June/July 2021 Vineyard

The
Vineyard Press
ST. MARK’S LUTHERAN CHURCH
Sharing Christ’s Abundant Love
“I am the vine, you are the branches. “ (John 15:5)
JUNE-JULY 2021, VOL 21, ISSUE 5
Returning to
in-person worship,
expanding
worship outdoors
On Pentecost Sunday, May 23,
2021, St. Mark’s officially returned
to in-person worship with two
worship services.
At 8:00 a.m. we launched an
outdoor worship experience, kind
of a “come as you are” service. No
registration is needed, and you can
choose to stay in your vehicle and
tune us in at 106.1 FM or bring a
lawn chair, coffee—and perhaps
even your pet—as we encounter
God’s word and holy communion in
an outdoor setting.
Church is happening everywhere!
We re-opened our sanctuary for in-person worship at 10:00 a.m., with
safety precautions in place. Worship is feeling a little different, with masks
and social distancing, however, slowly but surely, we should be able to
begin loosening up restrictions.
One of the main priorities of the St. Mark’s Church Council and staff in 2021
is re-building relationships and a sense of community within our church
family. After being physically apart from one another for over a year, many
of us need to get to know one another all over again! After being limited
to online services for over a year, we invite you to expand your worship
experience and re-unite in person, as you are able. Welcome back!

growing together
Stretching
beyond
the
Lectionary
Welcoming new members!
Sunday July 11
We will be formally recognizing ten new members
to St. Mark’s and receiving them into our
congregation during the 10:00 a.m. worship on
July 11. We welcome:
• Shay and Gary Olson
Sponsors: Pastor Charisse and Jon Jensen
Last Fall, we began following the Narrative Lectionary,
a four-year cycle of readings. On the Sundays from
September through May, the texts follow the sweep
of the biblical story, from Creation through the early
Christian church. Because of the September-to-May
schedule, summer is the perfect time to delve deeper
into the Bible with a sermon series.
JUNE: The Psalms
For the month of June, we will be focusing on the
Psalms as a way to understand how we access God
and pray using the beautiful words from these
ancient songs.
JULY: “Why?”
In July, we have created a sermon series called “Why?”
For four weeks, we will be exploring the questions:
• Why God?
• Why Christian?
• Why Lutheran?
• Why St. Mark’s?
AUGUST: Key Teachings
To finish out the summer in August, we will dive
into a series on the Small Catechism’s teachings on
Sabbath, the Creeds, the Lord’s Prayer and the Ten
Commandments. We will finish the summer with
a reintroduction to the Narrative Lectionary and a
welcoming back to Fall programming and worship at
St. Mark’s.
In every season, in every sermon series, we proclaim
Christ crucified and trust deeply in the steadfast love
of God.
• Jean and Mike Bauman
Sponsors: Matt and Faith Greising
• Diane Benson
Sponsor: Michelle Leedham
• Gary Hoyne
Sponsor: Dick Larson
• Travis and Elizabeth Oates, and
Maggie and Ozzie
Sponsors: Jim and Laura Chen
Please join us in welcoming and introducing
yourselves to our newest St. Mark’s members.
Baptisms
As Christians, we
believe that our faith
journey begins with
Baptism and that it
is a sacrament of the
whole community of
faith.
Beginning this month, baptism will be offered
on the third Sunday of each month, at either the
8 a.m. outdoor worship service or the 10 a.m.
indoor worship service.
The first step in planning a baptism is to contact
the church office at 630-897-6891 to arrange a
time to meet with a pastor.
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eaching out to families
Your kids are going to LOVE our new summer Family
Fun Sundays! Once a month, following the 10 a.m.
worship service, your family will be able to gather
outdoors for activities, fun, and food.
The Sunday services on each of the Sundays will be
pretty special, too. There will be a children’s message,
along with something extra in the service to engage
your kids. PLUS there will be a nursery on Family Fun
Sundays for your little ones, age 0 to 3.
Sunday, June 27th
• “Magic of Scott Pilner” (30 minutes of
entertainment!)
• photos/autographs with Disney Princesses
and Marvel’s Thor
• Salerno’s hot dog cart (dogs, $1.50 ea)
Summer Family Fun Sundays
Sunday, July 25th
• “Walk for Water” experience from
ELCA World Hunger
• water balloon toss for all ages
• rubber duck game in kiddie pool
• special guest: Baby Shark!
• popcorn machine
Sunday, August 22
• Ice Cream Social with
Foxy’s Ice Cream Truck
• custom sundaes and ice cream
cookie sandwiches ($4.50 ea); root beer
floats ($5 ea)
• rescue animals for your kids to meet
and pet
JUNE 27 JULY 25 AUGUST 22
Circle these dates on your calendar and plan to bring the whole family. It will be
great to see everyone and have some fun on the church lawn. PLUS, we’ll have
special “passports” for kids to get stamped each Fun Sunday they come. Kids who
collect all 3 passport stamps will receive a special prize on Rally Day Sunday!
3

