Informe Anual 2022 en Español (clic aquí)
To Download the Annual Report in English (Click Here) or scroll down this page to read it online
To Download the Financials (Click Here)
To Download & Print a paper ballot (Click Here)
To Vote online (Click Here)
Directions for Voting
o After “in-person” Annual Meeting at St. Mark’s (if attending)
o vote online during the ZOOM of the Annual Meeting
o Monday, January 30, 2023, 8:30 AM – 1:00 PM in the office
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Mission, Vision and Core Values
Agenda for the January 29, 2023 Annual Meeting
Minutes of the January 30, 2022 Annual Meeting
State of the Church
Senior Pastor’s Report – Pastor Karla
Spanish Language Minister’s Report – Pastor Alicia
St. Mark’s Church Council President’s Report – Chris Lewis
Property Committee Report – Chris Lewis
Financial Statements
2021 Audit Report – Diane Wages
Balance Sheet as of December 31, 2022 – Diane Wages
2023 Proposed Budget – Diane Wages
2023 Memorial Endowment Proposed Budget
Election of Congregational Representatives
Candidates for Church Council 2023
Candidates for Legacy Committee 2023
Candidates for Nominating Committee 2023
Candidates for Pacifica Synod 2023
Ministry Reports
Coffee Ministry Report – Ann Larsen
Angel Tree Ministry Report – Caye Smith Bolin
Communications Report – Debbie Lechner
Legacy Committee & Memorial Endowment Report – Chris Lewis
Member Care Ministry Report – Dorothy Geier
Thursday (Lutheran World Relief) Quilter’s Report 2022 – Betty Ren
Prayer Quilt Ministry Report – Roz Nelson
Security Report 2022– Robert Nava
Internship Committee Report 2022 – Gabby Gutierrez
Youth/Children Report 2022 – Melissa Hernandez
Worship and Music Annual Report 2022– Hester Kessler
Music Director Annual Report 2022– Jason Chase
God’s Mission for St. Marks:
Celebrating God’s love and forgiveness, we serve others.
We welcome everyone to St. Mark’s Lutheran Church, where individuals and families can grow in their relationship with Jesus and one another through a variety of worship styles, ministries and service.
God’s Ideal Vision for St. Marks:
Following Jesus’ example we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, nurse the sick, and visit the imprisoned as we see Jesus in the faces of those we serve.
Living Our Core Values:
We strive to model our Core Values in our day-to-day behavior, both within St. Marks and in our daily lives. When we fall short, we pray for God’s divine intervention and support to help us remain true to our highest and best selves.
PRAYER
ACCESSIBILITY
SERVICE
COMMUNICATION
EDUCATION
WORSHIP
YOUTH
HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS
Call to Order
Opening Devotion and Prayer: Pastor Karla
St. Mark’s Mission
Agenda Review for the January 29, 2023, Annual Meeting
Check for Quorum of 35 members (in person and Live ZOOM participants)
Approve of Minutes of Congregational Meetings
Recognition of Members and Ministry Groups
Reports:
Approve 2023 Budgets
Election of Congregational Representatives
Directions for Voting
Closing Prayer – The Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen.
MINUTES
Call to Order
Opening Devotion and Prayer: Pastor Karla and Pastor Alicia
St. Mark’s Mission
Agenda Review for the January 30, 2022, Annual Meeting
Check for Quorum of 35 members (46 in person and 13 Live ZOOM participants)
Approved of Minutes of Congregational Meetings:
MOTION: Herb Geier SECOND: Billy Cox Approved at in-person meeting.
Approve 2022 Budgets
MOTION: Dick Bolin SECOND: Ann Larsen
APPROVED: 79 Votes, 79 YES 1 Abstain
Candidate Elections: 80 ballots cast; 24 online, 56 paper ballots. Not all included votes for every individual on the ticket.
Election of Congregational Representatives: 79 YES votes for all 6 candidates
Reports: See 2021 ANNUAL REPORT
Bob Lechner, Rachael Perez, and Michael Marquez
Directions for Voting
Closing Prayer – Sheri Barker
Meeting Adjourned: 12:30 PM
Respectfully Submitted,
Sheridan Barker
Outgoing President for Rachael Perez, absent due to work requirement
“Everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”
I Cor 14:40
Some say another name for God is “Good Orderly Direction”. Although we cannot claim anything close to divine order, we are certainly working to get organized and ready for whatever God will bring our way.
Worship
This year worship was conducted entirely indoors with on-line options. We have varied between Facebook Live, YouTube Live and Zoom. Andrew Vargas, Nathan Estrada, and Deb Lechner continue to improve and evaluate the feedback and usability.
Attendance has been steady, for which we are grateful. For a full report, read Deb Lechner’s communication report. Thank you all for the effort you take to be here or on-line for worship! Whatever we can do to make it comfortable for you, we will do.
Music
We enjoyed a combination of four liturgies this year, including one written by Jason Chase, St Mark’s Director of Music. We will enjoy a new liturgy written by Jason during Lent 2023.
We have been graced with the gifts of Lisa Mansfield as bell choir director. Come ring bells with us on Tuesday evening, 6:30 pm! You do not need experience, just willingness. It’s a joyful time.
We are grateful for the enhancing beauty of the organ as played by Margaret Gaillard and Jason Chase. The second service musicians, Laura Marquez, Manuel Alverez, Gloria Cortez, and Xoel Marquez bless us most Sundays and during our bilingual worship services. We are beginning to hear more from our youth as well. Logan Fountain has played three times this past year, and Christmas singing was led by Laurie and Michael Mansfield. Let’s keep this trend going!
Concert series
It has begun! We began the Concert Series with a benefit kick off in May. It was extremely well received. The official “Concert Series” began in September, followed by the November organ concert. We will continue the 2022-23 series with a Saturday concert in March 2023 and a mid-week organ concert in May. We hope to build our reputation for concerts that bring joy. Jason and our musicians have not disappointed!
Pastors/ Administration/ Staff/ Office Volunteers
Pastor Alicia Saenz is one of the hardest working women I know. We are in awe of her dedication to finish her seminary work and finally become ordained. Her report will detail her many trips to seminaries in the US, countless hours of coursework and additional reports and meetings with the candidacy committee of Pacifica Synod.
It is a joy to work with Cindy Diaz, who is talented and kind. Her fluency in written and spoken Spanish helps our mission at St Mark’s immensely. Cindy works closely with all our staff, ensures they have what they need, and works closely with both Pastor Alicia and me to be sure bulletins and PowerPoints are complete and each service has what is needed.
Maria Luisa Guzman, our custodian, is a gift from God. She continues the dedication shown by our former custodian, Margarita Alvarez, and is both flexible and thorough. Please thank her for her work! Everything is cleaned and sanitized in an orderly way. Cindy, Maria Luisa, and I meet monthly to plan and support one another.
Melissa Hernandez enthusiastically leads our youth and children’s ministries. She and I meet weekly to plan children and youth Christian education and all- family outings. Her weekly texts and emails keep us informed and her children’s messages are very engaging! Melissa easily leads our Confirmation class when I am not available. (Please also see Children and Youth section.)
