call the church office.

https://www.signupgenius.com/

go/20f054ba9a72ea7f58-mowing

Prayers for Edith Alberty:

Edith Alberty, who will have her second heart sur-

gery in Ann Arbor, Michigan on June 18. On June

18 please light a candle and say a prayer for Edith

and her family. On Tuesday, June 9 we will email a

Sign-Up Genius for people to commit to pray for

15 minutes on June 18 from 5:00 am—11:45 pm. If

you would like to sign up but do not have the abil-

ity to sign up online call the office and we will add

your name.

Their Caring Bridge page is:

https://www.caringbridge.org/visit//

babyedithsheart/journal

Food To You:

We at St. Mark’s participate in a ministry of

the Sioux Falls area ELCA Lutheran Churches

known as Food To You. It is a mobile food

pantry housed in selected area churches. Our

current St. Mark’s task force leader for Food To

You is wishing to let others take the lead. If

you are interested in serving the community

through this opportunity please let a member of

the mission committee or the church office

know. St. Mark’s currently serves this mission

once a year. Contact Cathy Larson at 605-323-

9029.

Worship:

Council has decided that we will not have wor-

ship or events in the building at least through

Labor Day.

St. Mark’s Graduates Joey Pete graduated from Roosevelt High School and will attend Achieve. Johnathan Richard Smith graduated with honors from Lincoln High School. He will attend Washington University in St. Louis, MO to study Political Science, and will continue his football career as a Wash U Bear. Samantha Turner graduated from O'Gorman High School and plans to take a gap year before pursuing a degree in teaching. Alex Luke graduated from SDSU in December with a double major in Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences and Natural Resource Law Enforcement. Emma Olson graduated from SDSU with majors in Spanish and Entrepreneurial Studies and plans to continue her school-ing this fall. Lorin Phillips graduated from Stanford University with a major in Music with a concentration in Vocal Performance and a minor in Theater and Performance Studies. She is planning to attend Arizona State University to pursue her Master of Music degree in Music Theatre Performance. Josh Vortherms graduated from UNL with a Bachelor's De-gree in Athletic Training and a minor in International Studies. Matt Douglas has completed his MBA from USF and will continue to work at First National Bank. Nevada Sorenson Hughes graduated from USD School of Medicine and will begin a residency in Urology at Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, GA in July.

Church on the Street:

Write cards or letters of encourage-ment, to go into the hygiene and food kits. Send them love, and let them know they aren’t alone. Watch for emails for specific needs.

Mail to: Rebel Hurd/Church on the Street 320 S 2nd Ave Suite 1660 Sioux Falls, SD 57101

First Lutheran African Ministry:

Material donations for food and hy-giene kits:

Personal sanitary materials

Soaps and detergents

Hand sanitizers for daily use

Non perishable food goods

Financial donations

Mail to: 610 N Kiwanis Sioux Falls, SD 57104

Pueblo de Dios:

Material donations

Personal hygiene items

Laundry detergent

Food: rice, beans, corn, flour, eggs, milk, sugar, instant coffee, cereal

Financial contributions

Help out of work families to meet their rent and utilities

Mail to: Pueblo de Dios 235 N Prairie Ave Sioux Falls, SD 57104

—You can also support these ministries by making a financial gift at sdsyn-od.org/donate and select "Neighbors in Solidarity." —You can also drop off items or monetary donations at the church of-fice. Please call to make arrangements.

Thank you for your generosity and support! It's a mutual blessing and we

are all stronger together!

Neighbors in Solidarity: What you can do to

help

Our partner ministries in the South

Dakota Synod are requesting your

support! Here is what you can do to

help during this unprecedented time.

Sara Roberts

Jackson Turner-

Kostrzewa

Penny Olson

Addison Baus

Elizabeth Luke

Simon Hope

Rich Kemmis

Marsha Block

Ronald Johnson

Terry Phillips

Alanna Smith

Rex Rolfing

Lisa Johnson

Aiden Smith

Marcia Johnson

Erika Douglas

Brenda Lawrence

Darwin Blume

Natalie Sorenson

Ashley Brower

Buom Duoth Kek

Domach Duoth Kek

Nyapahn Duoth Kek

Palika Duoth Kek

Special Meeting of St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

Council

May 8/9, 2020

The meeting was called to order via email at 3:30 pm on May 8 by Lorie Laurila. Lorie explained that St. Mark’s Executive Committee had earlier approved apply-

ing for the Payroll Protection Program to cover our staff wages during the COVID

-19 pandemic. We were accepted, and Kent Alberty has been instrumental in

working with First National Bank to make this happen. MSC that Kent Alberty be authorized as a St. Mark's check signer at First

National Bank as related to the Payroll Protection Program.