eaching out to kids & neighbors
Vacation Bible School
“River of Life”
Mon-Fri, July 19-23
9 a.m. to noon each day
How wonderful that we can do VBS in-person this year!
The activities will be 90% outside, and we’ll have COVID
safety protocols in place.
During this action-packed week, your kids will journey
down the river to learn about God’s gracious gift of
water. For people of faith, water is a powerful symbol.
So we’ll have games, crafts, and active learning stations
designed to celebrate water and remind our children of
our important calling to be good stewards of creation.
Your kids will be exploring and learning some of the
amazing “water” stories from the Bible, including the
Water from a Rock, the Baptism of Jesus, Jesus Calms the
Storm, and more.
VBS highlights!
• water relay races
• Kona Ice Truck serving shaved ice one day!
• creating paper bag kites
• planting take-home seed jars
• river clean-up simulation
• assembling blessing bags
• water balloon games
• “Walk for Water” experience
from ELCA World Hunger
• t-shirts for everyone!
They will also be traveling the world, with “ports” in
Cambodia, El Salvador, Wisconsin, Papua New Guinea
and Central African Republic. They’ll learn how ELCA
World Hunger supports ministries in the U.S. and
internationally to help communities that lack access to
clean water and proper sanitation.
“River of Life” VBS is going to be an exciting week of
outdoor crafts, games, story time and more. ALL children
ages 3 through entering 5th grade ARE WELCOME!
Attendance this year is limited to 75 children,
so we urge you to register your kids now
to ensure they get a spot! Click here to register.
Be one of the volunteers who makes VBS happen!
As the time of this newsletter release, we are still in need of volunteers. Specifically, we’re looking
for Preschool Simulation Station leader, Preschool games leader, Grade School Storytime leader,
Photographer, Kitchen leader and assistants. CLICK HERE to sign up or contact Kari Reiseck for more
information.
4

eaching out to Aurora
HS Mission Trip
helping our neighbors in the Aurora community
Mon –Thurs, July 12-15
In July, our HS students will be giving a week of their
summer to serve our Aurora community and local
neighbors. Due to COVID, our leadership team felt it
best not to travel out of state for this year’s mission
trip; however, we also believed strongly that our HS
students deserved something positive to look forward
to. So many experiences and opportunities have
been taken away from them this year, and we wanted
to provide an opportunity that they treasure every
summer: a mission trip.
Anna Themanson, Kari Reiseck, and Pr. Patrick
have been hard at work making preparations and
organizing food, transportation, worship, devotions,
and mission site work right here in Aurora. The
students will be sleeping overnight at St. Mark’s and
heading out each day to work in the community.
Here’s an overview of the schedule:
Monday, July 12:
Tuesday, July 13:
Wednesday, July 14:
Thursday, July 15:
Sunday, July 18:
Team meeting and orientation,
Service project
Service Day
Service Day
Service Day, with closing
ceremony and send-off
Presentation to the
congregation during worship
Thank you to Kari Reiseck for coordinating evening
activities and food for the week. Thank you to
Anna Themanson for coordinating the t-shirts and
curriculum (i.e., devotions).
SPECIAL REQUEST!
PARENTS: We are looking for adults to help
during mission week. Please contact
Pr. Patrick if you can help in any way.
HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS: Last day to sign up
is June 20! If you are interested and would like
to attend the mission trip this summer, contact
Pr. Patrick, and he can get you all the necessary
paperwork.
TYPICAL DAY:
7:30 a.m. Wake up
8 a.m. Breakfast, pack lunches
8:30 a.m. Morning devotions
9 a.m. Head to work sites
9:30 a.m.–noon Service
Noon–1 p.m. Lunch at work site
1–3 p.m. Service
3 p.m. Return to church
3:30 p.m. Shower (off-site)
4:30 p.m. Free time
5 p.m. Dinner
5:30–7:30 p.m. Evening Activity
8 p.m. Worship
8:30 p.m. Evening devotions
9 p.m. Free time
10 p.m. Lights out, sleep
HS June outing
Saturday June 12
9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
As a warm-up to the July HS Mission Trip, the
Youth Group is gathering to help The Neighbor
Project with home restorations on Saturday June
12th. After a morning of service, the group will
head over to the church for a cookout and lawn
games. High schoolers interested in attending
should contact Pr. Patrick.
5