Much thanks to Tom Larsen, lead counter, and David Barker who arrive early Monday morning to count and deposit offerings. We could not do this without you!
Dennis Coughlin is here several days per week, trouble shooting, building, repairing, and supervising outside contractors. We are so very grateful.
Kyra Petrin and team care and beautify this campus year-round. She’s the woman behind the colorful flowers that grace our entrances and the vision for the future. We see her during the week, watering and ensuring growth. Kyra, your work brings us joy.
Children and Youth
Our Children and Youth ministries have blossomed and are growing thanks to Melissa Hernandez and our Youth Planning Team. We now have nursery available all morning, Sunday school and Confirmation or all congregation events offered nearly weekly, All family events, and plans for youth focused worship, Vacation Bible School and Confirmation camp.
Vacation Bible School was a highlight of this year and definitely an all-congregation effort. Our planning team worked diligently to prepare staff, curriculum, décor, music, skill learning opportunities and safety training for all youth and adult helpers. We had 42 children and youth participate and 28 adults! Some of the youth served as junior leaders and high school students led as full leaders and teachers of various skills. They all did a fantastic job! We learned a lot and are better prepared for VBS 2023.
With your help and generosity, we were able to send 8 kids to Confirmation Camp! The Easter pancake breakfast served the double purpose of a fun fellowship time and a “Send A Kid to Camp” fundraiser. Funds remain to send kids to the winter retreat also hosted by Lutheran Retreats, Camps and Conferences.
We gave Bibles to students in our Confirmation class, devotionals to our junior helpers at VBS and “My First Bibles” to 3–6-year-olds at our Palm/ Passion Sunday children’s service. All of our youth pageant days are very well attended.
All-family events this past year included swimming parties, SeaWorld, and Balboa Park.
We invited the youth from Glory Chinese Lutheran to join us for Confirmation classes. They are wonderful kids, and we thoroughly enjoy them!
They joined us also for our Christmas pageant, adding Glory’s Sunday school kids as well. This is a foretaste of the great feast to come when all nations will gather to glorify our Lord!
Congregational Council
You have an incredibly hard-working council which currently consists of 9 people. Chris Lewis, president, Sheri Barker, Vice president, Erick Posada, secretary, Krystina Torres, Treasurer, Pastor Alicia Saenz and Pastor Karla Halvorson, and Mari Lizagarra, Melissa Hernandez (children and youth) Robert Nava (safety) Skip Knudsen (music and worship) and Oscar Uribe (property).
Christian Education
We were blessed in 2022 with wonderful Bible studies and learning opportunities. Sheri Barker led the Lenten Bible study on evangelism and sharing our stories, James Jerpseth and Pastor Alicia led Sunday morning Bible studies and we enjoyed a variety of All Congregation events on Sunday mornings. “Stories of Our Lives” continues to be a very important aspect of our lives together. If you would like to share your life story, please speak with Pastor Karla or Pastor Alicia. Our Tuesday afternoon, 3 pm Bible study, which focuses on the upcoming Gospel, is open to anyone in person or on Zoom. We hope you can join us.
Mutual Ministry/ Internship Committee
This year, we launched a new ministry team which encompasses two needs of this congregation. Mutual Ministry is a group of lay people who meet to support and help with discernment for the pastors and the future of the congregation. The goal of Mutual Ministry is to work out details to live into our calling to be the “Priesthood of all believers” (1 Peter 2:4-5). (Please reference “ELCA Mutual Ministry” for more details and the Mutual Ministry handbook). Currently, this group serves the additional requirement as Pastor Alicia’s Internship Committee. Pastor Alicia was granted a 6-month internship as the final requirement toward ordination. Diane Nissen serves as the Mutual Ministry chair and Gabby Gutierrez serves as the chair of the internship committee. Once Pastor Alicia’s internship is completed, this same group will continue the work of Mutual Ministry. Other members of this committee include Erick Posada, Chris Lewis, Lu Bucknell, Pastor Alicia, and me. Mutual ministry will meet quarterly, while the internship committee is required to meet monthly.
Synod Council
I was elected to a two-year term on synod council beginning summer 2021. This has included sub-committees regarding the synod’s personnel handbook, work on increasing diversity and inclusion in our synod, and serving on a task force for a synodical endowment fund. Pacifica Synod Council meets about four times per year, twice in person and twice on-line. I truly enjoy the camaraderie and finding out about additional resources and grants that will benefit St Mark’s!
Grants
We joke in our Congregational Council that we never let a grant go by! This past year we received, among other grants, the Latino Ministry Grant ($10,000) , the Warner Trust Grant for children’s ministries ($1,000) the Matthew 25 grant for social services, and a few others. We have also asked you to apply for Thrivent Action Team Grants, and with these $250 grants, have accomplished many projects worth about $8,000.
Lutheran Social Services Updates
Our work with Lutheran Social Services continues to flourish. We love working with Gabby Bernal, Danney Alkana and Mari Lizagarra with Upward Bound and Talent Search. We enjoyed a presentation from them in May describing their work with first generation low-income students and helping them through high school and college. Our ties with LSS Project Hand and Johnny Violora and Enrique Enriquez have grown as more of our members assist with the monthly food distributions, including Chula Vista Rotary Club. We pray for their ministries weekly and were recognized at their annual banquet.
Ecumenical Work and Community Outreach
We have experienced two wonderful ecumenical services with St John’s Episcopal Church, Community Christian Church, and St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and a Unitarian minister. We look forward to building our network of ecumenical and interfaith partnerships.
We attended Faith and Blue, an opportunity to “build bridges and break biases” . St Mark’s takes this pledge seriously as we actively pray for and befriend our police and firefighters, offering a break room, snacks, prayer quilts, weekly prayers for safety for them and all those they serve, and supplies for the children they encounter.
Our God’s Work Our Hands Sunday was very well attended. An annual event in the ELCA, this Sunday is set apart to be God’s hands and feet in our world. This year we collected items for the homeless and the Police department, learned about Lutheran World Relief quilts, assembled Blessing Bags, made cards and tamales and visited some of our homebound, worked at Living Coast Discovery Center, created teacher appreciation gift bags, and invited people to church from the corner of Hilltop and I! Then we relaxed and enjoyed lunch together.
Areundaun Korean and Glory Mandarin Lutheran
Our friendships with these two congregations are blessed by God. We have a good working relationship, accommodate each other’s needs, and are respectful of the property and each congregation’s items. This takes constant work and diligence, but it’s always worthwhile.
Congregational Statistics
Baptisms
Confirmations– not this year, but quite a few next Fall!
New members
Deaths
What’s next?
We look forward to an active, purposeful year for St Mark’s: Your Congregational Council will work hard and harmoniously, with an emphasis on improving building and grounds and evangelism and outreach; We will find new ways to reach out and share the love of Jesus; We will celebrate Pastor Alicia’s ordination and embark on a brave new path embracing more of her gifts and talents; We will find new ways to pray for each other, grow spiritually, mentor new members, and utilize the gifts and talents God brings us; We will care for one another, have fun together; We will celebrate our young people and allow them room to grow into the people God envisions and they want to be. We will trust God, pray, work and play, and enjoy the gifts God has given us.
