Christmas Celebration (12/24/2015), 5pm, at St. Mark's
Decorating of the worship space was done in stages during Advent up until after the worship service on the Sunday before Christmas, December 20th. Our Christmas Eve service on Thursday, December 24th at 5:00PM, was an intimate festive communion service with several Christmas hymns (including the lighting of individual candles during "Silent Night") for the 23 who attended! And, there was plenty of wonderful refreshments and fellowship afterwards.
Pledge Sunday (11/29/2015 and on), at St. Mark’s
We received and blessed our 2016 pledge commitments as they came in this year. Our pledges fund our ministries here at St. Mark’s—we have no endowed funds for operating the church. This helped us to finalize the 2016 budget for the ministry of St. Mark’s.
Food for the Homeless (or Nearly So!) in Aberdeen (11/22/2015)
Every 6 weeks St. Mark's provides the food for the weekly Sunday night dinner at St. Andrew's, Aberdeen. This particular meal was prepared by Corby and Kevin Varness (main dish--turkey enchilada casseroles), Laura LeCroix--cole slaw, and many cookies (by several of our members). Also provided were lot of chips and salsa. This served about 100 people on this night. Pictures!
105th Diocesan Convention (11/13-14/2015) at the Lynnwood Convention Center
Rev. Lorraine Dierick, Jim Campbell, and Gail Rolfe attended for St. Mark's.
All Saints Celebration (11/1/2015), 10:00AM at St. Mark’s
All Saints Day--we celebrated those who came before us. There was a combination of tables for displaying pictures of those loved ones who we remembered during the service, and candles to light as we prayed for them.
Kids Halloween Treats (10/31/2015) at St. Mark’s
On a very rainy evening many kids got treats, therewere dog treats, and coffee and restrooms were available for all in this evening of fun in the neighborhood. From about 5-7pm, many kids with their parents came by, and the costumes were awesome!
Blessing of the Pets Sunday (10/4/2015) at St. Mark's
Our 13th annual special service for our pets was a time of joy for all involved. 2 mini horses, several dogs and a bird and their owners received blessings for another year. The collection taken this year was split between the Grays Harbor PAWS and the Freedom Tails programs, as always.
Annual Church Picnic (Labor Day Weekend Sunday, 9/6/2015) at St. Mark's
We had it here at church! Inside!! We know not to test mother nature! And we also supplied the Chaplains on the Harbor Sunday evening meal again at St. Andrew's, Aberdeen for the local homeless community. The Rev. Sarah Monroe from Chaplains was with us to preside and preach!
Back to School Supplies Drive at St. Mark's (Month of August/2015)
We collected lots of emergency/extra supplies for the local Montesano school kids again this year. Thanks to all for your help and generosity!
Montesano Community Bible Camp (7/27-7/31/2015)
Another fantastic ecumenical Bible Camp week! Over 200 kids participated, with St. Mark's having the pre-kindergarteners again.
Graduation Sunday at St. Mark's: (6/7/2015)
We had a nice celebration for four nice and talented young men graduating from MOntesano HIgh School this year: Jeff Varness, Brandon Creamer, Donovan Wargo, and Daniel Hansen. Plenty of treats, and gifts of expandable coolers for each of the boys.
Pentecost Sunday at St. Mark's: (5/24/2015)
There was lots of Red--vestments, with some of the many flowers, on the old altar and ambo, and worn by most of the people. And red balloons this year! And then lots of treats!
Easter Season Events at St. Mark’s: (3/29-4/5/2015)
Palm Sunday Communion Service: March 29th—reading of the passion story and blessing of the palms. A really nice service of the palms, with a short Passion reading at the end.
Maundy Thursday Communion Service: April 2nd—included foot washing like Jesus did for his disciples, and a generous potluck meal after the service. The 7 of us had an enjoyable meal and service, followed by stripping the church.
Good Friday Service: April 3rd, noon at St. Mark’s. For the few faithful, our own short service.
Good Friday Ecumenical Service: April 3rd, 7:00PM at St. Mark's. About 85 people from Montesano were treated to great music, including from the Methodist Church and others choir, and a beautiful reflective service with the Seven Last Words readings.
Easter Sunday Communion Service: April 5th—celebration of the Risen Christ, renewal of Baptismal vows, and Easter Egg hunt for the kids, too! 28 attended a fun and uplifting worship service and lots of eggs for the 8 kids.
Ashes to Go on Ash Wednesday (2/18/2015) at the Montesano Post Office
Revs. Bonnie Campbell and Lorraine Dierick imposed ashes at the Montesano Post Office (including the drive through) to all comers from 12:30 to 2pm. (We also had our annual Ash Wednesday service at 6pm at St. Mark’s.)
105th Shrove Tuesday Pancake Day Event (2/17/2015) at St. Mark's
Our 105th Annual Shrove Tuesday Pancake Day event at St. Mark's (11am-7pm) was a huge success, in spite of the great weather to distract those who might have found other things to do. Special thanks to all the people who helped us make this happen. We raised a gross total of almost $1360 this year, and are giving the net proceeds ($1050) equally to charitable groups--the Monte Food Bank, Children's Advocacy Center, and Coastal Harvest. A lot of pancakes, lots of fellowship, and plenty of tired feet--but a lot of fun, too for this Montesano community that comes together each year for this.