Recent Posts

Join us at St. Mark for a free, Thanksgiving Feast —no RSVP required. This “all are welcome” meal is offered in honor of a member’s son and in the spirit of Luke 14:12–14: sharing food, community, and grace with anyone in need.

The end is near. There is no doubt about it. The warnings are dire. The tone of today’s texts is ominous. But the baptized know how to live in the meantime. The baptized are strengthened for the living of these days in word and sacrament.

Mary and Rick became new members of St. Mark in October of 2025. Mary grew up in Fort Worth, Texas and Rick grew up in Portland, Oregon. They have attended multiple churches during their lives.  Most recently, they attended LCMS Lutheran churches in the San Francisco Bay area in California. Both Mary and Rick are …Read More

In October 2025, Debora was welcomed into St. Mark as a new member. Debora was raised in a variety of locations as her father was serving in the military. Her early years were spent in Germany, Texas, and Washington, her adolescent years in Hawaii and Washington again. Both of her parents were from Tacoma, so …Read More

We worship on the first day of the week because Jesus was raised on that day. Every Sunday is a little Easter. This Sunday feels more like Easter than many as the appointed texts celebrate the reality of the resurrection. Live it up this Lord’s day. Our God is the God of the living.

In holy baptism God makes saints out of sinners. In holy communion God forgives the sins of all the saints. In worship today we give thanks for all the saints “who from their labors rest.” In the same breath we petition our God for the strength to hear and to heed the admonitions of Jesus …Read More

Rooted in the past and growing into the future, the church must always   be reformed in order to live out the love of Christ in an ever-changing world. We celebrate the good news of God’s grace, that Jesus Christ sets us free every day to do this life-transforming work. Trusting in the freedom given to …Read More

Pray always. Do not lose heart. This is Christ’s encouragement in the gospel today. Wrestle with the word. Remember your baptism again and again. Come regularly to Christ’s table. Persistence in our every encounter with the divine will be blessed.

It’s a miracle! Multiple miracles! The waters of holy baptism have healed us. The body and blood of Jesus in holy communion have made us clean. We have died with Christ and been raised with him. For all this we have returned to offer thanks. From this place we are sent on our way rejoicing …Read More

St. Mark Community Garden was established in 2010.  It is a tranquil yet busy, dusty and sometimes dirty, fun and rewarding, beautiful and weedy acre of land behind our church.  When spring is cold and wet it can feel like it takes forever for crops to start growing and the weeds take off WAY BEFORE …Read More

A land acknowledgement is a formal, living statement that recognizes and respects Indigenous Peoples as historic stewards of this land and the enduring sacred relationship that exists between Indigenous Peoples and their traditional territories. A land acknowledgement is a simple, yet powerful step toward ongoing awareness and correcting the stories and practices that diminish Indigenous …Read More

A little faith goes a long way is Jesus’ point in the gospel. A mustard seed’s worth of faith has miraculous potential. The patience, tenacity, and endurance required for the life of faith are the blessings received in holy baptism, holy communion, and the word read and proclaimed in this assembly. Anticipate them. Receive them …Read More

Consideration of and care for those in need (especially those “at our gate,” visible to us, of whom we are aware) is an essential component of good stewardship. It is in the sharing of wealth that we avoid the snare of wealth. It is the one whom death could not hold—who comes to us risen …Read More

As we are invited today to consider what it means to be managers (rather than owners) of all that we have, it is crucial to recognize that we are bought with a price. “Christ Jesus, himself human, . . . gave himself a ransom for all.” Apart from the generosity of God we have nothing—we …Read More

The grumbling of the religious leaders in today’s gospel is actually our holy hope: This Jesus welcomes sinners and eats with them. That our God seeks and saves the lost is not only a holy hope, it is our only hope. As the writer of 1 Timothy reminds us, “The saying is sure and worthy …Read More

Called to contemplate the cost of discipleship, we might be helped by translating Paul’s request to Philemon into our prayer of the day: Refresh my heart in Christ. Strengthened by the company and forgiveness of Christ in holy communion and recalling God’s grace in remembrance of baptism, we can be strengthened in this hour to …Read More

Invited and inviting—that is the nature of the church. By God’s grace in holy baptism, we have a place at Christ’s banquet table. When, by the power of that same Spirit, humility and mutual love continue among us, the church can be more inviting still.

Remember the sabbath day. Call the sabbath a delight. This is the Lord’s day, and the Lord will do for us what the Lord does: feed us, forgive us, help and heal us. Rejoice at all the wonderful things God is doing.

