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St. Mark Lutheran Church 141 Kruger St., Wheeling, WV 304-242-3466 R. Paul Schafer, Pastor Leslie Garrett, Organist/Dir. Of Music Grace Kennedy, Secretary Amy Hinkelman, Dir. Youth/Christian Ed. VOL. XV, NO. 12 E-Mail: stmark@wvdsl.net DECEMBER 2007 www.stmarkwheeling.org www.stmarksyouth.proboards62.com OUR MISSION: As disciples of Christ, St. Mark ministers that all may know the joy of Christ’s love through ministries of Welcoming, Growing, and Caring.

ST. MARK CROSSINGS

GOD SENT US A SAVIOR

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their

flock by night. Then, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the

Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do

not be afraid; for see – I am bringing you good news of a great joy for all the peo-

ple; to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the

Lord.” (Luke 2:8-11)

These beautiful words from the Christmas story remind us of the essence of the Christmas good news….God is present and God is working out God’s reconciling and life-giving purpose even in the midst of life’s most frightening realities. There was much to fear 2,000 years ago when those shep-herds were watching over their flocks by night. The world was a chaotic and dangerous place. Politi-cal tensions were ever-present. Violence was the norm rather than the exception. People like shep-herds (who were not well thought of) were condemned to a life of exclusion and marginalization. The life expectancy was short. Yet, in the midst of such a world, the Christmas good news arrived. The angel declared to those hope-less shepherds, “fear not…to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” ‘God cares for you’, said the angel to the shepherds. God cares for all people. God cares for the world, and God is redeeming the world through God’s only Son. Today the world is, in many ways, a different place than it was 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem. Yet in many ways it is much the same. The world remains a frightening, dangerous, and chaotic place. Peo-ple are still in bondage to sin. People still die. Yet, the Christmas good news comes to us just as it did to those shepherds 2,000 years ago. We should hear the words of the angel spoken to those shepherds as also a word spoken directly to us. “To YOU is born a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.” This word is for us as well. Though we live in a difficult world; though we are in bondage to sin; though we are subject to the power of death. God has sent us a Savior who is Jesus, the Lord. And, through Jesus, God’s last and final word to us and our broken world is forgiveness and eternal, resurrection life. My wish for all of you in this season and in every season is to know the joy and peace of the Christmas good news – the Gospel of our Lord, Jesus Christ. May you have a joyful Advent season and a very merry Christmas! -Pastor Paul

CROSSINGS 2

CONGREGATIONAL MEETING, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18

The 2008 proposed budget was accepted and approved. All revised consti-tution and by-laws were accepted as presented. Election resulted in the following being elected for a two year term on St. Mark Council: Trustees: Carl Bowman, Jim Braden, Harry Sacco Elders: Wendy Bogers, Sherri Schafer, Rob Schmidt Deacons: Sandy Beck, Leo Bolden, Judy Bowman, Rob Davis, Jackie Roesser, Heidi Watkins We thank everyone who allowed their name to be placed on the ballot.

ADVENT AND CHRISTMAS WORSHIP HIGHLIGHTS THE ADVENT SEASON BEGINS ON SUNDAY, DECEMBER 2ND with Holy Communion worship at the usual 8:00 and 10:15 times. The theme of Advent is preparation for the coming of Christ….his coming as an infant in Bethlehem, his coming in the present through the power of the Holy Spirit, and his coming again at the end of history. Each Sunday we will light a new candle on the Advent wreath and hear words about the meaning of Christ’s coming to-day.

AT WEDNESDAY EVENING WORSHIP (which is held weekly at 6:30 in up-stairs sanctuary) we will be changing our worship format for the Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany seasons. We will be doing the “Holden Evening Prayer Service” by Marty Haugen. This service is very musical and has a contem-plative mood to it. It also lifts up many important themes from the Advent through Epiphany time. Wednesday worship always includes the celebration of Holy Com-munion by intinction except in the occasional absence of a pastor.

CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP will be held at 1:00 p.m. in the down-stairs chapel, and at 7:00 and 11:00 p.m. in the upstairs sanctuary. The 7:00 service is a family service suitable for all ages. The 11:00 ser-vice is the more solemn service with candle light. All Christmas Eve services will include the celebration of Holy Communion. Once again we are thrilled to welcome “Brass Unlimited” which will be providing a special half hour prelude at 10:30 p.m. which will precede our 11:00 worship.

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OFFERING ENVELOPES F.Y.I.

WEEKLY OFFERING General Expense side provides funds for our budgeted ministries & daily operations.

Benevolence provides funds to cover our benevolence giving to the WV/Western Maryland Synod of the ELCA

CHRISTMAS FOOD BASKETS Provides funds for us to supply food to approximately 25 families at Christmas time SOUP FOR SHUT-INS Provides funds for St. Mark to deliver food to approximately twenty families every other Tuesday and underwrites the soup ministry for those in special need

MEMBERS-IN-NEED Provides funds for Pastor and Secretary to distribute to members-in- need at St. Mark. This can be for utilities, housing, food, etc. SHEPHERD’S FUND For non-members passing thru Wheeling in need of funds for food & Lodging; also provides gifts to agencies which serve the poor & those in special circumstances SYNOD YOUTH CONVENTION To help defray the costs of our Youth to attend the ELCA & Synod youth gatherings & conventions STUDENT SCHOLARSHIP FUND Each semester we donate funds to our college students to help with their education expenses WOMEN OF ELCA Helps with our contribution to the National Women’s Group WORLD HUNGER Extra money, in addition to our regular benevolence to help with ELCA World Hunger ministries

IMPROVEMENT FUND Monies used for the upkeep of our St. Mark properties ADVENT OFFERING Money is used for special benevolence during Advent CHRISTMAS EVE Money is used for special benevolence at Christmas time CHRISTMAS Special gift in honor of our Lord

CROSSINGS 4

90TH ANNIVERSARY YEAR This year, St. Mark Lutheran congregation has celebrated its 90th year of serving God and the community. What a wonderful occasion it was that we could all enjoy worship, renew old friendships, and share in our joy of serving

God. God has blessed us richly. I want to thank Jackie Shay, Ann Gyekis, Carolyn Rose, Kate Freed, Karen Jarrett and all their committees who helped with the luncheons for Rev. Gyekis, Rev. Stitt. Rev. Moore, Rev Al Schafer, and Bishop Dunkin. I want to thank all who baked cookies, cakes, made sloppy joes, set tables, washed dishes or anything else that made the luncheons a success. A special thanks goes to Peggy Glaser, Ann Gyekis, Karen and Chris Jarrett, Judy and Carl Bowman, Jackie Shay and Pastor Paul for serving on the Anniversary Committee and all people who supported the Committee. We are very blessed to have such wonderful disciples at St. Mark. Thank you so much. -Norma Robinson.

WHAT MAKES A HEALTHY CHURCH? Christian Schwarz, a German church growth researcher, has uncovered eight characteristics that are always present in healthy churches. He surveyed more than 1,000 churches in 32 countries on all six continents. These eight principles were present in all healthy growing churches without excep-tion, regardless of culture. The Elders will be sharing the eight principles with you over the next few months. In October we shared Principle #1: Loving Relationships; and Principle #2: Empowering Leader-ship with you. This month we want to share: Principle #3; Gift-Oriented Ministry—The role of church leadership is to help its members to identify their gifts and to integrate them into appropriate ministries. The church provides training to help people use their gifts for ministry. Principle #4: Passionate Spirituality—Christians in healthy, growing churches are on “fire.” They live committed lives and practice their faith with joy and enthusiasm. Their enthusiasm is conta-gious. They are enthusiastic about their faith and their church. Principle #5: Functional Structures—Structures are developed to empower persons for ministry and not simply to preserve tradition. Structure serves the church instead of the church serving the structure. Structure should always follow strategy and grow out of mission.