“I give thanks to my God always for you, for the grace of God that was given to you in Christ Jesus.”
1 Cor 1: 4.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I must start with thanking God for all of you, for all the blessings that the Lord has bestowed in us and in our church community during 2022.
The beginning of the new year presents a time to both look back on the previous 12 months and to look ahead to what the New Year may bring. Reflecting on the past year, it’s hard not to appreciate the blessings we’ve experienced in all our congregation. 2022 has been a very dynamic year for St. Mark’s, we had more interaction with the community around us then prior years, we joined another church for two ecumenical services, we provided services that the community considered big blessings, as was the Vacation Bible School, which some families really appreciated as they didn’t have the means to have their kids sent to a day camp so the parents could work while kids were on school vacation. We showed the community our mission, we didn’t tell them our mission, but we showed we celebrate God’s love and forgiveness by serving others, by serving our community. We were also able to serve the community by offering drive through ashes on Ash Wednesday and an Altar on the Day of the Dead for the community to be able to come, light a candle remember their loved ones that are now with God, light a candle in honor of them, and even teach their kids about the “Day of the Dead” tradition. We had a traditional posada in which all kids who wished to participate were included.
During 2022 COVID-19 continued to produce uncertainty and stress in the community we are called to serve. By now, we have all been impacted by this pandemic, which has been overwhelming for so many. My prayers and support are with you.
I am grateful to God for allowing me the blessing of serving St. Mark’s and for allowing to serve alongside Pastor Karla, we are blessed to have her, we are still working on getting to be more and more one congregation in two languages. Thank you all for working alongside with us building for the Kingdom of God. Thanks to all of you for serving and caring for our church, for each other, for those in need and for the Chula Vista Community during 2022. During these hard times of decease and economic inflation, you faithfully continued with your offerings, you contributed with donations, you contributed with your talents in a way that is outstanding, in a way that makes me see the Holy Spirit working in our midst, for only God would be able to move your hearts and inspire you to do the work that is needed in order to accomplish the goals that God has for us in getting his message of salvation to all, putting others before yourselves.
Let’s celebrate, congratulate each one of the members of St. Mark’s for all the accomplishments we reached with the help of God and for the glory of God.
It has been an incredible year and I am indeed grateful for how passionate and selfless you have been. We are grateful to God for this year, I look forward to another amazing blessed new year. In 2023, we will continue with our Ministries and our Mission helping in any way we can, we have big challenges ahead of us, but we will face them one day at a time, I know we can because God is with us, he has demonstrated His faithfulness to us!
We celebrate with joy the achievements and challenges during 2022:
Goals:
2022 Achievements:
Baptisms
Regular Activities
Challenges:
Next steps:
My Way to Ordination:
During 2022 I was able to complete a few of my classes for the seminary and with the help of Pastor Karla was able to resolve some Seminary issues for which I was not being heard.
Conclusion:
Thanks to all of you for your contributions and support to our church and to me. It is a blessing to serve in such a faithful, supportive, and loving congregation. May God Bless you always.
Respectfully,
Alicia Sáenz
Dear St. Mark’s Family!
First, I would like to state my sincere gratitude for allowing me the opportunity to serve this congregation as a member of your Congregation Council in 2022.
I would describe this past year as nothing short of phenomenal! When one accepts a position of leadership, one can only hope that the organization will be responsive and supportive, and I have to say that everyone associated with this organization was all of that and more! The “can do” spirit of this this relatively small group of dedicated council members was stunning! They were presented with the numerous complexities and challenges commensurate with the continued process of transitioning through a very difficult period in the life of this congregation. In addition to the Congregational Council proper, there are many additional members who selflessly and quietly give of their time and talent to assist in every aspect of our mission. We will be recognizing the efforts of these members at the annual meeting.
It should be noted that the members of your Congregational Council are volunteers with varied levels of leadership experience and, coupled with an austere budget, were able accomplish a great deal this past year. I won’t go into detail here as each of the members will be providing reports of their own. However, in absence of an organized property group, I will provide, a separate report on property matters.
It goes without saying that we are truly blessed with two wonderful pastors who through tireless efforts and exceptional skills and resourcefulness, were able to revive, nurture and expand many of the ministries that had lost momentum. The candor, transparency and genuine affection demonstrated between the clergy and laity has been instrumental in promoting peace, harmony, and productivity within the entire organization.
I am pleased to report that we have 5 new candidates (names to appear in Nominating Committee report) to consider for positions of leadership going forward which will allow us to further expand our efforts to get the work done that is ours to do. Thank you to all who were interviewed and accepted the challenge!
In closing I would like to remind all of us that we have been called to serve the Lord in the various capacities in which we are engaged. He has given us the time, talent, and resources to carry out His mission and while we are tempted to take credit for our accomplishments, let us always remember that we are His instruments to carry out His ministries. Thank you all for your support during this past year. Let us all join together in His spirit to move to even greater achievements in the ensuing year!
Blessings,
Chris Lewis, President
Dear St. Mark’s Family:
In the absence of an appointed property task group, I am presenting a report based on input from Dennis Coughlin and Kyra Petrin and my own involvement with property matters.
Dennis Coughlin has been dedicated and responsive to the general maintenance requirements throughout the year and under his direct involvement and supervision, the following maintenance items were undertaken:
Kyra Petrin willingly accepted the responsibility to act as our Council Liaison for all landscape maintenance and renovation matters. Throughout the year, Kyra has been directly involved with and supervised the following:
Goals for next year:
From my own perspective in addition to the above, the following is presented:
None of the above could have been undertaken without the on-going and faithful financial support of our wonderful St. Mark’s family! It is an honor to serve you!
Blessings,
Chris Lewis
With this report, the Audit Committee presents the results of its audit for the period beginning January 1, 2021, and ending December 31, 2021, of the financial books and records of St. Mark’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Chula Vista, California. The audit was performed on December 6, 2022, by a committee consisting of the following members: Diane Nissen and Tom Larsen. Diane Flint Wages audited the Legacy Endowment Funds. Treasurer Krystina Torres was present to answer questions and provide information.
In the examination of receipts and disbursements, no material discrepancies were discovered, however, the committee did make note of the following items:
The following changes/events occurred during this audit period:
Note: The bank reconciliation for the period showed a balance of $185,913.46, a difference of $1,695. Correcting entries were made in January 2022.
Note: $105,832.72 of this balance is set aside for future Facilities Expense. $25,000 is set aside for future pastoral health insurance expenses should the need arise.
Although almost all deposits were properly documented, it was noted that documentation may be incomplete when other volunteers are fulfilling the duties.
Disbursements
Memorial Endowment Fund (Audited by Diane Flint Wages)
Thrivent Moderate Allocation Fund-A $154,755.11
Banner Bank Checking Account – $ 1,305.00
Committee records were complete and found to be in good order.
