July 2022 Vineyard
Monthly newsletter of St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Aurora, IL)
Monthly newsletter of St. Mark's Lutheran Church (Aurora, IL)
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Council happenings<br />
Summer doesn’t slow down for<br />
St. Mark’s Council! We appreciate<br />
members who continue to come to<br />
our “Chat with Council” sessions to<br />
share their questions and concerns.<br />
In <strong>July</strong>, we will split the time as we<br />
did in June to connect with those<br />
who attend Saturday worship. Please<br />
look for another “Chat with Council”<br />
opportunity on <strong>July</strong> 16/17.<br />
At the June Council meeting, we<br />
welcomed Cathy Davit, Director of<br />
ESSE (Ecumenical Support Service for<br />
the Elderly), with whom St. Mark’s<br />
is considering a partnership. Cathy<br />
provided an overview of ESSE policies<br />
and activities. As you learn more<br />
about ESSE, you might consider<br />
members of your own family or<br />
friends who might benefit from their<br />
services. We will continue dialogue as<br />
a congregation with a special meeting<br />
on <strong>July</strong> 31st, when we will vote on<br />
going forward with this partnership.<br />
Other Council reports and actions<br />
include:<br />
• Finance: High-level, our budget<br />
for the year is tracking well. We<br />
plan to have a budget update on<br />
<strong>July</strong> 31st preceding our special<br />
meeting to discuss and vote on<br />
ESSE’s use of our building.<br />
• Property: We celebrated the<br />
completion of the parking lot as<br />
well as the washing of windows!<br />
We are taking quotes from<br />
landscaping companies for the<br />
grading and landscaping of the<br />
courtyard. We also discussed<br />
a quote from Alarm Detection<br />
Services for security measures<br />
for our building. We will be<br />
doing some updates to keep our<br />
building safe and secure.<br />
church matters<br />
• Outreach: Interfaith Aurora Food<br />
Pantry’s first St. Mark’s “Pop-up<br />
Pantry” will take place in our<br />
parking lot on <strong>July</strong> 14th, with more<br />
dates to follow (see page 6).<br />
•<br />
• Congregational Support<br />
Ministries: We appreciate all<br />
the interest in CSM that was<br />
generated during June. Thank<br />
you to Sue Hilderbrand and the<br />
banner team for making our<br />
narthex display. We will have a<br />
Time & Talent survey and Ministry<br />
Fair to come on October 9.<br />
• Youth and Family: We held our<br />
first Family Fun Sunday on June<br />
26th. Look for future Family Fun<br />
Sundays on <strong>July</strong> 17th and August<br />
28th. Also watch for information<br />
about Rally Day, September 11th.<br />
• Response Advisory Team: The<br />
team will continue to meet the<br />
next few weeks to talk about<br />
safety issues at St. Mark’s and how<br />
we can be prepared for medical<br />
and other emergencies. We may<br />
have training to come in such<br />
areas as CPR, first aid, and so on.<br />
• Walking Together: Thank you to<br />
all who responded to our Walking<br />
Together survey. Our Walking<br />
Together team will discuss the<br />
results to make recommendations<br />
for Council. Look for more to<br />
come on small group activities,<br />
intergenerational activities, and<br />
congregational celebrations.<br />
• Shelby CMS: We will be rolling<br />
out training on the Shelby system<br />
in <strong>July</strong>. Council members will<br />
be trained at the <strong>July</strong> Council<br />
meeting.<br />
• Pastor Marnie: We will have<br />
a celebration on <strong>July</strong> 10th to<br />
welcome P.r Marnie and 16 NEW<br />
MEMBERS! So much to celebrate!<br />
— Lynnette Brent, Council Secretary<br />
St. Mark’s<br />
Council<br />
Randy Steinheimer, President<br />
rsteinheimer@sd129.org<br />
Rob Creaney, Treasurer<br />
rob.creaney@sbcglobal.net<br />
Lynnette Brent, Secretary<br />
lynnettebrent@gmail.com<br />
Mike Bauman<br />
jmb15mjb4@gmail.com<br />
Matt Greising<br />
mpgreising@gmail.com<br />
Izzy Jones<br />
isabellemjones06@gmail.com<br />
Tyler Mabrey<br />
yerbam719@gmail.com<br />
Jon Miller<br />
jgmiller6836@gmail.com<br />
Mark Mueller<br />
mueller1110@comcast.net<br />
Anna Themanson<br />
acthemo@gmail.com<br />
Patrick Fish, Pastor<br />
pfish@stmarksaurora.net<br />
Marnie Rourke, Pastor<br />
mrourke@stmarksaurora.net<br />
Joni Ackley, Recording Secretary<br />
jackley@stmarksaurora.net<br />
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