CHURCH EVENTS FOR SUNDAY, 3/09:

• Worship at 8:15am
• Sunday School/Adult Forum (topic: Lutheran Laughter) at 9:15am
• Worship at 10:30am
• Visiting Committee at 11:30am
• Parent's Group at the Kanns at 12noon
  
• High School Youth at 8:30pm

• Daylight Savings Time Begins at 2am Sunday, 3/9 - set your clocks ahead - ("Spring Ahead, Fall Back")

Special Announcements

March Worship Service Volunteers

Wednesday Schedule

Sunday Schedule

St. Mark Inclusivity Statement

“We are a community that values and celebrates diversity in order to fulfill the work of the Holy Trinity.  Examples of now existing diversity in our congregation, which we intend to nurture, grow, and celebrate include, but are not limited to, persons of varying: race, national and ethnic origin, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, economic circumstance, mental/physical health, political persuasion, and theological perspective.  As a congregation, we pledge to demonstrate not only through words, but our actions that when we say all are welcome, we really mean it.”

Lent and Passiontide

Lent is a major penitential season of preparation for Easter.  It begins on Ash Wednesday and, if the penitential days of Good Friday and Holy Saturday are included, lasts for forty days, since the six Sundays within the season are not counted.

In the Roman Rite, the Gloria in Excelsis Deo and the Te Deum are not used in the Mass and Liturgy of the Hours respectively, except on Solemnities and Feasts, and the Alleluia and verse that usually precede the reading of the Gospel is either omitted or replaced with another acclamation.

Lutheran churches make these same omissions.

As in Advent, the deacon and subdeacon of the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite do not wear their habitual dalmatic and tunicle (signs of joy) in Masses of the season during Lent; instead they wear "folded chasubles", in accordance with the ancient custom.

In the pre-1970 form of the Roman Rite, the two weeks before Easter form the season of Passiontide, a subsection of the Lenten season that begins with Matins of Ash Wednesday and ends immediately before the Mass of the Easter Vigil.  In this form, what previously was officially called Passion Sunday, has the official name of the First Sunday in Passiontide, and Palm Sunday has the additional name of the Second Sunday in Passiontide.  In Sunday and ferial Masses (but not on feasts celebrated in the first of these two weeks) the Gloria Patri is omitted at the Entrance Antiphon and at the Lavabo, as well as in the responds in the Divine Office.

In the post-1969 form of the Roman Rite, "Passion Sunday" and "Palm Sunday" are both names for the Sunday before Easter, officially called "Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion".  The former Passion Sunday became a fifth Sunday of Lent.  The earlier form reads Matthew's account on Sunday, Mark's on Tuesday, and Luke's on Wednesday, while the post-1969 form reads the Passion only on Palm Sunday (with the three Synoptic Gospels arranged in a three-year cycle) and on Good Friday, when it reads the Passion according to John, as also do earlier forms of the Roman Rite.

The veiling of crucifixes and images of the saints with violet cloth, which was obligatory before 1970, is left to the decision of the national bishops' conferences. In the United States, it is permitted but not required, at the discretion of the pastor.  In all forms, the readings concern the events leading up to the Last Supper and the betrayal, Passion, and death of Christ.

The week before Easter is called Holy Week.

In the Roman Rite, feasts that fall within that week are simply omitted, unless they have the rank of Solemnity, in which case they are transferred to another date.  The only solemnities inscribed in the General Calendar that can fall within that week are those of St. Joseph and the Annunciation.

Liturgical color: violet or purple. The color rose may be used, where it is the practice, on Laetare Sunday (4th Sunday of Lent).  On Palm Sunday the color since 1970 is red, by earlier rules violet or purple, with red being used after 1955 for the blessing of the palms.