Based on the audit work performed, the Audit Committee found no significant, material departure from best practices of church accounting. Testing performed also found that controls governing the financial operations appear to be reasonable considering all factors, including the size of the congregation and its budget.
Respectfully submitted,
Audit Committee
January 5, 2023
NOTE: A Council Term = 2 years.
A member is restricted to serving 2 terms in a row.
· Chris Lewis: 1st Term, Year 2, elected 2022.
· Sheri Barker: 2nd Term, Year 2, elected 2020.
· Erick Posada: 1st Term, Year 2, elected 2022.
· Melissa Hernandez: 2nd Term, Year 1, elected 2021.
· Skip Knudson, 1st Term, Year 2, elected 2022.
· Robert Nava, 1st Term, Year 2, elected 2022.
2023 Council Nominees:
2023 Nominating Committee Nominees:
Legacy Committee Nominee:
Candidates for Pacifica Synod 2023:
| Date | Time | Eyeballs | YouTube* | In-Person | Newsletter** | Notes | |
| 2-Jan | 9:00 | 52 | 66 | 83/11 (109/21) | Pastor Alicia both services, baptism at 9:00 am, covid surging encouraging online viewing | ||
| 2-Jan | 11:15 | 17 | 24 | ||||
| 9-Jan | 9:00 | 34 | 44 | 89/9 (112/16) | |||
| 9-Jan | 11:15 | 12 | 17 | ||||
| 16-Jan | 9:00 | 68 | 84/29 (110/47) | Primarily online because of covid surge | |||
| 16-Jan | 11:15 | 25 | |||||
| 23-Jan | 9:00 | 18 | 64 | 82/10 (108/23) | |||
| 23-Jan | 10:15 | 16 | 17 | Budget Forum Q&A (5 online) | |||
| 23-Jan | 11:15 | 14 | |||||
| 30-Jan | 10:00 | 24 | 78 | 88/21 (106/30) | Bilingual service | ||
| 30-Jan | 11:15 | 13 on zoom | 6 | 78 | Annual Congregational Meeting | ||
| 6-Feb | 9:00 | 26 | 66 | 77/5 (104/11) | |||
| 6-Feb | 11:15 | 17 | 26 | ||||
| 13-Feb | 9:00 | 11 | 85 | 87/6 (110/9) | |||
| 13-Feb | 11:15 | 9 | 31 | ||||
| 20-Feb | 9:00 | 14 | 64 | 80/5 (103/11) | |||
| 20-Feb | 11:15 | 15 | 28 | ||||
| 27-Feb | 9:00 | 17 | 69 | 103/19 (108/21) | |||
| 27-Feb | 11:15 | 9 | 40 | ||||
| 27-Feb | 10:00 | 20 | Stories of our lives – Elvira Saenz | ||||
| 2-Mar | 5:30 | 13 | 30 | 108/6 (113/7) | Ash Wednesday | ||
| 6-Mar | 9:00 | 4 | 7 | 81 | 84/6 (101/12) | started live zoom | |
| 6-Mar | 11:15 | 1 | 8 | 35 | |||
| 13-Mar | 9:00 | 4 | 38 | 64 | 85/14 (102/20) | ||
| 13-Mar | 11:15 | 0 | 20 | ||||
| 20-Mar | 9:00 | 5 | 15 | 85 | 85/10 (107/15) | ||
| 20-Mar | 11:15 | 0 | 6 | 13 | |||
| 27-Mar | 9:00 | 5 | 11 | 80 | 103/13 (124/18) | ||
| 27-Mar | 11:15 | 0 | 17 | 18 | |||
| 3-Apr | 9:00 | 4 | 7 | 96 | 85/6 (105/16) | ||
| 3-Apr | 11:15 | 0 | 5 | 29 | |||
| 10-Apr | 10:00 | 2 | 35 | 130 | 86/3 (121/11) | special bilingual child centered Palm Sunday service | |
| 15-Apr | 6:30 | 2 | 13 | 31 | 76/5 (112/8) | Good Friday | |
| 17-Apr | 9:00 | 7 | 16 | 110 | 89/10 (109/12) | Easter | |
| 17-Apr | 11:15 | 4 | 11 | 28 | |||
| 24-Apr | 9:00 | 5 | 10 | 74 | 81/9 (103/11) | ||
| 24-Apr | 11:15 | 0 | 5 | 28 | |||
| 1-May | 9:00 | 4 | 12 | 75 | 81/8 (113/12) | ||
| 1-May | 11:15 | 0 | 3 | 20 | |||
| 7-May | 3:00 | NA | 35 | 119/1 | Concert | ||
| 8-May | 9:00 | 4 | 15 | 60 | 82/6 (103/12) | Mother’s Day | |
| 8-May | 11:15 | 0 | 9 | 22 | |||
| 15-May | 9:00 | 7 | 18 | 76 | 81/4 (112/13) | ||
| 15-May | 11:15 | 1 | 9 | 28 | |||
| 22-May | 9:00 | 5 | 31 | 60 | 69/6 (112/14) | ||
| 22-May | 11:15 | 0 | 13 | 30 | |||
| 29-May | 9:00 | 2 | 17 | 55 | 85/5 (108/10) | Memorial Day | |
| 29-May | 11:15 | 0 | 4 | 70 | |||
| 29-May | 10:00 | 0 | 49 | NA | Stories of our lives – Bennie Valeu | ||
| 5-Jun | 10:00 | 0 | 41 | 84 | 58/3 (110/10) | Pentecost bilingual one service | |
| 12-Jun | 9:00 | 3 | 6 | 68 | 77/7 (107/19) | ||
| 12-Jun | 11:15 | 0 | 4 | 24 | |||
| 19-Jun | 9:00 | 3 | 9 | 70 | 83/2 (102/5) | Father’s Day | |
| 19-Jun | 11:15 | 0 | 10 | 14 | |||
| 26-Jun | 10:00 | 4 | 10 | 96 | 65/3 (101/11) | Celebrate VBS! | |
| 3-Jul | 9:00 | 2 | 15 | 74 | 76/5 (112/16) | Bishop Andy | |
| 3-Jul | 11:15 | 0 | 15 | 25 | |||
| 10-Jul | 9:00 | 3 | 7 | 82 | 82/5 (100/7) | ||
| 10-Jul | 11:15 | 135 | 8 | 16 | trying Facebook live again for the Spanish service | ||
| 17-Jul | 9:00 | 5 | 18 | 72 | 85/8 (103/10) | baptism | |
| 17-Jul | 11:15 | 69 | 2 | 16 | Spanish service wasn’t uploaded by the tech crew | ||
| 24-Jul | 9:00 | 5 | 14 | 77 | 80/7 (101/10) | ||
| 24-Jul | 11:15 | 96 | 2 | 20 | |||
| 31-Jul | 9:00 | 3 | 16 | 70 | 86/5 (106/6) | ||
| 31-Jul | 11:15 | 59 | 5 | N/A | |||
| 7-Aug | 9:00 | 2 | 8 | 66 | 82/5 (105/10) | guest pastor Karen Mahron | |
| 7-Aug | 11:15 | 69 | 0 | 16 | |||
| 14-Aug | 9:00 | 4 | 39 | 45 | 77/6 (103/12) | Pastor Alicia | |
| 14-Aug | 11:15 | 41 | 6 | 25 | |||
| 21-Aug | 9:00 | 4 | 18 | 75 | 87/10 (109/17) | ||
| 21-Aug | 10:00 | 2 | legacy book club | ||||
| 21-Aug | 11:15 | 46 | 2 | 25 | |||
| 28-Aug | 9:00 | 6 | 33 | 67 | 71/9 (107/20) | Welcome Home Sunday! | |
| 28-Aug | 11:15 | 48 | 9 | 29 | |||
| 04-Sept | 9:00 | 6 | 14 | 60 | 87/10 (105/15) | ||
| 04-Sept | 11:15 | 78 | 10 | 16 | |||
| 11-Sept | 9:00 | 7 | 21 | 78 | 83/8 (107/14) | God’s Work, Our Hands Sunday, | |
