Here’s a peek at where we’re headed in our The Grace of Les Miserables series!

February 22: “The First Move is God’s” (Pastor Karla) – we begin where grace breaks in first: the Bishop’s unexpected mercy toward Jean Valjean. It’s a story about grace that moves toward us before we have our act together—and the way radical hospitality can change a life’s direction.

March 1: “The Long Game of Being Saved” (Pastor Nathan) – Choosing the good isn’t always an obvious choice. Grace may be easily offered, but it takes a lifetime to accept and understand.

March 8: “Is Grace Ever Just?” (Pastor Nathan) – What happens when grace and justice try to occupy the same space at the same time? Could it be that grace and justice are one and the same?

March 15: “The Great Human Invention” (Pastor Karla) – Poverty doesn’t have to be. This great human invention affects everything it touches. For some it leads to perseverance. For others, poverty destroys the soul. What is our role in combating poverty?

March 22: “Desire, Loyalty, and Greatness” (Pastor Nathan) – Love can often be a placeholder when we don’t quite know how we feel. This week we will dive into what it means that “the greatest of these is love.”

March 29: “Do You Hear the People Sing? (Pastor Karla) – This week we will dive into the unspoken miracle of Palm Sunday – no one drew a sword. This reveals the kind of Messiah Jesus was. Yes, we are to stand up for what we believe, but what does the gospel call us to do?

April 5: “A Tale of Three Gardens” (Easter Sunday) (Pastor Nathan) – As we celebrate the risen Jesus, we recognize that blessings are perpetually around us.

So, how can you join in?

• Come to worship each Sunday in Lent. Bring a friend! This is a wonderful series for someone who’s curious about faith but not sure where to start.
• Join a small group for the weekly study conversation (details on times and sign-ups will be shared in the usual places).
• Lean into the experience. You’ll hear familiar themes through fresh angles that help carry worship into the week.

Lent is never about “trying harder” to impress God. Lent is about making room – room for repentance, room for healing, room for forgiveness, room for God to re-shape us. This year, we’ll make that room together, guided by the gospel and reminded again (and again) that grace is not just an idea. Grace is God’s gift, moving toward us, steady and strong.

I’m looking forward to walking this road with you.

Grace & Peace,
Pastor Karla

Holy Week Worship Services

Easter Sunday
April 5
9:00 & 11:00 AM

9:00 AM – Traditional service.
In-person and livestream available.

11:00 AM – The Current service.
In-person and livestream available.

Wings of Hope: Lenten Offering & Easter Card Campaign

Honor someone special this Lenten season with a gift through St. Mark’s Wings of Hope Campaign. Your Lenten offerings this year will benefit Brightwood Community Center, whose mission is to transform lives by fostering community empowerment for youth, adults, and families through health, wellness, and community safety programming.

Make a gift In Honor, In Memory, or In Appreciation of a special person or group. Honorees will receive an Easter Card from St. Mark’s acknowledging your gift and celebrating the Resurrection of Christ. Your donations are given directly to Brightwood Community Center to help them continue to share healthy and nourishing food with hungry people.

Contact Amy Adams with questions at mailto:aadams@stmarkscarmel.org.

Lenten Activities & Resources

Family Devotionals

This Lent, you are invited to pick up a 40-day devotional experience from one of our mission partners, the Society of St. Andrew. The daily readings and prayers in this year’s Blessed are the Meek devotional explore Christian humility, service, and strength unfolding in the scriptures and daily life.

Few of us aspire to meekness. Yet the scriptures routinely raise up small, lowly, poor, meek, and humble persons as testimony against institutions, societies, and leaders who use power against them. Written by faithful voices from across the country, these daily devotions invite you to slow down, open Scripture, embrace the quiet courage of meekness, and be shaped by the Lord who blesses the meek. (“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” — Matthew 5:5)

Pick up your copies of devotionals for adults and kids from the table near the Café.

Children’s Lenten Materials

Lenten activity booklets for children will be available in the church narthex beginning Sunday, 2/15. Plan to pick up your family’s copy prior to the start of Lent (Ash Wednesday, 2/18). There will be materials for adults and children to enhance the 40-day season of Lent!

Palm Sunday Procession of Palms
March 29 | 9 & 11 AM Services

On Palm Sunday, March 29th, children and youth, ages 4 – high school, are invited to participate in a procession of palms in the sanctuary during the prelude music at both the 9:00 AM and 11:00 AM services. Please see Joyce Click for questions or to get a palm before the service.

If you have questions, please contact Joyce Click at jclick@stmarkscarmel.org.

United Methodist Men
2026 Hamilton County Lenten Breakfast Series:

All St. Mark’s men are invited to attend the 2025 Lenten Breakfast Series hosted by several Hamilton County Methodist Churches this year, including St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. Each Saturday morning breakfast includes good food, a speaker and fellowship with other Methodist men in the county.
Breakfasts are at 7:30 each Saturday starting on March 7. You can go to the church directly or join us at St. Mark’s at 7:00 am to carpool to the breakfast. The theme is “examining self and passing the test” and the offering will go to Hamilton County Meals on Wheels.

Schedule:

• March 7  Cicero UMC, 100 E Jackson St, Cicero 
• March 14  Sheridan UMC, 207 E 2nd St, Sheridan
• March 21  Emmanuel UMC 16000 Cumberland Road, Noblesville
• March 28  Christ Westfield UMC 318 N Union St, Westfield

Each year, St. Mark’s Chancel is filled with spring flowers in celebration of Easter. The flowers are provided by the congregation. This year we will be offering Tulips for the cost of $8.00 per pot and may be given in honor of, or in memory of a friend, loved one, group, etc. Deadline to purchase is April 1. Names will then be listed in the bulletin on Easter Sunday, April 5.

Please check back to complete the form.

Please note: Flowers may be picked up after the 11 AM Easter service.