joining with other ELCA churches
On the Road Together:
A Service of Lament,
Prayer & Action
Saturday, june 19, 6 p.m.
A moving and powerful service in honor
and commemoration of Juneteenth and the
Emanuel Nine, with participants from the
community and Aurora’s four ELCA churches.
The 4 ELCA churches sponsoring the June 19th event
reflect on their hopes for our ministry together in this community.
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
“That they may all be one” (John 17:21). I find myself
praying these words as I lean in and listen to the
Spirit’s nudges for our four Lutheran churches to
unite for ministry in Aurora. We are stronger together,
and I hope that our people come to see it and to
believe it as we provide opportunities to learn, grow
and praise God and serve our beloved community.
“In me, in you, in us, in them . . . this was Jesus’ prayer
for his disciples before his betrayal and arrest, that
they may all be one. I am excited about the possibilities
of transforming ourselves and our faith communities
so that, united in love, our transformation will be
mutual and for the benefit of others.”—Pastor Charisse
Our Savior Lutheran Church
“Every time I make new connections, I get jazzed and I
see God at work. I love discovering and expanding all
the ways we are connected as people of God. We have
a natural gift and opportunity among our four Aurora
congregations to join together in understanding that
the work we do together matters to God, has a purpose,
and is grounded in response to God’s mission.
“I hope we recognize that the time is now and the Spirit
is at work recognizing God’s love for each of us as we
work to be the Church in Aurora, demonstrating God’s
love in new ways. All God is asking is that we show up
and trust the Spirit to be our guide.”—Pastor Julie
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Faith Lutheran Church
“It’s interesting how Jesus said, ‘Where two or three
gather in my name, there I am with them.’ God
moves in unique and surprising ways when we come
together. The Spirit is moving, and God is doing great
things through this gathering, and I’m excited to be a
part of this community of change agents.
“My hope is that as brothers and sisters in Christ, we
can work together in building God’s kingdom here
in Aurora. The kingdom comes when we love one
another the way in which God has loved us. Love
requires us to be aware of the needs of those around
us and to act. Together we can roll up our sleeves
and do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly into a
future where this love is fully known.”—Pastor Rob
New Hope Lutheran Church
“The four Lutheran churches in the Aurora area have
come together to learn from each other and promote
a message of love and inclusion, as taught by our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Las cuatro iglesias Luteranas en el área de Aurora se
han unido para aprender unas de otras y fomentar un
mensaje de amor e inclusión como lo enseñó nuestro
Señor Jesucristo.”
—Pastor Jose

“How did these
four churches come
together?”
It started with a story. The first gathering
of the four ELCA churches in Aurora was
a storytelling event on Zoom. Although
the stories were different, they shared
common threads. Each of these
churches has a commitment
to equity and inclusion.
No matter our faith
tradition, nationality,
gender, or age,
our stories
connect us.
CLICK HERE TO
LEARN MORE.
“What
does it
mean to be
anti-racist?”
On the
Road
Together
“What is Juneteenth?”
Two-and-a half years after Lincoln
signed the Emancipation Proclamation,
Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger issued an order
in 1865 that set free all of the enslaved
people in Texas. That date, June 19, is the
day enslaved people in Texas were told
they were set free. Black people in Texas
rallied around the date, transforming
it into their own annual rite.
Today, 47 states and the
District of Columbia
recognize Juneteenth
as a state or
ceremonial
holiday.
CLICK HERE
TO LEARN MORE
“Who
were the
Emanuel
Nine?”
Racism can be subtle.
It may be something small, like
not stopping someone from telling a
racist joke, or clutching a purse when you
see a person of color. But when many
people do these things, racism becomes
part of an organization, community, or
culture. None of us is born racist or antiracist.
To be anti-racist, we must make
choices that do not lead to one group
becoming more powerful than others.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
On June 17, 2015, a 21-
year-old white supremacist
attended a prayer service and
Bible study at the historical Emanuel
African Methodist Episcopal Church in
Charleston, South Carolina. Forty
minutes later, he raised a gun, uttered
racist rhetoric, and fired at all the
participants, killing 9 brothers and
sisters in Christ. They are forever
remembered as the Emanuel Nine.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE.
7