| 18-Sept | 9:00 | 3 | 12 | 58 | 70/3 (92/12) | ||
| 18-Sept | 10:00 | 87 | 12 | Stories of our lives – Gabby Gutierrez | |||
| 18-Sept | 11:00 | 2 | 18 | ||||
| 24-Sept | 3:00 | 37 | 48 | 111/4 (115/4) | Fall Concert | ||
| 25-Sept | 9:00 | 3 | 4 | 72/9 (96/12) | |||
| 25-Sept | 11:15 | 68 | 3 | ||||
| 02-Oct | 9:00 | 5 | 9 | 71 | 94/9 (112/12) | ||
| 02-Oct | 11:15 | 1 | 63 | 3 | 27 | ||
| 09-Oct | 9:00 | 5 | 5 | 82 | 79/8 (102/19) | ||
| 09-Oct | 11:15 | 3 | 58 | 4 | 22 | ||
| 16-Oct | 9:00 | 4 | 12 | 80 | 92/11 (101/12) | Annual Congregational Meeting | |
| 16-Oct | 11:15 | 3 | 67 | 5 | 30 | ||
| 23-Oct | 9:00 | 5 | 14 | 61 | 82/3 (107/13) | ||
| 23-Oct | 11:15 | 3 | 38 | 5 | 21 | wasn’t uploaded to YouTube till 10/30 | |
| 30-Oct | 10:00 | 3 | 66 | 9 | 87/10 (103/14) | Reformation Sunday | |
| 6-Nov | 9:00 | 6 | 10 | 70 | 80/3 (102/6) | All Saints Sunday | |
| 6-Nov | 11:15 | 49 | 3 | 26 | |||
| 13-Nov | 9:00 | 4 | 5 | 70 | 85/7 (104/11) | Veteran’s Day | |
| 13-Nov | 11:15 | 55 | 8 | 29 | |||
| 20-Nov | 9:00 | 3 | 19 | 71 | 81/8 (106/12) | ||
| 20-Nov | 11:15 | 84 | 13 | ||||
| 21-Nov | 10:00 | NA | 182 | 109 | 129 | Jeanette Supri’s Funeral | |
| 27-Nov | 9:00 | 3 | 14 | 72 | 50/0 (83/9) | Some people said they didn’t get the newsletter this week | |
| 27-Nov | 11:15 | 67 | 6 | 29 | |||
| 4-Dec | 9:00 | 5 | 33 | 66 | 95/15 (113/19) | ||
| 4-Dec | 11:15 | 3 | 33 | ||||
| 11-Dec | 9:00 | 6 | 14 | 57 | 87/8 (107/13) | back on Facebook for both services but through zoom so that we have a recording | |
| 11-Dec | 11:15 | 3 | 7 | 31 | |||
| 18-Dec | 10:00 | 4 | 146 | 85/7 (109/13) | Children’s Christmas Program and Posada (one service, 3 languages) | ||
| 24-Dec | 5:00 | 180 | 107 | 100/8 (115/19) | Christmas Eve | ||
| 25-Dec | 9:00 | 81 | 42 | Christmas Day | |||
| 25-Dec | 11:15 | 18 | 16 | Christmas Day |
Baptisms
The Altar Committee is proud to continue to serve the congregation and the staff at S. Mark’s.
The Committee is now down to 5 active members. We would love to have help. If you can’t come to our meeting on the 1st Tuesday of each month, but would like to help, please call me (Ann Larsen at
619-370-6840). We could use help on a Saturday morning or after church on Sunday. Want to learn to fill the small communion cups? It’s not hard, just takes time.
Saturday mornings we have several duties, besides setting up communion, cleaning the altar area and changing the parament colors according to the church calendar. Sunday mornings we clean up after the 1st service and set up for the 2nd service.
As we are now in 2023, we ask for continued prayers and blessings for our St. Mark’s Family.
Again, we would accept any help you could give us. Just call me.
Your St. Mark’s Altar Committee.
ANN LARSEN (619) 370-6840
St. Mark’s hosts a time of fellowship after the 9:00am service on Sunday mornings. Coffee and snacks are served. Participants may make a small voluntary donation in order to cover expenses. This time of fellowship is both meaningful and well-attended by St. Mark’s congregants.
Ann Larsen superbly coordinated St. Mark’s fellowship time for many years. In late 2022, she relinquished this responsibility in order to focus on other areas of St. Mark’s ministry. We are grateful for Ann’s service and attention to the fellowship ministry. Caye Smith Bolin has accepted the role of fellowship coordinator.
In Fall 2022, Deb Lechner set up ‘Sign Up Genius’ as an on-line means of signing up to host fellowship hour. This is a convenient and effective way to assist with the coordination of the fellowship ministry.
Respectfully submitted,
Caye Smith Bolin
Angel Tree Christmas is a ministry of Prison Fellowship. Angel Tree partners with churches across the United States in providing Christmas gifts to the children of persons who are incarcerated. Parents who are incarcerated may contact a prison chaplain and request to participate in the program.
St. Mark’s has participated in this worthy ministry for approximately 30 years. Throughout this time, Dorothy Geier has consistently provided leadership to this effort. We are grateful for Dorothy’s commitment to Angel Tree Christmas.
In 2022, St. Mark’s congregants generously provided gifts to 12 families with a total of 21 children. Each child received a wrapped gift with a value of $25. In addition, each family received a gift basket which included age-appropriate gospel messages, an invitation to attend St. Mark’s, stuffed animals, and a $50 gift card for groceries. These gifts were personally delivered by St. Mark’s volunteers to grateful families.
Respectfully submitted,
Caye Smith Bolin
Facebook Group – Our private Facebook Group has gone from 371 members to 413 members this year. We use the page to share important announcements, photos of events and the weekly worship services. Thank you for commenting, liking, and sharing fellowship on our private group page! It builds a real sense of online community.
