YAMICHE ALCINDOR
American journalist who currently is the White House correspondent for the PBS Newshour program. Political contributor to NBC News and MSNBC. Also worked as a reporter for The New York Times and USA Today.

Yamiche Alcindor is the White House correspondent for the PBS News Hour and a contributor for NBC News and MSNBC.
Before joining News Hour, she worked as a national political reporter for The New York Times where she covered presidential campaigns, Congress and wrote about the impact of President Donald Trump’s policies on working class people and people of color.
She often tells stories about the intersection of race and politics as well as fatal police encounters. She’s also traveled extensively to closely cover the campaigns of Senator Bernie Sanders and President Trump. Before joining The Times, she was a national breaking news reporter for USA Today and traveled across the country to cover stories including the school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut the death of Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida and the police related protests in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland.
She earned a master’s degree in broadcast news and documentary filmmaking from New York University and a bachelor’s in English, government and African American studies from Georgetown University. A native of Miami, Florida, Yamiche is the daughter of Haitian immigrants who met while attending Boston College.

      There is widespread delight in the timing for the first Sunday in November… November 3 is fall back Sunday… so please don’t forget your extra hour of renewing sleep as you prepare to come to church on Sunday morning.

     November 3 is also All Saints Sunday in the church calendar, the day on which you and I will remember all the saints who have gone before us and modeled love and faith for our lives. I invite you, on that morning, to bring a picture or other memento of a person who has been a saint for you. There will be a table at the front of the sanctuary where you can place your symbols of your saints. The Sermon on the Mount focus for that day will be what is called the Golden Rule… treat others in the same way that you want people to treat you. The saints have given us powerful examples of how this is done.

     During the first three weeks of November the church will continue to gather commitment cards from everyone as we work together to underwrite the excellent ministries which are the St. Mark’s United Methodist Church. As you know from your own personal budgeting process… nothing is getting less expensive and the needs are growing month by month. St. Mark’s plays a vital role in building a community of compassion and care in Sacramento and around the world. Please give as faithfully and generously as you can during 2020. There is much work needing to be done and financial support is an essential component of making ministry happen within the community.

     November 17 will be the last Sunday of the series on the Sermon on the Mount and will be the final Sunday of the season of commitment. Please make sure that you complete your commitment card before that day and either put it in the offering plate or send it to the church office. Thank you!

     On Tuesday November 19, the annual Interfaith Thanksgiving Service will be held this year at Congregation Beth Shalom at 7:00pm. This is always a highlight of community life, as everyone is invited to share what they are thankful for and religious leaders offer brief prayers from their tradition. Please plan to be there if you are able. It is always a powerful time of sharing. This date is the week before Thanksgiving week, which is a change from previous years.

Sunday November 24 is Thanksgiving Sunday in church. Again, there will opportunities to share personal and community thanksgivings.

     And then it is time to start thinking about Christmas!    Advent Sunday this year is December 1, it comes just one week after Thanksgiving Sunday. Our District Superintendent, Rev. Schuyler Rhodes will be preaching. It is also the day for our annual All-Church Charge Conference, as well as the day for celebrating with the children at Adventure. Brunch will follow the morning service… then the Charge Conference at noon… leading into Adventure which continues through the afternoon until 4:00pm.

     Rev. Mahsea Evans, I am certainly going to miss Mahsea’s powerful presence in Sunday morning worship services but do please remember that he will be on staff for two more months, until the end of the year. His 20 hours of work at St. Mark’s will be continued work with the youth program and keeping us organized in pastoral care. His schedule is not fully determined as yet, but he certainly plans to be in the office at St. Mark’s on Thursdays. The congregation at Roseville First UMC will be very blessed to have Rev. Mahsea Evans as their pastor.

     A farewell event for Rev. Mahsea Evans will
be held in early January, at a time and date to
be determined.

 10 Ways to Build Inner Strength

       While searching for something on the internet, I discovered this article by Dr. Karin L. Smithson published on the Huffington Post Blog January, 2014.  It represents experiences most of us can relate to and so it is published here.  Some small edits have been made to shorten the article. 

     Stress can hit us from all sides.   Life will deliver blows, knocking you off balance with a sense of weakening confusion and a total loss of how to get your feet back under you again. And it can leave you feeling paralyzed from your head to your soul. You can’t even remember what it feels like to “be normal.”

You ask yourself, “Will I ever feel strong again?”

    You are not alone.  Over the past year, I have used web analytics to see what people are typing into search engines to find my inspiration-based blog. I kept asking myself, “What are people really looking for?” What I discovered touched me deeply. The most commonly searched words that bring people to my site are:

“Inner strength.”

     Every hour of every day, people are seeking ways to pull themselves out of crisis and feel “normal” again — feel strong again. I’ve been there, too, and it is the main reason why I was led to become a therapist. So I am writing this in hopes of helping you find your strength again, too.

     First, here is what I believe completely: you can.

     It is inspiring to know that you really can do something to make yourself stronger. Since part of survival is accepting that you cannot change outside circumstances or people, it is imperative to accept and feel empowered by the realization that you can transform yourself. It’s a super power. Yes, you can, and here are some pointers to help you get there.

