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ORGANIZATIONS AND ACTIVITIES Worship/Education: Ushers usually serve for a month handing out bulletins, collecting the offering and directing people to the altar for Communion. Greeters usually serve for a month welcoming people as they enter the building and, with the help of the pastor, identifying visitors. Readers/Lectors usually serve for a month and read the first & second lessons during worship. Altar Duty involves setting up for Holy Communion and cleaning up afterwards. Worship Assistants are trained to assist the pastor with the liturgy and the prayers. Senior Choir practices on Thursday nights at 6:30 and sings two times a month at the 8:15 service and two times a month at the 10:30 service. All confirmed members are welcome. Bell Choir gathers in the fall and in the spring and performs in worship twice a year. Music for Sunday School children is a part of the Sunday School hour. They sing as a group about once a month. High-Mids is a middle school and high school singing group. Instrumentalists are used by our Minister of Music on occasion to enhance the worship. Nursery Duty is scheduled for a Sunday at a time. Both services are covered. Altar flowers are donated for special occasions or whenever desired. A sign-up chart is in the narthex along with an envelope for the payment. The envelope shows the cost of the flowers and is placed in the offering plate or given to the church office. Sunday School (ages 3 through 8th grade) is offered at 9:15 from the Sunday after Labor Day to the Sunday before Memorial Day. There are also special activities planned each Sunday during the summer. Adult Forum meets every Sunday at 9:15 and covers a range of topics from Bible studies to current events and social issues. Thursday Bible Study meets at 9:30 a.m. all year round. A book of the Bible is chosen and read in its entirety.
Confirmation Instruction is offered to 7th and 8th graders in 20 sessions each year. Primary use of the Bible and Martin Luther’s Small Catechism prepares the students for the Rite of Confirmation on the last Sunday of October in their 9th grade year. Vacation Church School/Bible School is offered during the summer. Children’s Bibles are given to each family upon reception to membership or the baptism of the first child. Communion Instruction is a part of the on-going educational experiences in Sunday School and Cool Cids Club.
Gathering:
St. Mark Women/WELCA (Women of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America) gathers as a large group approximately twice a year. Five circles (small groups) meet monthly in members’ homes for Bible study and conversation. Women are invited to join any circle they wish. Esther circle meets the 2nd Monday at 9:30. Leah circle meets the 3rd Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Rachel circle meets the 3rd Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. Ruth circle meets the 3rd Monday at 7:30 p.m. Sarah circle meets the 3rd Monday at 7:00 p.m. St. Mark women is part of a “cluster” involving the other 9 ELCA congregations in Sioux City and a part of the Western Iowa Synod’s annual women’s assembly. St. Mark Men meet for breakfast at Timothy’s Restaurant at 6:45 a.m. on the first Friday of each month and at Buffalo Alice for pizza on the fourth Monday of every month at 6:30 p.m. Youth Groups for high school and confirmation young people meet weekly for fun and service projects. CCC (Cool Cids Club) is an activity/learning program for grade school kids on Wednesday evenings during the school year. Young at Heart is a monthly luncheon for older adults. A $3.00 catered meal and a program are offered on the 3rd Monday of each month, September through May. They have adopted the Gospel Mission as their service project. A quilting group called Piecemakers assembles quilts for Lutheran World Relief. They meet on the fourth Monday of every month. Lenten Soup Suppers are held on the Wednesday evenings of Lent. A simple meal of soup is prepared and a free-will offering covers the cost of the soup and the remainder given to world hunger. Advent Suppers are held on the Wednesday evenings of Advent, served by volunteers. A Pig Roast is held annually in late August as a congregational picnic. A pot-luck meal adds the trimmings to a whole pig cooked right here. Music and dancing are part of the festivities. Intergenerational Family Events are held through out the year. Service/Mission: Missionary Support for Jean Walstrom and Marvin Kananen, missionaries to Tanzania, is given weekly ($20 per Sunday) in memory of loved ones, for a special occasion or to the glory of God. A sign-up chart and envelopes for the money are located on the bulletin board in the narthex. Soup Kitchen volunteers are needed periodically for work at the Soup Kitchen on W. 7th. Volunteers sign up for the 2:00 to 4:00 preparation time or the 5:00 to 6:45 serving time. A staff member of the Soup Kitchen directs all volunteers. Prison Visits are arranged to the South Dakota State Penitentiary in Sioux Falls and Springfield SD for participation in worship at St. Dysmas, and the Church of the Damascus Road in Rockwell City and Ft. Dodge. These are ELCA congregations located within the prisons. Food Gathering for the food bank at the Woodbury County Community Action Agency is done regularly. A shopping cart usually stands in the narthex for the food items brought to church. Hunger Offerings are received and given to the ELCA World Hunger Appeal. Offering envelopes are put in the bulletins on the first Sunday of each month. The Giving Tree provides Christmas presents for the less fortunate of our community. A tag on the tree describes a person and a wish. A present is bought, wrapped and put under the tree with the identifying tag before being distributed. CROP-Walkers secure financial pledges and walk in this fall, community event to raise money for hunger in Sioux City and around the world. St. Mark participates in Inter-Faith Resource’s Food Festival to raise money for local social service projects. Cooking with Love meets twice a month to prepare and deliver a meal to shut-ins and to people in situations of crisis or stress. A Prayer Shawl Ministry meets to knit shawls to give to people as a tangible sign of comfort and encouragement Service Groups serve meals for funerals and other congregational events. Volunteers are regularly needed for a variety of tasks such as visitation, giving rides... A Church Van is available to transport people to worship and on mission/fellowship activities. Whittier School is a partnership where St. Mark people serve as volunteers to read and clothing and school supplies are collected. Shepherd Ministers contact members several times a year to provide a hearing for members concerns and needs. CSADV, the Council on Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence, is the recipient of collections of clothing and non-perishable items for the women and children in the shelter. St. Mark volunteers bake and serve birthday cakes at Countryside Retirement Home in addition to visits made by the Cool Cids Club.
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