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CHILDREN’S VITAMINS NEEDED

This month, the St. Mark Global Mission Team, in conjunction with the WPHS Spanish club, is asking for donations of children’s vitamins. They will be sent to the VAMOS! office in Vermont, which will then be personally delivered by volunteers. (Mexican law has made it difficult and at times impossible to send vitamins through the mail). Please con-sider making a contribution to this very worthwhile project. Such a simple gesture has such a big impact on the health of the children sup-ported by VAMOS! More information about the VAMOS! organization

can be read on their website: http://www.vamos.org.mx/

index.html. Below is some information about the VAMOS! organi-zation and Mexico.

“Blessed are those who have the spirit of the poor.” This is the guiding beatitude of VAMOS!, the charitable organization devoted to the Mexican poor. Co-founder Bill Coleman attended many lec-tures about the poor being blessed in his lifetime, but never understood precisely its meaning. During a visit to Mexico, with compassionate reaction to seeing children living in extreme poverty, he com-prehended the meaning. To paraphrase his words, if you have the spirit of the poor, you understand your dependence on God and how much he loves you and how much you are his child. The VA-MOS! founders wondered, how is it that a change can be brought about in society to help these chil-dren? Was there anything they can do to make a contribution to their future? This is what VAMOS! is about. VAMOS! is guided by the mouths of the poor. They asked, and listened to the needs of poor. They believed that our First World ways of doing things were a product of our own culture and did not necessarily apply to the Mexican poor they wanted to help. Thus, they decided that it would be the poor who must lead them. A model of friendship had begun. VAMOS! would try to be friends with the Mexican poor and wait until it became clear what ways we could help the poor realize their dreams. Now VAMOS! has 81 projects all of which are designed to empower the poor. Mexico is our nearest Third World neighbor, a nation with close ties to the U.S. and the home of a large minority of our population. It is a poor country, not because it lacks the natural resources or the people with the will to improve it but because it was exploited by its Spanish conquerors for three hundred years, plagued by war for the next century and mismanaged for most of this one. Corrupt political leaders have destroyed most people's chance to support themselves and their families. Rural people no longer able to support themselves in their rural villages are flocking to the city in search of food and work. Many neither read nor write, have minimal skills and often speak only their indige-nous language, not Spanish, the official language of the country. Whole families must sell on the street and are homeless, hungry and totally confused by the demands of urban life. These are the people helped by VAMOS!

CROSSINGS 6

LOG ON…

Log on to the new youth forum site for the Lutheran youth in the Wheeling area. Check out the latest news, announcements and happenings with Wheeling’s Lutheran youth. The address is http://24.3.223.210 Thanks to Josh for setting this up.

DON’T FORGET! December 1 – Aids Awareness Day with service at St. Mark December 24 – Need youth to participate in processions in both evening services January ?? – Camp Luther Spaghetti Dinner January 27 – Wheeling Island Soup Kitchen (confirmation requirement) February 5 – Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper February 15-17 – LYO Winter Weekend at Wisp Jesus, Justice and Jazz – July 16-19, 2009 in New Orleans, LA Tammy Robinson and Gary Roesser, Sr. – co-coordinators

SAVE THE DATE – LYO WINTER WEEKEND

The upcoming LYO Winter Weekend is being held February 15-17, 2008 at Camp Hickory, Garrett Co. MD. We hope to see you and members from your youth group in February! Registration forms will be available soon at the LYO web site: http://www.wv-wmdlyo.com/. Gary Roesser, Sr. will be the coordinator for this trip. Please contact Sherri Schafer for financial schol-arship information for this trip.

ATTENTION YOUTH LEADERS

There will be a Safeguarding God’s Children workshop on Jan. 26, 2008 at St. Mark. Registration will begin at 9am with the seminar running from 9:30am – 2:00pm. ALL ST. MARK YOUTH VOLUN-TEER LEADERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND THIS WORKSHOP if they have not al-ready attended a previous seminar! More details and registration forms will be coming soon.

CROSSROADS St. Mark’s Youth in Ministry

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CHRISTMAS TREE TAGS Again this year, we will have gift tags on the tree in the lower narthex for you to take and Christmas shop for those less fortunate. There will be tags for children from the Salvation Army and tags for Seeing Hand. There will also be tags for gifts of money to help these organi-zations get other needed items. Thank you.