The word of God is a refining fire. Jesus is the great divide in human history. He invites our undivided attention and devotion. Today in worship we are surrounded by a great “cloud of witnesses.” In the word and in holy communion we are invited yet again to look to Jesus, “the pioneer and perfecter …Read More

We welcome our new Southwestern Washington Synod Bishop Keith Marshall!  He was elected to serve a 6 year term during our Synod Assembly on June 13-14 at the Olson Auditorium at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma. Siblings in Christ of the Southwestern Washington Synod, Grace and peace to you all! As I officially begin serving …Read More

The Rev. Yehiel Curry was elected July 30 to serve a six-year term as presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The election took place during the 2025 ELCA Churchwide Assembly being held July 28–Aug. 2 at the Phoenix (Ariz.) Convention Center. Curry was elected on the fifth ballot. There were 799 …Read More

On Sunday, July 13, St. Mark celebrated naming Rev. David I. Nelson as our Pastor Emeritus. What is a Pastor Emeritus?  The word “Emeritus” means “retired, but retaining one’s title or rank.” The title of “Pastor Emeritus” is an honorary title given to retired pastors to recognize and show appreciation for the life-long service of …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so.

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so.

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://www.youtube.com/live/8W3qaQFBCdc?feature=shared

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/dUvL2CdBNLY

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/QzC6T6qbtYw

On Sunday July 6 during worship, Pastor Beth formally installed our new council members and officers and recognized those members continuing on to serve as well. New members Kate Delozier and Vicki Powers were elected at last month’s annual congregational meeting. Both of these have served on the council in the past.   Members are …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/JunoyNq9ztg

“Whenever we have an opportunity, let us work for the good of all and especially for those of the family of faith.”  —Galatians 6:10 Dear church, Today the U.S. Congress passed a budget package that will have a monumental impact on many in the country and on our ministries and communities. The scope of the …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/npXbGHkNUQ8

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/brkvvv3dKmg

[Please forgive the Video missing at the start – OBS Streaming Software Glitch] Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. “O Lord our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” Today we celebrate the holy Trinity. Paul writes …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he told his disciples they would be filled with the Holy Spirit. Now, amid signs of fire, wind, and a variety of languages, the people were amazed and astonished …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. It is possible to hear in Jesus’ high priestly prayer, a prayer he offered shortly before his death, the petitions of the ascended Christ for his own throughout history—to our day—and beyond. Jesus prays …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. Visions abound in the readings for the sixth Sunday of Easter. Paul has a vision about what to do. John has a vision of what will be. Jesus provides visions of peace that surpasses …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/5srUyonk1rs

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/ZUUY6r5MPvY

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/oALWC70VfIw

Join us the second Sunday of May, June, July, August and September at 6pm for this unique, wonderful service of contemporary, popular rock music!  Invite your friends!

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/Kf_VgxkPY6w

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/attJTrbLyrY

Please join us for an intimate Good Friday service, featuring the great John Martin. https://youtube.com/live/UUitz9lvH7g

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/-I9NEfC5WWc

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/XxgUnZXhOlY

All are welcome to our Holy Week and Easter worship services as we reflect on Christ’s life, death, and resurrection and on who we are as the Body of Christ in the world today. April 11 + Palm Sunday + 10:00AM April 17 + Maundy Thursday + 7:00PM April 18 + Good Friday + 12noon …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/06gb42pMY6c

  Peter has been attending St. Mark for quite some time, and last fall, he decided to become a member. Peter submitted the following notes, so the congregation can get to know more about him and his family. “I was born in Pasadena, California but grew up in Michigan. I was raised in the Lutheran …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/M1kmquWnkuw

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/pSujlVvgH_8

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/gT2cJMsubVM?feature=share

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/NclM_I-fAoA

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/2ecjkroysp0

We welcome you to our Mid-week gatherings during Lent. Lent is the 40 days before Easter. It is a more reflective, contemplative time in the church year where we reflect on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and consider what it means to follow Jesus.  Each Wednesday during Lent (March 12, 19, 26, April …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/_vaGS79VFCQ

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/mabZomTj3mY

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/xH4Q1b1gWME

I was born and raised in Blackfoot, Idaho on a dairy farm.  I am the oldest and have 3 younger sisters who live in three different states. I married in 1967. I had two kids, a daughter and a son. My daughter, son-in-law, two grandsons and their wives live in Lacey, WA.  My son lives …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/SWmFaUqaVss

Watchfulness and Response A Message from Bishop Rick Jaech   January 28, 2025   What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? (Micah 6:8)   Dear Members of the Southwestern Washington Synod,   As citizens of the United States and as followers of Christ, …Read More

January 24, 2025 Dear church, On Monday, our nation witnessed the peaceful transfer of power central to our democracy, followed by sweeping actions by the incoming Trump administration. Facing such changes, we receive guidance through Martin Luther’s words in the Large Catechism. In the fourth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, where we pray “Give us …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. God’s glory is revealed in the reading of scripture. People stand at attention. People weep. People prostrate themselves in prayer. The unity of the church is another reflection of God’s glory. Most gloriously, the …Read More

A message from the ELCA Region One Bishops: As Lutherans, we are called to live out the teachings of Jesus Christ, who welcomed strangers and emphasized love, mercy, and justice for all people. We believe that every human being, regardless of their country of origin or legal status, is created in the image of God …Read More

Welcome to today’s service. If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/ilKCLGhOVcE

Welcome to today’s service. Wade in the water to remember your baptism! If you would like to participate during communion, please have wine and bread ready to do so. https://youtube.com/live/StGWNsTBVMM