At St. Mark we believe that our Christian identity is realized in part through service to others. Our social ministry team partners with a number of local, national, and international organizations to serve the world at these levels.
Below is a list of some of our ongoing ministries.
Meals With Love
St. Mark will now provide a warm meal for kids (and their tutors) in the Homefront tutoring program at Lawrence Community Center on the second Wednesday of the month. We call this “Dinners with Love.” The plan is to prepare the meal for 25 people in the church kitchen and deliver it by 6pm. Anyone interested in helping with this ministry should contact Karen Breninghouse as it will be an ongoing, monthly project.
Dinners With Love grocery list:
- Bottles of water, juice or iced tea
- sturdy paper plates
- paper napkins
- plastic utensils (forks, spoons & knives)
- plastic cups
- monetary donations to purchase perishable foods
Since the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, our “Lunches with Love” program continues to supply a minimum of 50 bag lunches EACH WEEK to HomeFront families. These lunches are packed on Sunday mornings, AFTER the 9:30 AM service. We’ve got it down to a science so it only takes about 30 minutes! It’s a great way to enjoy some fellowship time while doing God’s work.
Lunches With Love single-serve grocery list:
- snacks – chips, pretzels, popcorn, etc.
- fruit cups
- water bottles
- juice boxes
If you can help pack lunches or make one of the 2 weekly deliveries, please contact Karen Breninghouse or the church office.
Please drop off ALL food items on the table in fellowship hall. If you have a building key you can drop off donations at any time. Otherwise, to schedule a time to deliver or have donations picked up from your home, please contact Karen Breninghouse or call the church office at 609-585-7087.
Food Ministries
St. Mark continues to collect food donations for two organizations that serve those who are experiencing food insecurity in the Mercer County area.
For St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church the 3 most needed, shelf-stable items for their food pantry (open 2x/month) are:
- Peanut butter
- Jelly
- Mac & Cheese
HomeFront requests these “motel friendly” items:
- Chef Boyardee foods (flip-top cans)
- Hormel dinners (or any microwaveable, shelf-stable meals)
- Mac & Cheese (cups are better to microwave)
- Tuna (flip-top can or packets)
- Ramen noodles
- individual-size, shelf-stable juice or milk (such as “Parmalat”)
Please drop off ALL food items on the table in Fellowship Hall. If you have a building key you can drop off donations at any time. Otherwise, to schedule a time to deliver or have donations picked up from your home, please contact the church office at 609-585-7087.
Advent Community Garden
Our Advent Community Garden is a three-season project that includes preparing the soil in the raised beds, crop planning, purchasing seeds and seedlings, planting, watering, harvesting the crops, delivering the fresh produce to local charitable organizations, and weeding…which is a great meditative exercise! If you enjoy spending a little bit of time in outdoors, consider volunteering here. CONTACT PERSON: Eileen Mansfield.
Crocheters & Knitters
We have yarn at the church! And, we continue to collect handmade hats for babies, children & adults, baby blankets, and baby car seat blankets for the Children’s Home Society of New Jersey.
If you (or anyone that you know) can knit or crochet, please consider participating in this ministry. We can definitely use your help to make our mission successful. CONTACT PERSON: Nancy Riemann.