St. Mark's Lutheran Church

On the Road Together:

A service of Lament, Prayer & Action

Saturday June 19, 6 p.m.

Sponsored by the Aurora ELCA churches

All are invited to this special community event! St. Mark's is hosting a worship service on Saturday June 19th at 6 p.m. in honor and commemoration of Juneteenth and the Emanuel Nine. Participants include Aurora’s four ELCA churches--St. Mark’s Lutheran, Our Savior Lutheran, New Hope Lutheran, and Faith Lutheran--and poets from A-Town Poetics. Bishop Yehiel Curry from the Metropolitan Chicago Synod will also be joining the service. The event will commemorate both the martyrdom of the Emmanuel 9 and the celebration of Juneteenth, which honors the 1865 emancipation of Black people in Texas.

This is a community-wide event, and we invite you to come! The event will also be livestreamed on the St. Mark's YouTube channel. https://youtu.be/vrXltcsRwS8

Upcoming Worship

Sunday June 20, 2021

OUTDOOR SERVICE at 8 a.m.

bring a lawn chair or listen from your car (106.1 FM)

INDOOR SERVICE at 10 a.m.

LIVESTREAMING at 10 a.m.

St. Mark's YouTube channel

WORSHIP FOCUS: "My Light and My Salvation"

During the month of June, we are focusing on the Psalms as a way to understand how we access God and pray using the beautiful words from these ancient songs.

The Psalm this Sunday, Psalm 27, is a psalm of trust. And a dangerous one at that! Psalms of trust sing of how dangerous and deadly life can be. But they are also words of trust from those who been there before, who’ve had the bottom drop out but who “cried to the Lord” and were saved.

Download the Order of Worship here.

SERMON: Pastor Charisse Jensen

SPECIAL MUSIC: Daniel, Hannah, and Jon Miller, chimes

WORSHIP ASSISTANT:` Jon Jensen (8 a.m.), Don Friend (10 a.m.)

COMMUNION: To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker, plus wine or juice, for each person.

Please visit our WELCOME page to learn more about worship service options and our COVID safety protocols.

Worship Together

Sunday June 13, 2021

WORSHIP FOCUS:

"Your Prayers Moves God"

We continue our series on our study of the Psalms, and our Psalm for this weekend is a prayer for help. Psalm 69 acknowledges the reality of suffering. The same doubts, anger, questions we have today were the emotions and struggles our psalmist experienced. But our psalmist reminds us of the good news: We have a God who listens. Who hears. Who answers. Who responds. Who is moved by our prayers.

Download the Order of Worship here.

SERMON:

Pastor Patrick Fish

MUSIC:

Kristin Young, piano and vocals

WORSHIP ASSISTANT:`

Anna Themanson

COMMUNION:

To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker, plus wine or juice, for each person.

Please visit our WELCOME page to learn more about worship service options and our COVID safety protocols.

Worship Together

Sunday June 6, 2021

WORSHIP FOCUS:

"The Much-ness of God"

This Sunday, we enter the liturgical season after Pentecost, also known as Ordinary Time. Not because it is usual, but because it is orderly, green and seemingly long. It can feel like not much is going on in the church during this season. However, our main text this Sunday, Psalm 113 sings to us of the "God of much." Our God who is lavish, abundant, constant, praise-worthy and so much more. God is generous; from the rising of the sun to its going down, God is the God of much-ness!

Download the Order of Worship here.

SERMON:

Pastor Charisse Jensen

MUSICIANS:

Laura Chen, piano; Katie Ulrich, song leader and soloist

WORSHIP ASSISTANT:`

Kevin Warns

COMMUNION:

To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker, plus wine or juice, for each person.

Please visit our WELCOME page to learn more about worship service options and our COVID safety protocols.

Worship Together

Sunday, May 30, 2021

WORSHIP FOCUS

"Reclaiming the Importance of Lament"

Think back to February 2020. Remember what life was like? Now, think of today. All the changes. All we've lost. This Sunday we will acknowledge collectively our losses and reclaim the spiritual practice of lament. But we don't end in despair. The Beatitudes remind us that we are God's "blessed" people. We aren't promised a comfortable life; instead, we are promised a life in which the poor, the meek, the merciful, the thirsty, the peacemakers and the hungry are blessed.

Download the Order of Worship.