CHRISTMAS BASKETS We will be collecting non perishable food items again this year for Christmas Baskets. We will be receiving a list of at least 20 families in the area that registered with Information Helpline to whom we will distribute food baskets. If you know of a family in need you can give the name to Pastor Paul or call the church office. Craig & Cheryl Peyton will again be chair-ing this event, so if you have any questions or would like to help please let them know. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans is making a contribution to help defray expenses. Please bring in your non perishable food items in the next few weeks and place on the benches in the lower narthex. There are white bags available to place the food if you would like to use them.. Donations of money would also be greatly appreciated to help purchase additional food to supply these needy families with Christmas dinner.

NEED MONTHLY SPONSORS FOR “CROSSINGS” Want to Help Out with the printing cost of St. Mark’s “Crossings”? You have the opportunity to dedicate a printing of a monthly issue “In Memory Of” someone special, or as a special gift “In Honor of Someone or Special Anniversary”. Donation of $100.00 is asked. Please call the office if you are interested in sponsoring a monthly issue of our newsletter (242-3466). At the time of this writing—all months of 2008 are available except January.

CROSSINGS 8

SUNDAY SCHOOL PERFECT ATTENDANCE OCTOBER We congratulate the following Sunday School students for being here every week in October; Merv Evans, Ellie Evans, Rob Davis, Joanne Meyer, Ellen Kriner, Ken Kriner, Harry Abplanalp, Martha Abplanalp, Clyde Borrell, Ola Marshall, Burke Glover, Rylie White.

Our Costume Party held October 26, 2007 was well attended and much enjoyed. We took a trip through some of the scary moments in the Bible and enjoyed candy and demonstrations. Here are just a few of the young people. Check out the bulletin board in the hall of St. Mark for more pic-tures.

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THANK YOU, CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH!

Christ Lutheran Church located in Mozart, WV is CLP’s 3rd S.T.U.F.F. storage and distribution site.

They will serve the northern and mid-regions of the synod. Trinity Lutheran Church, Martinsburg and

Cross of Grace Lutheran Church, Hurricane serve as the other storage and distribution sites.

S.T.U.F.F. stands for Sheets, Towels, Utensils For Families. This program provides household neces-

sities to families whose lives are disrupted by disaster, displacement or other distress. Watch for more

information in your January newsletters.

MISSION TRIPS COMPLETED!

CLP and the congregations of the synod have been very busy in the ministry of Disaster Relief in re-

cent months. In late August, a crew from the Eastern Panhandle spent 3 days in Logan, Co. replacing

flooring and insulation, and did a series of kitchen and bathroom repairs to the Elmore home in Sham-

rock. In November, the second crew, led by Pastor Jeff Wick of Huntington and accompanied by Pastor

Jim Kinsler of Parkersburg, was in the same neighborhood doing more floor replacement work for two

other flood-damaged homes. Another crew from the synod was in Biloxi, MS continuing with LDR

(Lutheran Disaster Response) efforts there.. Pastor David Westphal of Wheeling led his crew down that

now familiar road to Camp Biloxi to work for a week in November. In August, CLP worked with the

WVU Disaster Response team to organize a relief trip to Findlay, OH. We have another group led by

David Maurer from St. Mark’s in Clarksburg taking students from Notre Dame High School to

Findlay, OH over Thanksgiving break. The Findlay, OH area was hit with extensive flooding during

July of this year. For more information about work crew activities, contact the CLP office.

CHIP INITIATIVE (Children’s Health Insurance Program)

Community Lutheran Partners is looking for people in each congregation to serve on 2-3 person teams

in their “Adopt-A-School” CHIP initiative. Our goal is to have each church adopt a school in their

area. The team would attend the school’s functions and provide general information on the program

and CHIP enrollment forms. All display materials and training will be provided. CHIP provides health

care for children whose families cannot afford other health insurance plans. The program covers pre-

ventive services, such as Well Child Care, immunizations, lead testing, vision services and dental ser-

vices. Please contact Sarah (clp.inc@citilink.net) or Sherri (sherri@clp-online.org) for more informa-

tion.

