Dates set for Elder's Retreat

The Elder’s Spiritual Retreat has been confirmed for Saturday and Sunday 7 and 8 August at the Orchards Retreat Centre, Oaklands  Road, Orchards. We plan to start at 9.00am each morning and finish at about 5.00pm. Teas, coffees and lunches will be provided through the day

The programme is being discussed and will be forwarded to all Elders in order that you are able to prepare any input that you may wish to give.

The cost for the two days is R290.00 per person.  Please inform the church office, Liz or Solomon by Tuesday 29 July at the latest whether you will be attending the retreat

Prayers needed for our friends from St Mark's

Kay Patterson is on the mend. She underwent a hip replacement on Tuesday and after a spell in intensive care Kay is now in a normal ward. She may even be able to be discharged this weekend. Please uphold the family in your prayers.

News from Durban is that Frank O'Neill will be seeing the doctor tomorrow to find out the result of the brain scan he underwent today. Please uphold both Frank and Alison in your prayers.

The case for a new Women's Fellowship to take St Mark's forward

Perpetue, young David and Ketty spreading the love on Madiba's birthday 

Dear friends,

As members of St Mark's Presbyterian church, we need to be a church that is united in fellowship as we grow together in faith. It is essentialist to have all members of our congregation  involved in the life of St Mark's and the denomination as well.  This is why we need all women to be part of our new Women Fellowship, which is not to be confused with the WA.

Why the women fellowship?
For sharing openness amongst women
To create  a sense of belonging amongst women
To create fertile ground for unity amongst women
To sharpen one another spiritually and physically
To stir up women as pillars in the house of God

OUR VISION:
To build up a group of women who are united by the love of God

OUR RESPONSIBILITIES:
To zealously serve in all areas in the house of God
To activate the Ministry of helping pregnant women and their children.
To host church guests and evangelism
To intercede for the Church, our families, and nations.
To mentor younger women to become mentors themselves to others
To raise women as pillars in the church

OUR STRATEGIES:
Teaching the physical and spiritual Christian life to women
Through workshops (Exchange of ideas and skills)
Organised visitations (be your sisters keeper)
Prayer meetings (bearing one another’s burdens)
Love feast (Know yourself better)
Ministry of helps (Extending the right hand of fellowship)
Evangelism (be like the Samaritan woman)

God bless you

Emmanuel Solomon Surwumwe

NOTE: You can have your say on the topic, by clicking on the comment button below this article and following the prompts.

New Initiatives at St Mark's

Solomon briefs the ladies of St Mark's on Mandela Day ....  part of his 67 minutes for "Tata" 

These are hard times and when things get tough the tough get going. The Women's Association has carried the burden of the weekly cake sale for as long as your scribe can remember and that is a long time. The problem with growing the WA is that the meetings are once a month during the week and this excludes many our members, who hold down day time jobs.

The idea has therefore been floated to hold Saturday meetings for those women, looking for a Christian forum in which to support initiatives such as supplying eats for sale. Solomon announced his intention to meet with interested parties after the service and 10 women have signed up.

There may be a few changes like Men for the Master, working with the WA and the ladies, who are available on Saturdays, to sell hot dogs and other popular items to raise funds and supply Sunday treats for the congregation. Indeed some of the ladies, who met yesterday are also available on Tuesday mornings for the Monthly WA meeting, so we can expect to have more hands at the pumps. Marianne will advise those who are interested in attending via SMS.

The Men for the Master have given the new church sign to Maureen over the road for the sign writing. But we agreed that if this is too stressful for Maureen we would source a sign writer from Yeoville. Everything else has been completed.

The Men for the Master will also be consulting with their partners to see what clothes can be spared for the needy. Solomon is happy to do the distribution.

The morning service will be moved back from 10h30 to 10h00 as of September. Watch that space and reset your alarm clocks.

And finally Solomon is setting up a "Couples Fellowship" where issues impacting the family and relationships can be shared with supportive friends in a Christian environment.  Session will be involved in all these projects for guidance and support.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.

Let's do something for others St Mark's on Mandela Day

Let's make it happen for the Lord on Madiba's birthday ... that's the word from Moshe

With a name like Rolihlahla (trouble maker) one would have expected Mandela to have been part of the forgotten people of history. He did stir things, those that needed stirring, and did even more in the company of others – as he likes to say.

As South Africans we are greatly honoured that one of our own has attained international recognition with a holiday to mark his contribution Mandela Day. I am not aware of any other leader who has been honoured in this way.

If you were not able to do your 67 minutes on the actual day, find another time and encourage others to do the same. St Mark’s has ample opportunities for people to serve and improve the quality of life of others. That, as you know is what Mandela Day is all about.

Shalom
Moshe

It's crunch time for St Mark's in terms of growing our church, but the Lord is with us!

St Mark's upkeep and growth depends on us  ... the congregation needs to boost income by R8 500 a month.

Members of St Mark's it time that we amended our planned giving commitments to deal with the economic realities that we face. The need to dig deeper into pockets to serve the Lord was spelled out very nicely in the St Mark's Diary on Sunday.

ST MARK’S INCOME and EXPENDITURE Jan-Mar 2010
                                               To 31 March 2009     To 31 March 2010
TOTAL INCOME                                90,392.86                  92,480.08
TOTAL EXPENDITURE                      79,503.50                  88,340.79
Profit as at 31 March:              
        10,889.36                    4,139.29

The good news is that Income for January-March 2010 is up by just over 2%, compared with 2009, but Expenditure for the same period is up by over 11% and so far increases for salaries and electricity have not been taken into account.

Salary increases will only take effect in April and as well as the above, St Mark’s currently receives R2 500 per month from the Ministry Committee towards Solomon’s stipend.

There have also been effectively no motor car expenses. A permanent minister will immediately INCREASE expenditure by a minimum of R6 000pm when the Mininistry  Committee contribution falls away & Medical Aid, Pension, motor car costs begin. That means we must aim at least for an increase in income of approx R8 500 per month.

And there is the matter of general maintenance. There are areas of the Sunday school floor that a rotten. This is being looked into and the whole floor may not mean to be replaced, but again this will impact our. So please consider prayerfully what you can do to make St Mark's a blessing to our community.

The St Mark's Editorial team.

How the World Cup touched St Mark's

Solomon and the Men for the Master check things out the SABC Broadcast Centre in Sandton.

Some may not have realised it, but the 2010 FIFA World Cup sparked many activities in and around St Mark's in June. Your scribe is still up to his neck in production, so much of the fun has not been recorded on our Blog. Thank goodness for Marianne and the Men for the Master team, who dutifully captured a host of images, which we will share with you today.

Let's scroll back to the 6th June 2010 when the Men for the Master organised a clean-up day and five-a-side soccer tournament to drive the World Cup spirit. Many chores were completed, repairing the notice boards in the foyer and sign writing the address of the on the wall above Solomon's car park. This done, a braai and soccer tournament followed. The youngsters were out in force in their colourful kit, and supervised by coaches Mangena, Eyong and Tem, the action got underway on the school fields. We're not too sure who won, but perhaps that's a good thing.

That's the view from the stands in the studio. The Review 2010 show is rehearsing.

The Men for the Master who attended the Ghana vs USA game, popped into the SABC studios in Sandton before the game, to see how the production was put together. And would you believe it two of the team appeared on national TV on the Tjovitjo show? Samuel you have a career ahead of you in broadcasting.

Scroll down the right hand side of the Marksman Online to get slideshow of the Men for the Master's June doings. Use the comment button to have your say.

The St Mark's Editorial Team.