eaching out to our community
The Neighbor Project (TNP)
Volunteer Day
Saturday June 12, 9 a.m. to noon
Now that things are opening up, our mission partners
are once again offering volunteer opportunities. The
Neighbor Project reached out to us, asking if we would
be interested in volunteering.
We told them, “Absolutely!”
Two of their tenants have transitioned out of the Network Savings Program, and TNP needs to have two
apartments move-in ready by July 1st. To help make this possible, here’s what we’ll be doing on volunteer day:
637 Downer (unit 1)
• Paint exterior staircase & repair any damaged/loose wood
• Relocate/rewire light fixture
• Paint the unit (walls, trim, ceiling)
345 North Ave (Unit 2)
• Paint the unit (walls, trim, ceiling)
Your help will make new homes possible for these deserving families. If you can give some time on Saturday
June 12, contact Pr. Patrick.
St. Mark’s donation to The Neighbor Project
Over the past several months, St. Mark’s has distributed sizable checks
to three of our community mission partners, thanks to you and your
generosity. During our three-year Capital Campaign, we had set aside 10% of
all funds received for community outreach. With that money, we have so far
been able to distribute substantial financial support to:
• Hesed House: December 2020, $15,000
• Aurora Interfaith Food Pantry: January 2021, $5,000
• McCleery Elementary School: March 2021, $5,000
During this year when it would have been easy to look inward, St. Mark’s has made an intentional effort to
reach out, to find new ways of implementing our mission: SHARING CHRIST’S ABUNDANT LOVE with each
other and the world. Saints, we have done that. And because of our dedication and generous giving, we’ve
made a tremendous impact. That impact hasn’t gone unnoticed and cannot be understated.
In June, we will be distributing our final donation: $10,000 to The Neighbor Project (TNP). This gift will be
used to support a partner family for the next two years. If you are interested in attending the donation
presentation, contact Austin Bredow.
8

eaching out to our LGBTQIA+ siblings
Aurora Pride Drive
Sunday June 13, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The city of Aurora is celebrating Pride Month with a Pride Drive
on Sunday June 13. Similar to last year, the organizers are asking
homes, businesses, and places of worship to decorate and be a
part of the route around the city.
This is the 4th year Aurora has held a Pride Parade or Pride Drive.
And this is the 4th our congregation has participated. As part of
our commitment to be a community leader and live into our call
to be an RIC congregation, St. Mark’s is a registered Pride Drive
location for 2021.
While participating in a Pride Drive may not be
quite as exciting as walking in a parade, we plan
to have a lot of fun on the corner of Edgelawn and
Galena, waving to cars as they drive by. Last year,
COVID prevented us from gathering en force, but
this year, we want to go all out! We’re looking for a
large presence on the St. Mark’s lawn!
The RIC Team will be decorating the church
grounds starting at 9 a.m. Sunday morning,
Directly following 10 a.m. worship, we’ll be
heading outside to begin the celebration. The
Team will have Pride buttons, flags, and face
coverings for you. And they encourage everyone
to wear any colorful Pride swag you have!
We hope to see you on our corner as we show our
support for our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Christ.
Come, join the RIC Team for some Pride Drive
fun on June 13! Click here to let us know you’re
coming. If you have any questions, contact Pr.
Patrick.
X
X
Want the parade map so you
can drive the route?
Click here for a Pride Drive map.
Scan the QR code to see all the
activities and displays on a Google
map.
Want to know more about
St. Mark’s status as a
“Reconciling in Christ” church?
Visit the RIC Welcome page on the
St. Mark’s website.
9

