Tuesday, November 24, 2020

Advent is Coming!

Happy Thanksgiving! I pray that wherever you are, and whomever you are with, that you are able to find some time to enjoy this holiday and give thanks, despite how strange our celebrations maybe this year.

We are only a few days away from Advent. Many of you no doubt have already set up Christmas trees in your living rooms and strung lights outside. It has been a rough year, and who can blame you for wanting to create a little early cheer? Traditionally, Advent has always been rooted in anticipating the arrival of Christ in our lives. If you are like me, you are probably sick of anticipation right now. It has been a driving force for many of us since last March. We have been waiting and hoping and praying for an end to this pandemic so that we can return to a time when we can once again gather with and embrace those we love. 

In previous years, I have viewed Advent as a brief four weeks where we Christians can practice anticipation. We know Christmas is coming. Carols and candlelight and cookies are all a guarantee. And so we can think of Advent as a time of eager hope, like children tearing the loops off a paper chain, counting down the days until our hopes become reality. If we practice Advent well, then when the harsh reality of life demands it, we might be more prepared to handle the struggle that comes with waiting.

This year is different. We won’t so much be practicing hope as recognizing the exhaustion we all have from hoping too long. This season, we can name our frustrations over slivers of hope which come and go, even as we trust the guaranteed in-breaking of God’s love. You will notice this growing hope symbolized in the ever-expanding decorations during Sunday worship. The greenery will be minuscule this Sunday, but it will continue to expand and brighten along with our Christmas hope throughout the season.

We hope to worship together on Christmas Eve, and so we are planning for six brief candlelight services to be held outside, along with a full worship service online. The outdoor services will include carols, a telling of the Christmas story, prayer, communion, and singing Silent Night with candles. These 20-minute services will be at 2pm, 3pm, 4pm, 7pm, 8pm, and 9pm. If the weather and pandemic rules allow, we will gather around fire pits on the east side of the building; otherwise, we can simply remain in our cars. Reservations will be required, and you can sign up at our website beginning on December 1st. I have a feeling that these will be special moments for all of us to celebrate the promises God has given through the birth of Jesus.

We also hope to have other festive occasions in December. Bob Rub and our choirs are working hard to produce a pre-recorded Christmas Concert. The shifting mitigation rules create constant challenges, but we hope to have this gift ready for you by mid-December. Many folks are also preparing to have our first-ever Live Nativity from 6pm to 9pm on Saturday, December 19th. And, plans are underway to provide time for you and your loved ones to take a few moments in the sanctuary for family photos on Sunday, December 20th. 

Of course, all of our hoped-for plans are subject to the health department’s mitigations for this pandemic, which seems to be worse than ever at the moment. We can all embody our hopes by doing everything we can to slow the spread, which includes staying home as much as possible and wearing our masks when we are in public. The more we work together, the sooner we can come together again in worship and joy.

Peace,                                        

Pastor Chad McKenna




Thursday, November 19, 2020

Service of Lament and Observance of Christ the King

 “This liturgy is intended to move us from lament to hope.”

As co-chair of the Northern Illinois Synod Worship Committee I have the privilege of working with a dedicated team in planning worship for our life-together as people and congregations of the Northern Illinois Synod. In collaboration with our synod staff, we are pleased to offer this Service of Lament and Observance of Christ the King.

Over the course of these now more than eight months of living in this pandemic there is much to lament: the sickness and death from Covid-19, the economic impacts on families and businesses, the loss of rituals for celebrations and grief, the fatigue of online meetings, the stress on daily life in an anxious and uncertain world, and so much more.

This service is an opportunity to name the laments we share collectively and those that are personal. And in naming our laments, we remember God’s faithfulness in the past as a sign of God’s faithfulness for us now and turn our hearts toward hope in God’s presence with us and promise to deliver us again.

As Bishop Jeffrey Clements has said, “This liturgy is intended to move us from lament to hope.”

In the sermon, Bishop Clements helps us move from lament to hope in a conversation with his pastor the Rev. Dr. Janet Hunt, First Lutheran Church, DeKalb, IL, with Psalm 13 as a guide.

Synod staff are the primary leaders of this service with music coming from congregations throughout the synod including Bob Rub and St. Mark singers who provided the music for the Gathering Hymn in this service. We are grateful for their music offering and all who contributed to this service.

I invite and encourage you to experience this Service of Lament and Observance of Christ the King as a way to move from lament to hope in your own life and share in our life-together as people of God in the Northern Illinois Synod. 

This worship service is available for streaming at the Northern Illinois Synod YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/_Px-ra4pswY

Peace,

Pastor Robert



Thursday, November 12, 2020

Congregational Meeting November 22

Greetings from St. Mark Council,

We are writing to formally announce a congregational meeting to be held on November 22, 2020. The purpose of the congregational meeting is to elect a slate of nominees to serve as the Call Committee as we begin our search for a new associate pastor.

Our constitution states that this committee must be elected by congregational vote at a meeting of at least 75 members.  Voting by proxy or absentee ballot is only allowed when calling a pastoral candidate, as we did on August 30th when we called Pastor Chad to be our new senior pastor.  Because of that, we will need to hold this meeting in person, and only those present will be able to cast a vote, as per our constitution.

Since we need to gather in person, we will have a drive-in worship service at 9:30 am on November 22nd, followed immediately by this brief congregational meeting.  Like all services recently, this one will be available via live-stream for those unable to be in attendance.  The council and Worship & Music committee will do everything possible to make the morning a success, no matter the weather forecast; however, extreme weather may still force us to cancel. If you are unsure on that morning, please call the church or check our website, Facebook page, or app for any cancellation notices.

We are excited to have a slate of nominees who represent many different areas of our congregation.  The nominees are Diana Berg (chairperson), Stella Schroeder, Ron Lundstrom, Jim Claerbout, Nicki Schroeder, Jimmy Ivacic, and McKenna Anderson.  We hope you join us for this necessary meeting on November 22nd!

In Christ, 

The St. Mark Council

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