There’s a pig pickin’ this Sunday after the 10:30 service at St. Mark’s as we celebrate Pentecost. Ed Aguirre is our pit master; he will start at about 11 pm Saturday and continue all night with nothing but strong coffee to sustain him. If you’re a night owl or a pig person, please come out for some or all of the vigil to help.
Bring a side dish: If tending the pig isn’t your thing, please bring a side to share and your favorite outdoor game.
RSVP to Mike and Meta Wilson so we will know how many we need to set up for; the address is mwilson019@nc.rr.com.
The faith communities of the New Hope Road Alliance will rehabilitate the restrooms at Wilders Grove Youth Center in June and July, and you can help.
We will need financial contributions; your donation will be matched dollar-for-dollar by the alliance. Please contribute before June 20, as we need to pay for supplies. Make out a check to New Hope Road Alliance and give it to Jessie Maeck, or you can send it to the Alliance in care of its treasurer, Don Betts, CPA; 2624 Leighton Ridge Drive, Suite 100; Wake Forest, NC 27587.
Skilled assistance is needed with plumbing, carpentry and tile for the first phase of the rehabilitation. Less-skilled labor is also needed; if you can swing a paint brush, we need you for the second phase.
Contact Jessie if you can help; jsmaeck@aol.com or 617-549-7285
Saturday, May 20: help clean up Wilder’s Grove Youth Center, both indoors and outdoors. Two “shifts” – 9:30 to 12:00 noon and 11:30 to 2:00, with pizza at lunchtime. We’ll be cleaning out buildings, power-washing them, and pruning shrubs and bushes. Contact Jessie Maeck if you can help.
Wilder’s Grove Fellowship Cookout April 1, 2017.
June: repairs to Wilder’s Grove Youth Center bathrooms; need help with putting in new stalls and tile floors, and with painting. Exact dates to be determined. Carpentry and tile expertise needed! Contact Jessie Maeck if you can help.
2017-18 School Year: Tutors needed for “Read and Feed” program at Wilburn Elementary. Beginning in late August or early September, the program is held once a week, either Tuesday or Thursday, from 4:30 to 5:30; volunteer tutors need not attend every session, although they will be expected to participate at least three-quarters of the time. Volunteers must undergo a simple background check and will receive a free, 1½ hour advance training from Read and Feed staff.
October Yard and Craft Sale: need help planning the event, contributions for yard sale, and crafts for sale: craftspeople will be able to rent a table or share the proceeds of their sales to support New Hope Road Alliance projects.
The NHRA (New Hope Road Alliance) is an alliance of 6 congregations along New Hope Road which have united together with the common goal of serving our changing neighborhood. Next meeting: Mon May 22, 1:30-2:30 p.m., New Hope Baptist Church. All members of the 6 congregations are welcome!
Wilburn Elementary School is the K-5 school on Marsh Road which serves our neighborhood. Wilder’s Grove is the all-volunteer Youth Center right next door to St. Mark’s.
Put on your dancing shoes and join us for a Spring Sock Hop in our Community Life Center on Saturday, April 29, 7:30 to 10 pm. Music will be provided by Adult Supervision.
We will feature good old rock ’n’ roll from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70’, ’80s and today. Admission is free. Donations will be accepted for St. Mark’s ministries. Bring a snack and a beverage to share.
Also, you can help make this a true “Sock Hop” by bringing new, still-packaged children’s socks for the children of Wilburn Elementary School. Please see Lynne Poole or Linda Bamford of the Social Action Committee for more information.
St. Marks’ers will be doing a lot of work around the church on Saturday, April 22nd as mentioned in the previous news post, On St. Mark’s Day, help us reach out, spruce up and sing. The St. Mark’s Sysadmins will be no exception.
I plan to do some cleanup on the computers. This includes removing the covers to try to clean out the accumulated dust and dirt. I also plan to install a second hard drive in our server to use for expansion of the /var filesystem which won’t be large enough to contain all of the old hardcopy St. Mark’s documentation that we need to store in electronic archival formats. Other physical tasks will be performed as we determine the need.
I also plan to install all of the latest software updates on our computers to provide for additional security and enhanced functionality.
There will be some periods of time on Saturday during which the St. Mark’s web site and email systems will be unavailable.
Join us on Saturday, April 22, as we observe St. Mark’s Day by gathering at 9 am in service to our community and to our church. There will be something for everyone to do, regardless of age or physical condition. The morning will end with lunch provided in our Community Life Center. It will be a great family affair and a way to model for our young people ways that we can all serve.