expanding our vision
May Council update
Over the past six months, St. Mark’s has seen
many changes in how we are a community
that serves and worships God. We’ve changed
from everyone being able to worship at
church, to online worship, to some in-person
and many online, and it will likely change
again. Leadership roles are shifting, changing,
and evolving as the needs of our congregation
continues to change. Change is inevitable.
Change can be stressful!
Council has also changed; we now meet on
Tuesday evenings and spend a lot more time
talking about both our immediate future and
the long-term future of our church. At our
May meeting, Council was presented with
a solid plan of reopening by Pentecost, and
the response and love of our community has
blessed us all. Here are a few other changes:
• Council voted to approve spending the
remainder of the Barrett Memorial fund to
refurbish our handbells.
• The sale of St. Mark’s Child Development
Center is continuing to move forward and
more details will be made available in July.
• We are targeting August for St. Mark’s to be
open to groups meeting inside the building.
• 8 a.m. outdoor worship and 10 a.m.
indoor worship will run through the
summer.
• Council will be hosting focus groups this
summer as we examine Fall worship and
returning to more indoor activities and
gatherings.
• Pastor Charisse reported that Esse Adult
Day Service are interested in offering adult
day care in our Education wing beginning
this Fall.
Change is inevitable, however, there is one
thing that will never change: God.
“For I am the LORD, I change not.”—Malachi 3:6
New staff & volunteer positions
STAFF MEMBER POSITION
Communication Media Specialist
Are you passionate about new ways to reach out and
engage people? Would you enjoy working with a small,
collaborative team at St. Mark’s to help make a difference?
If so, you may be the perfect fit for our position of St.
Mark’s Communication Media Specialist. This position
focuses on expanding our website reach, taking photos
that tell our story, writing social media posts that engage
new followers, and creating screens that enhance our
worship services.
If you or you know someone who is interested, please have
them contact the church office for a full job description and
application by July 1.
VOLUNTEER POSITIONS
Hospitality Team
As we return to in-person worship, the Hospitality Team
is doing a tremendous job welcoming people and helping
keep everyone safe. It takes lots of saints to make worship
happen, and part of our Sunday success is the Hospitality
Team. We are looking for more people to join the team,
at both the 8 a.m. and 10 a.m. services, to serve as checkin
people, greeters, and ushers. Contact Rob Creaney via
email or phone (815-557-3393) or Randy Steinheimer (630-
844-2052) if you are interested in serving in this way.
Nursery Team
For our three Family Fun Sundays this summer, we are
opening our nursery during the 10 a.m. worship service.
We’re looking for adults and teens to help out. All activities
will be prepped and ready to go. All you need to do is
show up and interact with our youngest members. Dates
needed: June 27, July 25, August 22. Email Amy Mabrey.
Photography Team
Since we’ve not been in the building for more than a year,
all of our worship, groups, and kids’ photos are out of date!
As we return to more gatherings, we’d love to have fresh
photos for our website and publicity. If you have an interest
in photography and would like to develop your hobby as a
ministry, please contact Marcia Broucek.
10

giving generously
Metro Chicago Synod Assembly
This year, the Metro Chicago Synod (MCS)
Assembly was held virtually, via Zoom on June
5, 2021. Attendees from St. Mark’s included
David and Emma Albers, Jyotsana Daly, Pr.
Patrick Fish, and Pr. Charisse Jensen. Synod
staff and Assembly leaders were hosted by
Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Naperville,
who provided all the streaming equipment.
Due to the pandemic, an Assembly was
not held last year, so we actually had two
assemblies—the 2020 one being rather
short! The 2020 Assembly was opened,
anniversaries were recognized, Bishop Curry
gave a brief message, and the Assembly was
closed.
We then moved to the 2021 Assembly.
Standard business included:
• Bishop’s Report
• Elections of Synod Vice President and
Secretary
• Terry Henderson (Vice President) and Rev.
Erin Clausen (Secretary) were elected to
four-year terms
• Elections of Churchwide Assembly Voting
Members, Synod Council members,
Committee on Discipline, and Committee
on Consultation
• Treasurer’s Report
• During 2020, the MCS established a
Congregation Support Fund to provide
$5,000 grants to help local congregations
that had lost normal income. There is
approximately $90,000 left in this fund.
The Synod Council has now started a new
fund, Congregation Recovery Fund, to
provide $1,000 grants to help churches
with reopening costs.
• Reports from Churchwide Office, MCS
Vice President and MCS Secretary
The running theme of the Assembly came
from Bishop Curry: we are a church of “good
stew.” Stewards of what we are given, coming
together to live out God’s mission in our lives
and congregations.
—Emma Albers
Are you a part of the Thrivent network? Eligible Thrivent
Financial members can use the Thrivent Choice grant
program to direct their “Choice Dollars” to St. Mark’s. We are
grateful to the Rachel Bachman and Sheryl L Murphy
for depositing a total of $136 in our account.
Since St. Mark’s registered as an Amazon Smile charity,
we have received $588! All because our members have
designated St. Mark’s as their “chariy of choice.” Amazon will
donate a percentage of your purchases at no extra cost to
you. Check out how easy it is to make a difference!
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St. Mark’s monthly financial recap
for May 2021
Monthly Information
Monthly Budget Goal $ 71,337.00
Monthly Offering information
Envelopes General Fund $ 72,126.05
CDC Rent/Administration $ —
Miscellaneous $ —
Other $ 0.96
Total General Fund Income $ 72,127.01
Monthly Surplus (Shortfall) $ 790.01
Summary General Fund Information
as of 5/31/2021
Annual Budget $ 856,044.00
Percent of Year Completed 42%
Offerings/Commitments/Other Income $ 352,699.96
received year to date
Actual Expenses year to date $ 376,223.92
Actual Expense Surplus (Shortfall) year to date $ (23,523.96)
Budget Surplus (Shortfall) year to date $ (3,985.04)
Debt Balances as of 5/31/2021
Principal Remaining on Church Building $1,245,623.96
Principal Remaining on CDC $ 444,045.00
General Fund owes Special Fund $ 27,500.00