YouTube and the Website – All our services are uploaded to YouTube to our St. Mark’s YouTube channel, reaching members of the congregation who aren’t on Facebook or part of the Facebook group. If you watch the service from YouTube, you can turn on closed captions which help if you’re having trouble hearing the service. We use the YouTube channel as our “online worship” page on the website.
Online Worship – We average 3-5 weekly viewers live on Zoom for the English broadcast and 3-5 on Facebook Live for the Spanish broadcast. Our views of the recorded service on Facebook or YouTube range from 5 to 70 per week. We are still serving enough people online that it seems important to offer the online option. If you’re travelling, or homebound or recovering from illness or if you live out of the area it’s nice to know you can still watch a service at home at any time or go back to hear a sermon a second time or listen to a favorite hymn again.
Cox Internet – We don’t seem to have as many problems with internet on Zoom and Facebook as we did before. We still have significant lagging but those of us watching online have gotten used to it.
Equipment – When we first started offering the service online, at the start of the pandemic, we used Sheri’s iPad because it’s what she had on hand, and it worked just fine. We gradually added more iPad, tripods and switching software and an additional technician to help with the broadcast. We currently have a pretty sophisticated set up, but we realize that the quality of the picture and the lagging that we experience may be due to the iPads. We’re hoping to get a grant this year to upgrade from iPad to cameras to greatly improve our broadcast quality.
Our Email Newsletters – We continue to offer weekly email newsletters. We have steady readership each week and it seems like a good tool for keeping the congregation informed. The newsletters share prayers and prayer quilts, share information about events scheduled at St. Mark’s, Angel Tree, monthly gardening, men’s breakfast and Bible study, and for hearing from the Legacy Committee, Council and Pastors. We’ve also been able to get contact information updated, take votes and surveys and to share music, pictures, and fun! We welcome submissions from anyone. It’s really been a great way to stay connected as a congregation!
Dedicated Audience –We have increased our newsletter readership to 223. About 130 of those readers open almost every email from St. Mark’s, another 25 open more than half of the newsletters. The feedback we get is very positive. Thank you to all the people who send in submissions every week, especially Pastor Karla, Chris Lewis, Sheri Barker, Roz Nelson, and Cindy in the office. Thank you to Bob Lechner, Sheri Barker, Dorothy Geier and James Jerpseth for sending newsworthy photos!
Printed Newsletters – We also send out a printed copy of the news once a month to anyone who doesn’t have email or who has requested to receive the news by mail. We’ve tried to pack a lot into the printed version and to make them meaningful.
Spanish Newsletters – We also send out a Spanish translation of the newsletter by mail to the Hispanic Ministry members once a month. Many thanks to Cindy for doing the translation, as well as copying and mailing both English and Spanish printed newsletters!
Contact Information – This year we upgraded the church database software, called Servant Keeper, to a digital version, making it more accessible for updating and use. We had a churchwide push to update contact information. We’ve added emergency contact information to the database and that has provided a nice safety net for members who live alone on several occasions this year.
Our Website – is at stmarkschulavista.org The website continues to be a great place to read council minutes and watch a worship service or see the annual report. Most importantly, it’s how our neighbors find out about our church and what we offer. Pastor Karla and I went through each page and updated and deleted pages that were outdated and put links to most used pages on the front page.
Online Presence – St. Mark’s has a LinkedIn page we also have a public “information” page for the church on Facebook. The website, YouTube, google maps, yelp, listing in Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce, SD Reader online, YellowPages.com, church.org, churchfinder.com and faithstreet.com continue to help with our outreach. These websites come up in search when you look for St. Mark’s Chula Vista. All of them (except the website) are free listings, no cost to St. Mark’s.
Marketing – Research shows that millennials with their young families shop for a church online and it’s important to look like the church that we want to be and to be in the places they’re looking. However, word of mouth is the best marketing! Thank you for sharing your love of St. Mark’s and inviting friends and neighbors to join you for worship and events here.
Respectfully submitted
Debbie Lechner
The Legacy Committee is ready to receive your gifts and add to the Endowment Fund! Add to the Legacy of our Church by helping to fund the following types of beneficiaries:
2022 members were:
Dick Bolin – Chairperson
Carol Whittier Ross – Vice Chairperson
Sharon Martin – Secretary
Karl Larsen – Treasurer (termed out)
Janet Collins – Member
2023 Nominees to fill vacancies are:
Gabby Gutierrez
| Member | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2027 | 2028 |
| Karl Larsen | 2nd Term | Nominee | |||||||
| Sharon Martin | 1st Term | 2nd Term | Nominee | ||||||
| Janet Collins | 1st Term | 2nd Term | Nominee | ||||||
| Dick Bolin | 1st Term | Nominee | |||||||
| Carol Whittier Ross | 1st Term | Nominee | |||||||
| Nominee | Nominee |
The Distribution Policy, per the bylaws is as follows:
This past year:
Prepared by: Dick Bolin, Chairperson
The Member Care team continues to meet monthly—usually the first or second Monday of the month at 1:00 p.m. in the Lower Level. If you or someone you know is interested in this important ministry, please contact Dorothy Geier or Pastor Karla.
Of course, each member of St. Mark’s is automatically part of the Member Care Team because we pray for each other, visit, give positive reinforcement, notice if someone is absent, provide rides, send cards, etc.
Each meeting opens with a devotion and prayer. Then we lovingly share our contact information for the month and ways to be helpful to our homebound and all persons in need. Confidentiality is important. Sometimes a phone call is helpful, or a home visit with/without communion, or providing a meal or two plus lots of prayers. We are always thankful for those who have “bounced back!”
We’ve already stressed the need for an EMERGENCY CONTACT PERSON for all members of St. Mark’s. If you have not done that, please contact the church office. Other ways we support our congregation are: wear name tags, pray, send hand-written cards, send a large envelope of signed Christmas cards to those who can’t make it to church, Veterans Day celebration, story of our lives by members, provide bags (contain food, Bible, snacks, water) to hand out to homeless, visit & take tamales on God’s Work Our Hands Sunday, help with Angel Tree and St. Mark’s “Stars,” etc. Each meeting ends with a closing prayer.
In the future we hope to have greeters outside the sanctuary.
We’d also like to find a speaker to help explain Veteran benefits: transportation to hospital or PT, etc.
Respectfully submitted,
Dorothy Geier/Member Care
Lutheran World Relief is doing well this year.
Our quilt sale netted us much more than I expected. We have shipped 89 quilts this year and sold 30 at our annual fundraiser (total of 119 quilts). We just had a large donation of material which will really help us.
We have plenty of help now on Thursdays to put quilts together. I still am looking for someone who can sew quilt tops.
Submitted by
Betty Ren
The Prayer Quit Ministry (which is All the members of St. Mark’s and all those attending our virtual services and receiving our Newsletter) has wrapped 131 recipients in prayer quilts and love this year, and we have tied additional prayers into 3 quilts. We have also tied prayers into 181 prayer pockets. These are about 4×5 inches – to fit in a pocket or a purse. Each has a metal cross inside that says, “God loves you” and there are 5 “chains” of prayers for the recipient. These are easily carried with you. We have also given 8 baptismal prayer squares and 2 other prayer squares. Please Call Roz Nelson (422-5463) or the church office (427-5515) if you would like to request a prayer quilt or pocket.
