Dear Parish Family, We look forward to seeing everyone at St Mark this coming weekend to celebrate the birthday of our Lord. For most of us this is one of the most beautiful celebrations in the life of the Church. Don’t we all love seeing and sharing with family and friends the music, décor, the joyfulness of everyone, and above all being fulfilled by the Holy Eucharist? Once again this is a time of warmth and gratefulness for our many blessings. Even in the sadness of remembering a loved one who has gone home to be with God, we were blessed to have known and loved the person. Encourage your family and friends to celebrate with us! Reminders: Christmas Eve Vigil Mass 4:00pm and 9:00pm Christmas Day 11:00am Sunday, December 26 8:30 & 11:00am The Parish Office will be closed from December24th until January 3rd. Phones will be monitored for funerals. Thank you to the Dehring brothers, Harm family, and Steve & Chris Martin for their tremendous help setting up décor for Christmas. We may all be feeling a bit of muscle strain today. I wish I had a picture of our Pastor on the tall ladder, with a makeshift shepherd’s hook, “fluffing” branches on the top of the 12ft tree. Isn’t it fun to create memories and stories to be remembered in the future? Thank you to everyone who remembered the parish staff with cards and Christmas wishes. To all of you who have so generously donated to Generous Beyond Measure, thank you – thank you! As you know this is an enormous boost to our being able to make our budget. There is not an end date for this, and if you have not contributed, we encourage you to do so. Wishing you the blessings and joys of Christmas and a New Year filled with peace and happiness. Mary Jo