CROSSINGS 10

WOMEN’S CHRISTMAS PARTY DECEMBER 2, 2007 Time: 2—4 P.M. In Fellowship Hall We invite you to join us to celebrate the holiday season. It’s time for CHOCOLATE! Along with other desserts. BRING A $5.00 GIFT FOR EXCHANGE

HOLIDAY CONCERTS You are invited to Zion Lutheran Church for two free Sunday evening holiday concerts. Sunday, December 2, 6:00 p.m., Brass Unlimited will offer both secular and sacred holiday music. On that evening, the quintet will feature a variety of Advent and Christmas favorites designed to help everyone enter into the season with joy and anticipation. Sunday, December 16, at 7:00 p.m., the Pride of the Valley Barbershop Singers will offer their brand of Advent and Christmas tunes. Again the program will include religious music as well as popular classics. Both concerts will be held in the sanctuary at Zion, are free and are open to the public. Please join us!

POINSETTIA ORDER FORM

I would like ______ Plants at $13.00 each

Total Cost $________________

Name___________________________________________________________ In Memory of ___________________________________________________________ In Honor of _____________________________________________________________ In Thankfulness for ______________________________________________________ Deadline for Ordering - Sunday, December 16, cash or check must accompany order. Make checks payable to “St. Mark Youth Fund.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - - -

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DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS 1— Emma Baker, Terri Huls, Kristen Slater 2—Jean Davis 3—Vernon Winters 4—Ella May Evans 6—Mark Robinson, Margaret Wyatt 8—Rick Fitzsimmons, Judy Hillberry, Laraw Marshall 9—William Schafer, Carol Steele 11—Robert Lovell, Beulah Seamon, Jim Young 13—Sharon Cappiccie, David Weidner 15—Jason Felici, Charles Jonas, Margaret Ragni 16—Jim Braden, Ron Kasserman, Heidi Watkins 17—Ray Braun, Jacqueline Heil, Fred Simon 19—Christina Oravetz 20—Aubrey Toth 21—Jerry Hannahs, Scott Slater 22—Nancy Felici, Gary Knollinger 25—Joyce Weisal

DECEMBER WEDDING ANNIVERSARIES

17—Bernard & Connie Knollinger 19—Lawrence & Helen Fischer 21—William & Christine King 27—Dick & Norma Farrow

DECEMBER ALTAR FLOWERS 2— Breeden Family in memory of Wilson Breeden at his birth date 12/5 Frances Braden in memory of Lenora Fischer at her birth date Pat & Leslie Garrett in honor of son Joshua’s 19th birthday 12/6 9—Tom & Susan Ackerman in memory of daughter and grandson at their birth dates Richard & Mary Anna Strickler in honor of daughter, Robin’s birthday 12/7 16—Ann Gyekis in memory of husband, Bob at his birth date 12/16 Marcy Porter in memory of husband, Jim 12/15 St. Mark Church in memory of Pr. Richard Gast 12/16/88 Mary Ellen Knauss in honor of son, Bob’s birthday 12/16 23—Les & Jane Cline in memory of Jane’s mother at her birth date 12/25 George Paulovicks Family in memory of parents, George & Betty at anniversary date 12/22/41 Freda Pelley & Delite White Family in honor of Justin White’s birthday 12/24 30—Carolyn Nortemann in memory of father, Wilbur at his birth date 12/31 Mary Ellen Knauss in memory of husband, Walter, at his birth date 1/1

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26—Anna Allman 27—Craig Kriner 28—Jim Lapp, II 29—Judy Fedczak, Brenda Schafer, Kevin Watkins 31—Dottie Boyd, Richard Charnock

OFFICIAL ACTS Funerals—Patricia Lou K. Grieve John W. Craig

LIVING MEMORIAL

-by Jim & Donna Schafer in memory of Mother, Essie Schafer

CROSSINGS 12

DECEMBER SUNDAY SCHOOL

SCHEDULE

December 2

Get Ready for Jesus

Lesson 1

Isaiah 2:1-5

Creed: he descended into hell

Bible Verse:

