AGO Hymn Festival at St. Mark's on Sunday, September 27th at 7:00 p.m.

The Jacksonville Chapter of the American Guild of Organists will host a hymn festival titled: The Church of Christ: A Mission to Serve. The festival features hymns and readings around a theme of peace and justice. Each hymn will be played by a different member of the chapter. Some of the organists scheduled to play are: Rodney Cleveland (Lakewood Presbyterian Church and Chapter Dean), Zach Klobnack (All Saints Episcopal Church), Matt Daniel (St. Margaret's Episcopal Church), Jane Daugherty (St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church), Tony Testino (Interim at Geneva Presbyterian Church), Tim Mack (Holy Cross Lutheran) and David Emery (St. Matthew's Catholic Church).

The public is invited to attend and sing! An offering will be taken to support the work of the guild and a reception will follow.

Kingdom Choir for Grades 1 - 6 Begins on September 13th

Children are not just the church of tomorrow, they are also the church today! Our singers in the Kingdom Choir prove that each time they lead in worship.

This choir, for children in grades 1 - 6, prepares music for Sunday morning worship and attends a Chorister's Guild music festival annually. This year's festival will be held on February 27th in Winter Park. Singers learn to read music, provide music for services at St. Mark's, and have a good time doing it! Rehearsals are held after the 11:00 service each Sunday and last about one hour.

Contact Tony Cruz for more information.

Pictured: Singers and their parents who attended last year's Choristers Guild festival

San Marco Chamber Music Society: Sunday, September 13th at 7:00 p.m.

The first concert of the San Marco Chamber Music Society's 2009/10 season will be a benefit concert for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. It will be held Sunday, September 13 at 7PM at St. Mark's Evangelical Lutheran Church, 3976 Hendricks Avenue, Jacksonville 32207.Come and enjoy the fine acoustics of St. Mark's as we play the music of Reger, Bach, Eichner, Telemann, Britten, and Saint-Saens. Eric Olson, oboe; Karen Pommerich, violin; Ellen Olson, viola; and Edith Moore-Hubert will be the featured performers. The concert is free, and there will be a free will offering to benefit JDRF. The first $200 raised will be matched by Thrivent Financial for Lutherans. After the concert, please enjoy refreshments in Hart Hall with the musicians.

An Invitation to Singers: Bach Vespers on November 8, 2009

Singers from the community are invited to join St. Mark's in singing a Bach Vespers service, with orchestra, on November 8th at 6:00 p.m. This year's cantata is Bleib bei uns, denn es will Abend werden (Stay With Us For Evening Falls), written for Easter Monday and first sung nearly 300 years ago on April 2, 1725. There is no charge to be a part of the choir. Rehearsals are on Saturday mornings from 10:00 to 12:00 on October 17th, 24th, and 31st. The dress rehearsal with orchestra is on Saturday, November 7th at 2:00 p.m. (I put the dress rehearsal in bold type because it is not our usual time; however, it's a busy week for many of our orchestra players and was the only available time.)
For more information, contact Tony Cruz at vespers@comcast.net, or by calling the church at 396-9608 x18.
St. Mark's has a long tradition of singing Bach Vespers as part of its musical outreach to the community. We hope that you will become a part of the tradition this year!