“getting to know you”
The Albers Family
Hello! We are the Albers—David and Emma. We joined St. Mark’s in 2017
after moving to Oswego. Here’s a little bit about us . . .
Emma grew up in South Milwaukee, WI, loving that only-child life. Emma was
baptized and confirmed at Trinity Lutheran Church in South Milwaukee. After
wandering through the college fair at the ELCA National Youth Gathering in
San Antonio, Emma went off to college at Valparaiso University, where she
met David, the son (and grandson, and great-grandson . . .) of a Lutheran
pastor. David grew up in Valparaiso with his three siblings: Sarah, Paul, and
Hannah (all born in different states due to their dad’s pastoral calls!). Emma graduated from Valpo in 2012 with a
BS in Civil Engineering, and David graduated in 2013 with a BS in Business Management. We got married in October
2013.
Following graduation, we moved to Virginia
Beach, where Emma started with Kimley-
Horn and Associates, and David, with
Sherwin-Williams. We absolutely loved the
beach and the wonderful Lutheran church
we attended there. We led the high school
youth group, David served on the church
council, and Emma taught confirmation and
led a couple stewardship campaigns. In late
2016, Emma received an opportunity to
relocate to Kimley-Horn’s suburban Chicago
office, so we packed up our first little
house and moved closer to family. Emma
continues to work with Kimley-Horn, focusing on
traffic and transportation engineering, and David now
works for Prime Cut Carpentry and Design, a local
remodeling company that offers traffic impact studies
and home renovations.
When we moved to the area, we were blessed to find
St. Mark’s as a fit for our continued faith journey. We
helped get 21&Over started, and those folks have
become our nearest and dearest friends. We are
currently serving as
St. Mark’s representatives to the Chicago Metro Synod
Assembly, and Emma is on Council, serving as the
Secretary of the Executive Committee.
On June 29, 2020, we entered the
“pandemic parents” club, welcoming Petra
Jean into our lives. She is the greatest light
and joy of our lives, bringing us a new high
(and challenge!) daily. We are thrilled to
have her baptized into the community of
saints at St. Mark’s on June 27, 2021.
While we were both born into it, the more
we learn about our faith and ourselves
confirms our commitment to our Lutheran
heritage and theology. We find such beauty
in the freedom to live lives of service to
and fellowship with neighbor through the
grace we have received through Jesus’ death on the
cross. This call drives many of our passions in life,
including our work with The Neighbor Project and our
love for gathering people together. If we haven’t met
you, we look forward to doing so! You can find us on
Sunday mornings; we’ll be the parents with the bright
blue-eyed baby, all of us always looking just slightly
disheveled. ☺
We are grateful for the community of St. Mark’s and
the church home we’ve found. There are SO many
current and future happenings to be excited about!
—The Albers family
St. Mark’s Lutheran Church | 27 S. Edgelawn Drive | Aurora, IL 60506
630-897-6891 | office@stmarksaurora.net | stmarksaurora.net