“Let us walk in the light of the Lord.”-

Isaiah 2:5

Advent 1

December 9

Jesus Does Great Things

Lesson 2

Psalm 72:1-19

Creed: on the third day he rose again

Bible Verse:

“Prepare the way of the Lord.”-Matthew

3:3

Advent 2

December 16

Trust God’s Plans

Lesson 3

Matthew 1:18-25

Creed: he ascended into heaven

Bible Verse:

“Emmanuel: God is with us.”-Matthew

1:23

Advent 3

December 23

Jesus Was Born for Us

Lesson 4

Luke 2:1-20

Creed: he is seated at the right hand of

the Father

Bible Verse:

Advent 4

December 30

Everyone Can Worship Jesus

Lesson 6

Matthew 2:13-23

Creed: and he will come to judge the living

and the dead

Bible Verse:

“Lord, I put my trust in you.”- Hebrews

2:13

You are invited To a Birthday Party for Jesus

Sunday, December 9, 2007

In Fellowship Hall immediately following the 10:15

service

Join us for potluck dinner, cake, party games, a play,

party favors, balloons and fun for all ages.

Please consider bringing a gift for Jesus (baby

items, such as diapers, etc and/or non-perishable

food items). Parents are invited to bring a side dish

to share for dinner (ham, cake and beverages will be

provided).

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THIS ‘N THAT Dear Paul: Thank you hardly seems enough to say for the delightful time we had at St. Mark’s. But we

do thank you for inviting us and providing a time to visit with friends from our past. The lovely green

stole I wore, I think I told you was borrowed from Jim Christian the pastor at First Lutheran in Spring-

field. Talk about generosity, it was his regular green stole. We worshipped there last Sunday and it

was the stole he was wearing! After leaving St. Mark’s we went to Bridgeport for a while and to the

Week’s Cemetery where my grandparents and parents are buried. I had a great-grandfather who died

when I was about 12 years old. We looked up his gravestone and I was surprised to learn that he was

15 years old at the end of the Civil War. It’s hard to believe I really knew somebody who lived that far

back. He was not a veteran. My mother’s father was the pastor at Trinity in Bridgeport in the early

1900’s and my parents went to school together at Bridgeport High. My father’s father was the Yard

Master for the B and O Railroad in Bridgeport. Back in the 20’s and 30’s there was a large rail yard in

Bridgeport that handled coal coming from the mines in Lansing and Blaine. It was also the rail year

where the circuses always unloaded. A big thrill for the kids.

It appears things are going well at St. Mark’s, a testimony to your ministry. We certainly will pray for

your continued success. -Again, Thanks, Walter & Betty Stitt

Pr. Paul & Members of St. Mark: Thank you for your kindness last Sunday (Nov. 4). I really didn’t ap-

preciate when we went thru the building programs—parsonage, church, education unit —but we sure

appreciated sitting and worshiping there now. -Blessings, The Rusts

MEMORY TREE: The Christmas tree in the chapel has become known as the Memory Tree in honor of Jonie Bartsch who for many years faithfully served as a disciple of St. Mark. One of her favorite min-istries was the decorating of the Chapel. If you would like to donate an ornament for the Chapel Tree, please leave it in the church office with a note as to who it is in memory of. Merv & Ella May Evans are the contact persons for this project. BUS TRIPS: St. Mark had forty (40) people attend the “White Christmas” musical at the Carousel Din-ner Theater in Akron, OH. A good time was had by all. Our next bus trip is to Columbus, OH to see the “Living Christmas Tree” performance at Grace Brethren Church on December 15th. This is a Saturday matinee show. So far we have thirty-seven (37) people signed up for the trip. There are still tickets available. Call Dick Strickler (242-6614) or Merv Evans (242-1617) if interested. Constitution and By-laws: Many thanks to Pr. Paul, Clyde Borrell, Jim Glaser, Dick Strickler, and especially Carl Bowman for all their work working up the revised Constitution and By-laws. ELCA Gift Catalog - Need help shopping for the person who has everything? St. Mark's Global Mis-sion Team encourages you to pick up a copy of the ELCA Gift Catalog, located in the lower nar-thex. There are many programs to choose from...God's Global Barynard, supporting seminarians, sup-porting retired pastors, etc. Simply make a financial donation in honor of the "person who has every-thing". Cards are provided in the catalog to make notifying the honoree of your gift easy. Thanks to all the ladies who made cookies for our Veteran’s Day Service. The response was over-