Starting April 2, look for sign-up in the Concourse and during Community Time in our Community Life Center for these activities:
St. Mark’s Spring Cleaning
Inside the Centrum: Vacuuming the chair s and dusting furniture. Please bring your vacuum cleaners that have hoses/upholstery attachments for cleaning the blue chairs.
Outside our buildings: Tidying flower beds, trimming and planting in the Memorial Garden, Covenant Garden and general grounds.
Spring Arbor Assisted Living: Join us at this facility across New Hope Road for a sing-along for the residents with musical accompaniment, lyrics and refreshments. Singers and non-singers needed for setup, cleanup and companionship.
Care Packages for homebound St. Mark’s members: In support of the new Pastoral Visitors Ministry, we will assemble bags with nonperishable goodies, such as note cards and stamps, healing prayers and devotionals, etc. for the visitors to take with them on their first visits as tokens of our love and concern. This is a good activity for young children and those young at heart who need a less physically demanding task.
The Parish Area Care (PAC) groups of St. Mark’s support members in times of need and also meet for social events such as potluck meals.
North Hillbillies meets 6 pm Sunday, April 9, at the home of Susan Doty, 4716 Yadkin Drive. Please call 919-787-2452 or email Susan (susandoty4@gmail.com) to RSVP.
Northwest Territory meets 6 pm April 23 at the home of Norris and Margaret Thurston.
RIBs meets 1 pm Apr il 30 at the home of Hope Ethington, David Hesselberth, and their daughter Amber, 1236 Harp St., Raleigh.
Eastenders meets 6 pm Apr il 30 at the home of Robin Maycock.
Southsiders meets 5:30 pm May 6 at the home of Linda and Jim Martin. Rain date is May 7.
Wilder’s Grove provides youth programs at their facility behind St. Mark’s. Part of the land on which this facility is located is provided by St. Mark’s. The New Hope Road Alliance has taken the organization as one of its service projects. (Photo courtesy of Wilder’s Grove)
In support of the new sponsorship of Wilder’s Grove Youth Center as an NHRA initiative, the board of the New Hope Road Alliance has voted to match all donations made by individuals or groups to benefit the center. This means that the $290 raised so far this year has turned into $580. Funds which come in this spring/summer will be used to pay for much-needed renovations in the center’s restrooms.
The New Hope Road Alliance is sponsoring three Wilder’s Grove events this spring:
Fellowship Cookout April 1, 11 am to 2 pm. St. Mar k’s will provide side dishes – sign up in the Concourse.
Campus Clean-up Day is Saturday, May 20.
Bathroom renovations A project manager is needed. For more information or to volunteer, see Jessie Maeck jsmaeck@aol.com, or 617-549-7285.
The NHRA is an alliance of six congregations along New Hope Road which have united together with the common goal of serving our changing neighborhood. Meetings are monthly and are open to all members of the six congregations. Join us!
St. Mark’s Youth invite you to join in the annual Shrove Tuesday dinner on Tuesday, February 28. Dig out your mardi gras beads, colorful clothes and get your appetite in gear! (There will be gluten-free offerings)! Watch for tickets on sale and more details in coming announcements.
Same price as last year! $5/person and $20 for families of 4 or more. Children under 5 eat free!
One of our parish’s most time-honored institutions is our Parish Area Care (PAC) groups. These are roughly based on neighborhoods so that members can get to know one another and help one another in times of grief, illness or need.
Mostly, though, PAC groups gather in members’ homes for a potluck meal and fellowship.
If you are not yet a member, call the church office to find which PAC is yours.
Tenderlions meets 4:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 29, hosted by Lida and John Thoma, 5509 Sweetbriar Drive, Raleigh 27609. Please RSVP to lthoma@nc.rr.com. Newcomers are especially welcome. Come join us for fellowship and great food.
Southsiders meets 5:30 pm Sunday, Jan. 29, at the home of Carolyn Edge, 101 Keithwood Lane, Cary, 27511.
RIBS – Residing Inside the Beltline meets 1 pm Sunday, Feb. 5, at the home of Joan Ellen Deck and Thomas Sayre, 313 W. Martin St., Raleigh, 27601. Email jed@decksayre.com if you need directions. Everyone who lives “inside the Beltline” in body, mind or spirit is welcome to join us.
