Study Groups

There are several study groups at St. Mark which meet at various times throughout the week. If you want to be involved, want to start your own group or want more information, please contact Brandon Mick at brandon@stmarkwdm.org.

Sunday Morning Adult Study

Have you ever wondered how the church went from what we read about in the book of Acts to what we have today? Over the last two thousand years, some strikingly important events have given shape to what we call Christianity. Starting Sunday, September 12, Brandon Mick will kick off the fall semester with a six week study on the first one thousand years of Christian History. Join us for this introductory course, as we discuss the implications of our history upon our own discipleship and the life of faith here at St. Mark.

Men’s Thursday Morning Bible Study

The Men’s Thursday Morning group meets every Thursday morning with Pastor Mike from 6:30 -7:15am to discuss scripture and how it pertains to our lives. Bring your Bible.

Women’s Monday Bible Study

The Women’s Monday Bible Study meets the first Monday of each month. Discussions, scripture readings and speakers all take place in this study. Please watch the bulletin and Connections newsletter announcements for upcoming classes.

Women’s Thursday Brown Bag Study

A Women’s Brown Bag Study meets on Thursdays from 12:10 – 12:50pm. Bring your lunch and Bible with you and enjoy your fellowship and study.

WIGS (Women’s Interest Group)

WIGS will meet every Wednesday mornings at 10:00am in the Adult Education Room with Pastor Roy will lead the study.

Tuesday Senior Small Group Study

The Tuesday Senior Small Group Study will meets on Tuesdays at 10:30am.

Interest Groups

Young Adult Fellowship

Feast is St Mark’s monthly meal for 20 and 30 somethings. Meals are currently hosted in homes and we invite you to join us for a wonderful time of food and fellowship. Feast gathers on the second Monday of every month. If you have any questions about Feast or would like to be involved, then contact Angie Dethlefs-Trettin or Ali Coppola.

The September Feast gathering will be on September 13 at 6:30pm at the Tavern II in West Des Moines where we will meet for pizza, pasta or sandwiches. We will just order off the menu and will have separate checks. Hope to see you all there!

55+

St. Mark’s 55+ last activity was to serve an evening meal at the Eddie Davis Center in April. If you are interested in becoming a part of 55+, contact Pastor Roy at roycarlnilsen@aol.com.

PrimeTimers

PrimeTimers is a group of senior citizens at St. Mark who meet monthly (April-December) for learning, for fellowship, for serving. They meet on the first Thursday of each month at 12noon and the gatherings include a meal. Life stories are shared, presentations of contemporary topics related to faith and life offered, time for casual conversations made and ways to serve others in the congregation and the larger community explored.

St. Mark PrimeTimers will enjoy a ‘virtual’ tour to Germany on Thursday, September 9th at noon. The trip will be a visit to the land of Luther, including Wittenberg (where Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church; Wartburg Castle where he hid out in 1521 after the Diet of Worms at which he uttered his famous confession: “Here I stand…” and would not recant. He also finished his translation of the Bible into the language of the people here; Eisenach, the birthplace of the great Lutheran musician, Johan Sebastian Bach; Leipzig, where Bach was organist/choirmaster for 28 years; the ‘old city’ of Regensburg; Rothenburg with its medieval castle; plus Berlin and Munich.

PrimeTimers will also visit Oberammergau (the sight of the Passion Play), whose citizens dramatize the play. The play came into being to fulfill a promise of the people of Oberammergau in 1634. They vowed to give this performance every ten years if their community was delivered from the bubonic plague. This year’s production of the Passion Play involved more than 2,000 people from that community.

Through pictures and stories of St. Mark members who took this ‘actual’ trip with Pastor Mike and Chris Foss in early August, PrimeTimers will experience the rich history of our Lutheran heritage and the wonders of a Passion History performance which has thrilled millions since the mid-seventeenth century. Reservations for lunch must be in no later than Thursday, September 2nd. Sign up at church or reserve a place by email or through your PrimeTimers telephone contact.

Men’s Cribbage Group

A men’s cribbage group will be starting soon! If you would like to join in on a leisurely morning of cribbage here at St. Mark, please contact Maxine at 515-223-4208 or maxine@stmarkwdm.org to sign up.

Team St. Mark

Stay tuned for more information from the running group at St. Mark. In the fall of 2009, Team St. Mark had runners in the Des Moines marathon and half-marathon. As well as running, they also partnered with World Vision to raise money to help children in Africa. Plans are afoot to do more running in 2010.