Prayer quilts and pockets are placed on the altar rail for the Pastor’s blessing on Sunday morning. They are then taken to the narthex and tied by the congregation as they leave the sanctuary. Pictures of the quilts, prayer pockets and prayer squares are in the Newsletter each week with the prayers being asked for. We ask for your actual ties if you are in church, or your virtual ties if you are at home or visiting our website.
This year we have received a blessing from Abby Hansen’s (Ann Larsen’s sister) congregation. They have downsized and we have received 60+ quilts (adult and child) that need only to have ties put in to be used.
We are a small group working in our homes and would really welcome (and need) others who would like to sew or put ties into our quilts to join us working in their homes. Call. Roz or talk to her before or after services if you would like to be part of the PQM – sewing, putting ties in, or pinning quilts together.
We are thankful for your love, your prayers, and your donations of time, materials, and money. Donations need to be designated to the Prayer Quilt Ministry. If you are writing a check, it should be made out to St. Mark’s and designated to the Prayer Quilt Ministry.
Roz Nelson/Prayer Quilt Ministry
The members of St Mark’s continuing to support Project Hand in a grand manner.
Thank you from all that benefit from your generosity.
Project Hand consistently serves approximately 14,000 each year. Many more received needed food from the San Diego Food Bank, from a monthly mass distribution on the campus of St. Mark’s. In 2022, the drive thru distribution continued, after the walk up was changed to the drive-thru setting in 2021. This idea was presented by St. Mark’s as a safer and more efficient way to serve those in need. This setting has been widely appreciated by all.
We continue to make a trip to the San Diego Food Bank in Miramar every two weeks or when needed. We return with 1500 to 2000 pounds of food, which keeps the shelves at Project Hand stocked. Johnny keeps Project Hand running on a daily basis, along with his helpers.
Most of all, thank you again, we couldn’t do this without you.
Submitted by
Sue Connors
In the month of March 2022 I went to the CVPD to try to contact someone in regards of getting information on how to get an Officer to give us info/training on how to protect our Congregation.
They gave me the name of Officer Jeff Pace as our Community Relations for the Chula Vista area. I contacted him and we agreed on a plan and a date to talk about it.
Unfortunately he needed to be in Texas to attend a funeral and wasn’t available until April the 4th. We continued our communication and added the possibility of having a room for them to use while obtaining at the same time, the Police presence on the Church grounds.
On May 27th, I asked him if the proposal for the break room was approved by CVPD CHIEF, and he responded to this on June the 6th, saying: Mr. Nava, we have some grateful officers for providing us with such room!
Also on June 23rd. Based on Pastor Karla concerns with the Spanish Congregation legal status, Mr. Officer J. Pace sent a link to “Welcoming City | City of Chula Vista (chulavista.gov)
In regards of CVPD Policies on immigration enforcement, which was not enforcement of proof of residency!
Also on this day, Chris, Officer J. Pace, and I, had a meeting and he presented to us the “Active Shooter” presentation to be presented to our Church members.
Unfortunately Officer J. Pace tested positive for COVID-19 and our plans stopped and resumed on July 19th after he tested negative for COVID.
Then finally, we received an invitation to the: ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE (LEARN HOW TO SURVIVE A SHOOTING EVENT) Presented by CVPD at the CV Council Chambers on August 31st. Chris, Bob Lechner and I attended it.
Other activities were brought to our Congregation, First Aid and how to do CPR and the proper use of the (forgot the name) electric apparatus for heart situations!
This was provided by others and not through me, but I contacted the CVFD for CPR training (they no longer provide it), The American Heart Association and they sent me information on resources for this matter.
All this was successfully handled thanks to the cooperation and actions of others, especially Mr. Officer Jeff Pace, Chris, Pastor Karla, Sheri, and others.
Thanks everyone for your support and great efforts for the realization of our plans of a safer Church/Congregation time!
Respectfully:
Roberto (Rob/Bob) Nava.
The Internship committee’s role is supportive and reflective, but not supervisory. The task is to give honest feedback to the intern, meet with the intern regularly, and complete midterm and final exams appraisals of the intern in relation to the objectives of the intern.
A member should be elected as the Chair of the Internship Committee to facilitate the effective functioning of the Internship Committee, the Chair of the Internship Committee is Gabby Gutierrez.
The president meets with the intern to establish the agenda for each meeting, maintains communication with committee members about the committee and, together with the intern, attends to the evaluation process.
The focus of the monthly meetings is to see how the intern is or is not meeting the established objectives of the internship, offering affirmation and encouragement, and provide support to the intern.
The Internship Committee is made up of:
We met with Pastor Alicia in October and November. In October we got to share a bit of our stories and got to know the other members in the committee better, we reviewed the Internship process, our responsibilities, and the Internship goals.
In November Pastor Alicia presented an update of his academic progress and the ordination process. We talked about the schedule for the days spent at church as part of the internship.
The December meeting was waived in exchange for the Plan for the Posada on 12/18/22 since the planning and execution of this event is one of the goals of the Internship.
Our next scheduled meeting will be on 01/15/23.
Respectfully,
Gabby Gutierrez
My heart has always been in making people happy and what more than to make kids happy.
When they asked me to help with the kids, it was the most amazing thing because I had so many ideas and thoughts for the kids so I can say that during the past years we have made such a big impact.
With the help of Pastor Karla, Pastor Alicia, and the church community we have done so many things.
We provide many things for kids like Nursery, Confirmation, and Sunday School. Nursery is available for both services while confirmation and Sunday school are offered at 10:00am.
The thing that stood out the most was VBS. It was the first year of bringing it back and it turned out to be a great outcome. With the help of the planning team we got ready and prepared all the staff, curriculum, décor, music, skills, learning opportunities and safety training for all adults and youth.
In VBS we had a total of 42 children and youth participate and 28 adults. Some of our youth served as junior leaders and the high school students served as full leaders. We had a great experience and learned a lot. We are ready for VBS 2023 more prepared and ready than ever.
Another great outcome was confirmation, with the kindness of our church and the kids preparing a great breakfast we were able to send kids to camp. We handed out bibles to our kids in confirmation class and when we had our Palm Sunday.
We had a lot of family events/youth events like SeaWorld, swimming at the Geier’s, having a night out at Pastor Sarah’s church, and Balboa Park.
We ended the year so great with a three language Christmas pageant play. The kids from our service and from Glory Lutheran did a marvelous job in the play.
I look forward to a great 2023 filled with wonderful things.
Respectfully,
Melissa Hernandez
This year has been one of change. Pastor Halverson and Jason Chase collaborated on a new liturgy of our Sunday morning services. These changes have been well received by the congregation.
In addition to changes in the liturgy, many changes were made to the sanctuary. Due to the many members of the congregation experiencing mobility problems, two pews were removed in the front of the church to accommodate walkers and wheelchairs. Sections of the altar railings were also removed to accommodate a free flow of movement.