The council also took the opportunity to update the persons authorized as St.

Mark's check signers. MSC that Lorie Laurila, Josh Zellmer, Karin Lindell, Pat Seiner and Mary

Johnson be authorized as St. Mark's check signers. Past president Dawn

Hartigan will be removed. The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 am on May 9. Karin Lindell Secretary

St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Council (Meeting via Zoom)

May 19, 2020

Present: Kent Alberty, Katie Harms, Katie Hartigan, Pastor Lori Hope, Rhonda Kemmis, Lorie Laurila, Karin

Lindell, Chris McCallum, Deb Neiderhiser, Ann Sansgaard, Dale Schnabel, Cathy Wencil, Josh Zellmer

Devotions: Pastor Lori read Romans 15:5 and the group shared in conversation.

Minutes: MSC to approve the February 18 Council minutes and the minutes of the May 8/9 special email Coun-

cil meeting.

Old Business & President’s Report:

Lorie thanked the Council members for their patience these past two months and brought everyone up to date on

what has transpired since the last meeting.

Meeting on March 17 and 31 and April 28, Exec made decisions to cease holding onsite worship or meet-

ings and to close the building doors through May, with the office covered 9:00 am-3:00 pm Tuesday through

Thursday for answering phones and checking messages.

Kevin Olson is handling the counting and deposit of offerings.

The sound absorption panels have arrived and are awaiting installation in the fellowship hall.

A new piano/keyboard has been purchased with undesignated memorial funds.

Elly is receiving unemployment benefits until it is possible to return to the office. Gretchen, Shari, and

Claradith are being paid as usual.

St. Mark’s served the Banquet on April 17 with six people preparing “to-go” meals and seven serving.

Two hundred and sixty-eight guests picked up meals one at a time.

We applied for and received a Payment Protection Program loan to help cover staff wages during the

COVID-19 crisis. The $24,205.30 has been deposited.

Treasurer’s Report:

The finances are doing well at this time.

Pastor’s Report:

Thank you to everyone for their support and input during these days. All suggestions are welcome.

New Business:

People stated their appreciation of the emailed daily devotions and Pastor Lori’s video sermons. Appreci-

ation was expressed for all those contributing to the devotions.

Discussion was held as to timing for reopening. The Council said the first priority is to proceed with care

and caution for all the congregation. MSC not to reopen before Labor Day and, until we resume a normal

worship schedule, not to accommodate any events at St. Mark’s, including funerals, weddings, and baptisms.

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New Business continued

It was decided that in the summer a monthly outdoor worship service could be held with people stay-

ing in their cars with closed windows and radio transmission of the service. A task force consisting of

Deb Neiderhiser, Josh Zellmer, Lorie Laurila, and Pastor Lori was formed to explore and plan worship

and service opportunities.

MSC to continue paying Gretchen, Shari, and Claradith their usual wages through this crisis.

Although this year’s SD Synod Assembly has been canceled, the Synod has encouraged congrega-

tions to donate to the Synod what would have been their delegate fees. The Council agreed to the request.

Lutherans Outdoors could also use financial help as they have been forced to cancel all their summer

camping programs.

Committees:

Youth: The youth and Pastor Lori have been meeting every Wednesday night through Zoom.

Property: Volunteers are signing up for yard care. The sign-up link will be resent.

Congregational Wellbeing: The committee wants to plan something relating to how people in the

congregation are doing.

Chris. Ed.: The Sunday School has been Zooming on Sunday mornings and has now finished for the

school year. They plan to stay connected in the summer.

WELCA: St. Mark’s WELCA will send out their annual spring letter to St. Mark’s women seeking funds for

their various charitable donations.

Intern: Our intern has been assigned and will provide a bio in the June Servant. Pastor Lori will attend

Healthy Boundaries Training and Supervisor Training through Zoom.

The meeting adjourned with the Lord’s Prayer.

Karin Lindell,

Secretary

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St. Mark’s Lutheran Church

2001 S. Elmwood Avenue

Sioux Falls, SD 57105

The Servant June 2020