SERMON:

Pastor Patrick Fish

MUSIC LEADER:

Nancy Sen

SPECIAL MUSIC:

Shay Olson and Susan Manning, vocal duet

WORSHIP ASSISTANT:`

Don Friend

COMMUNION:

To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker, plus wine or juice, for each person,

Worship Together

Sunday May 23, 2021

PENTECOST SUNDAY

WORSHIP FOCUS:

"Come, Holy Spirit, Come"

On Pentecost, we celebrate the gift of the Holy Spirit. In his Letter to the Galatians, Paul teaches the Galatians that it is this Spirit who makes us children of God and that we should live the Spirit's way.

Download the Order of Worship here.

SERMON:

Pastor Charisse Jensen

SPECIAL MUSIC: Vocal Quartet:

Jill Fox, Lynnette Brent, Gary Hoyne, Jon Miller

WORSHIP ASSISTANT:`

Sheryl Campen

COMMUNION:

To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker,

plus wine or juice, for each person.

Worship Where You Are

Sunday May 16, 2021

WORSHIP FOCUS

"Called to Freedom"

This Sunday's main text is from Paul's letter to the Galatians. For Paul, freedom is less about freedom FROM something, and more about a call TO or FOR something else. He is quick to point out that the freedom won for believers in Christ is not just license to do whatever we please, but rather is something that brings us together.

Download the Order of Worship here.

SERMON

Pastor Charisse Jensen

SPECIAL MUSIC

Annie D'Amico-Vargas, flute

WORSHIP ASSISTANT

Greg Jackman

COMMUNION

To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker, plus wine or juice, for each person,

"Absolutely Nothing"

Pastor Charisse Jensen sermon

Sunday April 25, 2021

Worship Where You Are

Sunday May 9, 2021

WORSHIP FOCUS

"what is the gospel?"

Conflicts and confusion kept showing up in the early church, and in this week’s text, Paul once again has to step in. He reminds them that it is not through our "faithfulness IN Jesus" that we receive new life; it is through the "faithfulness OF Jesus" that God's grace is fulfilled and is shared to the whole world. Download the Order of Worship here.

Pastor Charisse Jensen

Pastor Patrick Fish

Kristin Young, Director of Worship & the Arts

Don Friend, Worship Assistant

SERMON

Pastor Patrick Fish

NOTE: For this sermon, you will need Post-It notes (or something to write on), plus a pen or pencil.

CHILDREN'S SERMON:

"Mothers: An example of Christ's love"

NOTE: If your children want to participate in the craft, they will need a winter glove plus paper, colors, and scissors.

SPECIAL MUSIC

Laura, Harrison, and Heidi Chen

COMMUNION

To participate from home, you'll need bread or cracker, plus wine or juice, for each person,

Worship Where You Are

Sunday May 2, 2021

WORSHIP FOCUS

"The Doors Are Open"

This week we get a front-row seat on the early Christian church's inner conflicts. They are debating about how to welcome the Gentiles, "those types of people." Once again, we are reminded that God's desire is for every possible door to be open. So that every possible person, Gentile or Jew, in every possible circumstance can experience God's abundant grace and love.

Pastor Patrick Fish

Kristin Young, Director of Worship & the Arts

SPECIAL MUSIC: Jon Ball, guitar and vocals

WORSHIP ASSISTANT: David Simpson

TO PARTICIPATE FULLY

Please download the Order of Worship.

Gather elements for Holy Communion at home: bread or crackers plus wine or juice.

Worship Where You Are

Sunday April 25, 2021

SPECIAL NOTE: Due to technical difficulties,

we lost a portion of today's livestreamed service,

especially during the sermon.

Pastor Charisse has made a separate recording of the sermon,

and it is posted below.

"Absolutely Nothing!"

This week's text is the story of the Apostle Philip's encounter

with a black-skinned, chariot-driven servant who asks,

"What can stand in my way of being baptized?"

Today we ask the question,

"What can stand in our way of living out our baptismal promises?"

Absolutely NOTHING!

Pastor Charisse Jensen

Pastor Patrick Fish

Kristin Young, Director of Worship & the Arts

WORSHP ASSISTANT: Miriam Wade-Hicks

TO PARTICIPATE FULLY

You'll need elements for Holy Communion (bread or crackers, plus wine or juice)