Jason Chase, St. Mark’s Director of Music, organized and arranged for musicians to present a series of concerts for the congregation and community.
The first concert highlighted members of the community. The second concert highlighted the talents of Jason, with an organ concert on our magnificent church pipe organ.
Two more concerts are planned for the coming year. On March 18, 2023, at 3:00pm, St. Mark’s will present a Spring Celebration Concert “The Moon & Stars.” On May 17, 2023, at 1:00pm we will have a Spring Guest Organist Concert. Members of the congregation and community have been invited to become benefactors to support the concert series.
Respectfully,
Hestler Knudsen
Accomplishments & Goals Met:
Created, Developed & Performed our SMLC Concert Series
We scheduled and performed 4 concerts featuring over 30 artists, from vocalists & harpsichordists to French horn players & guitarists, to name just a few.
The first four concerts saw a combined 420 in attendance, and we look forward to ever-growing attendance numbers with the remaining concerts for this season.
In addition to the 2 scheduled concerts of this current season, we have added 2 additional concerts.
On Saturday night, March 4th, @ 7pm, the Concordia University 32-member Handbell Choir will perform a concert. This is an exciting opportunity for the church as it opens the doors to another part of our community.
In July, we will have an organ & piano duet concert, featuring pianist Jason Chase and organist Margaret Gaillard celebrating our Nation’s Birthday & Pride.
I am working directly with OrganStop who is doing our repairs & maintenance on our organ to ensure we can enjoy this incredible instrument for many seasons to come.
Co-wrote and edited the script for the Children’s Christmas play as well as assisting Pastor Karla with scene prep and staging.
Worked closely with Pastor Karla on all bilingual services to increase involvement in all areas of worship. Also worked directly with musicians on style, tempo, music theory and language/translation issues.
Developing a more youth-involved participation in worship including pianists, guitarists, and vocalists.
Composed and wrote 2 new original liturgies for SMLC.
1st was sung during Lent of 2022 and the 2nd will be sung for the first-time during Lent of 2023.
I am also working with Pastor Karla in the development of a Continuing Education curriculum which will include 4-session classes and workshops in Music Appreciation; History of Opera & Musical Theatre; The History of Church Music from Gregorian Chant to Hillsong & Praise Bands and Songwriting.
Respectfully,
Jason Chase, Music Director
Participants: Congregation Council
Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM
Facilitator: Chris Lewis, President
Materials: Agenda 1-16-23, Minutes 11-18-22, Council Binder with agenda & financials
Members Present: Pastor Karla Halvorson, Pastor Alicia Saenz, Chris Lewis, Sheri Barker, Erick
Posada, Skip Knudsen, Mary Lizarraga, Robert Nava, Melissa Hernandez Velasco (*Strike-through
absentees)
Visitors: Krystina Torres, Treasurer; Dick Bolin, Legacy; Diane Flint Wages, Budget Committee
Meeting Purposes:
Ensure smooth and effective functioning of St. Mark’s Church to serve God’s purposes
Monitor and refine the financial operations of St. Mark’s to ensure God’s mission is fulfilled
Build our capacity to lead and work as a team to guide St. Mark’s to fulfill God’s plan (more…)
| Date: MONDAY, November 28, 2022 : IN PERSON
Participants: Congregation Council Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM Facilitator: Pastor Karla Materials: Agenda 10-11-22, Minutes 9-26-22, Council Binder with agenda & financials Members Present: Pastor Karla Halvorson, Pastor Alicia Saenz, Chris Lewis, Sheri Barker, Erick Posada, Skip Knudsen, Mary Lizarraga, Robert Nava, Oscar Uribe, Melissa Hernandez Velasco (*Strike-through absentees) Visitors: Krystina Torres, Treasurer; Dick Bolin, Legacy Meeting Purposes: · Ensure smooth and effective functioning of St. Mark’s Church to serve God’s purposes · Monitor and refine the financial operations of St. Mark’s to ensure God’s mission is fulfilled · Build our capacity to lead and work as a team to guide St. Mark’s to fulfill God’s plan AGENDA
TASK LIST Reminders:
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| UPCOMING Calendar Items:
· Next Council Meeting: Monday, January 16, 6:30 PM · NO Council Meeting: December — Merry Christmas! J · Council Reports (Every Area of Responsibility) due to Cindy by FRIDAY, January 13 · Annual Congregational Meeting: Sunday, January 29, 2022 · February Council Meeting & Annual Retreat: Saturday, February 25th (Time TBD – 4 hours)
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| Date: TUESDAY, October 11, 2022 : IN PERSON – NOTE 2nd Tuesday in October!
Participants: Congregation Council Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM Facilitator: Pastor Karla Materials: Agenda 10-11-22, Minutes 9-26-22, Council Binder with agenda & financials Members Present: Pastor Karla Halvorson, Pastor Alicia Saenz, Chris Lewis, Sheri Barker, Erick Posada, Skip Knudsen, Mary Lizarraga, Robert Nava, Oscar Uribe, Melissa Hernandez Velasco (*Strike-through absentees) Visitors: Krystina Torres, Treasurer; Dick Bolin, Legacy Meeting Purposes: · Ensure smooth and effective functioning of St. Mark’s Church to serve God’s purposes · Monitor and refine the financial operations of St. Mark’s to ensure God’s mission is fulfilled · Build our capacity to lead and work as a team to guide St. Mark’s to fulfill God’s plan AGENDA
UPCOMING Calendar Items:
Executive Committee Meeting with Reverend Tom: Monday, December 5th @6:30 PM, in person. Diane Wages will be invited. TASK LIST Reminders:
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| Date: MONDAY, September 26, 2022 : IN PERSON – NOTE 4th Monday in September!
Participants: Congregation Council Time: 6:30 – 8:00 PM Facilitator: Pastor Karla Materials: Agenda 9-26-22, Minutes 8-22-22, Council Binder with agenda & financials Members Present: Pastor Karla Halvorson, Pastor Alicia Saenz, Chris Lewis, Sheri Barker, Erick Posada, Skip Knudsen, Mary Lizarraga, Robert Nava, Oscar Uribe, Melissa Hernandez Velasco (*Strike-through absentees) Visitors: Krystina Torres, Treasurer; Dick Bolin, Legacy Meeting Purposes: · Ensure smooth and effective functioning of St. Mark’s Church to serve God’s purposes · Monitor and refine the financial operations of St. Mark’s to ensure God’s mission is fulfilled · Build our capacity to lead and work as a team to guide St. Mark’s to fulfill God’s plan AGENDA
TASK LIST Reminders:
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| UPCOMING Calendar Items:
· Next Council Meeting: October 11 (TUESDAY!) @ 6:30 PM. · Sheri Barker Vacation: September 9 – Oct. 6 · CPR/AED Class in Jacobson Hall: October 1, 10 AM · Quilters Sale: October 9, 10 AM · Temple Talk by R. Nava: October 9 · Council Sponsored Thank You Luncheon for the Congregation: October 30, Time ? |