whelming and everyone enjoyed them. We appreciated them very much. -Ann Gyekis

CROSSINGS 14

THIS ‘N THAT continued

Special thanks to Norma Robinson and the 90th Anniversary Committee for planning such a marvel-ous series of receptions and celebrations. Recently pictured in the newspaper was Jeremy West who is involved in a new, young professional group called “Ohio Valley Connect”. Also recently pictured in the newspaper was Bill Dumas who was honored as the oldest attendee at this year’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball. Congratulations Bill. Recently pictured in the newspaper advertising St. Mark’s Annual Turkey Dinner were Judy Fedczak , Ann Gyekis, Helen Petri and Marcy Porter. Congratulations to Dr. John Freed who was named Clinician of the year for EMSTAR Trauma & Emergency Services for Ohio Valley Medical Center/Eastern Ohio Regional Hospital. Have you been on the giving or receiving end of things recently? Hopefully you can answer “BOTH!”. St. Mark is deeply grateful for the generosity of those who have given and continue to give to our church. Your giving, not just in money, but in time and talent, benefits the many ministries of our church and enables us to reach beyond the walls of St. Mark as well. IS YOUR “GIVING “ CURRENT? Now is the time to be sure you are up-to-date with your “giving” for the year. Our anticipated “giving” through October 31, 2007 was $133,333. “Giving” received to-tals $146,258. Total income-to-date is $195,896. Total spending-to-date is $187,958. The October church financial statement is posted on the first floor bulletin board for those interested. TURKEY DINNER: We are happy to report that our Turkey Dinner was a great success this year. Over 900 meals were served. As a result the net income for St. Mark was $8,994!! In addition Thrivent Financial for Lutherans gave matching funds of $1,500. As in years past, a portion of these monies will be donated to various charitable organizations including Meals on Wheels, Seeing Hand, Salvation Army, American Red Cross, Soup Kitchen of Greater Wheeling, and Wheeling Health Right. The re-maining funds will be applied to our Synod benevolence obligations. Thanks to the many volunteers for not only making this a profitable event, but great fellowship for our congregation. Thanks to Frances Braden and all who helped in so many ways. Sunday School would like to thank all who helped with the Christmas Cookie baking: Martha Abplan-alp, Ella May Evans, Ann Gyekis, Lisa Hlad, Ellen Kriner, Helen Petri, Marcy Porter, and Joan Stein. God has generously blessed each of us with earthly possessions. At death, we can thankfully return to the Lord a tithe or other portion of our assets. An estate plan which includes a gift to benefit ministries of the church can serve as our final, lasting witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ The ELCA Foundation can assist you to plan to leave a legacy for ministry. Contact Barbara B. Carl, Regional Gift Planner, at 724-438-7741, or the ELCA Foundation at 1-800-638-3522 ext. 2970. Visit the ELCA Foundation website at www.elca.org/fo. The Wheeling Symphony Youth Orchestra recently held their winter concert. Playing in this out-standing group was Kristen Espina (playing Bassoon) and T.J. Espina (playing Trombone).

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St. Mark Evangelical Lutheran Church NONPROFIT ORG 141 Kruger Street, Elm Grove U S POSTAGE Wheeling, WV. 26003 PAID WHEELING WV PERMIT NO. 44 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

The printing & donation of materials for this newsletter printing was given by

Total Wealth Management

Harry Sacco, FIC – Financial Services Professional

Phone 304 242-2205 Cell 304 280-1250

Annuities, Estate Planning, Investments, DI and LTC Insurance Life Insurance, Retirement Planning, Mutual Funds*

Phone: 330-668-9065 ■ hsacco@htk.com

DECEMBER 2007