1. Look back on your survival instincts of the past.Remind yourself of times when you survived, got through challenges, and even surprised yourself. See strength in your own abilities and fighting power. Don’t underestimate your own resilience. You have roared before and will roar again.
2. Trust your inner pilot light — your core. Find power in your inner self and know that you were created with a spirit as your force field, even if it feels weakened. Your glow is not extinguishable, and it was created to rekindle itself.
3. Focus on the story of your entire life beyond the crisis.Practice seeing yourself rise above the pain, looking back and peering forward at the values, experiences and goals of your whole life. Remind yourself that you are bigger than this, and that you will get back to you again. You have a lot of living yet to do.
4. Lean on your “trusted few” — friends, family, or counselors who know you and who will root for you without judgment.Ask for understanding, encouragement and TLC. Ask them to remind you of your strengths and listen to them. That is why these blessed relationships are in your life, and one day, you might do the same for them.
5. Find motivation from your outer strength. The key to feeling strong is holistically creating a solid foundation. While your energy levels might be low, make sure that you are doing something — anything — to tend to your physical self. Lift weights (even if they are soup cans), walk in nature, feed your body healthy food and get your sleep.
6. Make real attempts to be surrounded by positive people and atmospheres that make you feel good, energized and motivated. Limit any time around negative people or energy. Exit if you are starting to feel bad about yourself. Stay longer if you are feeling inspired.
7. Keep a “feel-good folder” of emails, letters and compliments that remind you how fierce you are. Anytime you receive a compliment that makes you feel strong, save it in a real or electronic file. You will likely forget the praise when you are at your lowest, and this will give you evidence of the positive effects you have on people’s lives. Let these words validate your worth, breathing hope over you again.
8. Carve out time to do that thing that you are really good at.Part of pulling yourself out of a sad place is reminding your body how to release endorphins back into your system. A quick way to do this is to do what you have loved in the past — your system will reward you. Do you love playing piano? Painting? Writing? Singing? Crafting? Working on cars? Skiing? Whatever made you feel good about you in the past is what your body needs right now. Often.
9. Do something meaningful in the meantime, as time will keep passing anyway.These were some of the wisest words ever spoken to me and why I started volunteering and taking classes after the bottom dropped out of my world. They were actually the two things that ended up making me feel the strongest in the long run. Volunteer. Create something. Finish your degree. Paint that room. Be constructive and your heart will strengthen while you’re not looking.
10. Develop and nurture a spiritual connection to a higher power, a purpose greater than this. Ask for spiritual guidance, comfort and grounding in your journey. Stay open to receiving divine gifts in the most wonderful, surprising ways, and believe that you deserve them when they show up. Meditate. Pray. Be mindful. Trust that you are going to move past this thing and that the universe wants that for you as well.

     Yes, it does. And yes, you can

      Campus Security is more than door locks and security patrols. We need to protect staff, church members, visitors, and our property from harm from the few visitors who misbehave. The burden falls most heavily on Shatara Travis and Adrian Nelson, but they cannot do this alone. If any of us observes misbehavior on campus and does nothing to correct it, the behavior is likely to be repeated and perhaps grow worse. “If you see something, say something” should be our guide within the church community as well as beyond. Yet, we need to know what to say in difficult situations while communicating without putting ourselves at risk. Planning is beginning to develop guidelines for potentially difficult conversations. If you want to join this planning discussion, please contact Jim Eychaner at: jeychaner@stmarksumc.com or 916.481.7062.

Chris Harris, John & Miriam McCormack, and Lori White, for posting pictures of church activities on the St. Mark’s Facebook page

Iola Halligan, for creating artistic felt banners, now hanging in MacMurdo Hall, depicting several years of United Methodist Studies

Mary Czech, for creating beautiful alter arrangements each week

Cheryl Fuller, for coordinating fresh goodies for the coffee hour following weekly worship

Sharon Goodman, for straightening pew materials and for serving as an Usher until recently. For collating bulletins every Friday.

Joann Bryan, Sharon Goodman, Jacquie Taber, Pat Massagli for collating Markings monthly.
Carol Dorris for filling in sometimes to collate when needed.

Curt and Erika Johnson for taking Markings to West Sacramento to be mailed every month.

Dan Mattos, for building a wall to separate two bathrooms in the Education building

Tony Haywood, Dan Mattos, Brad Collins,
Bill Keye, and Jim Eychaner for their superior skills in ditch-digging and archeological interpretation as they addressed the water leak in the garden area!!

Ed Martin, for removing dead limbs from trees in the main parking lot, and shaping the plum trees along the west side of the Sanctuary

Cath Fenimore Brown, for selecting the artistic slides that inspire us during Sunday Worship

Community Advocacy

     Sometimes it feels like advocacy is a lonely, thankless task, so it is important to recognize and celebrate successes when they happen. In the past few weeks, Governor Newsom has signed over a dozen bills addressing various facets of our state’s housing and homelessness crisis. Although it has many causes, one undeniable factor that drives people into homelessness is the lack of affordable rental and ownership housing. Newsom has signed bills to force cities and counties to increase housing density and permit accessory dwelling units, limit rent increases, provide greater protection against unjust evictions, and prevent landlords from refusing to rent to people with Housing Choice Vouchers, to name just a few. Each of these alone will not solve the crisis, but taken together, represent significant progress.

     Sacramento ACT, of which St. Mark’s is a member, has a very active group focused on ending homelessness in our region. The group meets at
St. Mark’s on the third Friday of each month at 10:00am, and you are welcome to attend. To help people stay informed and up-to-date, Rick Eaton  produces a weekly email summary of homelessness and housing news; to subscribe, send Rick an email at rick.melvin.eaton@gmail.com.

 Tell Congress: Protect Refugees 

         As a United Methodist, church teaches that “Migrant rights are human rights” (cf. United Methodist Church Resolution #6025 Globalization and its Impact on Human Dignity and Human Rights). The United Methodist Church reminds  everyone “Christians do not approach the issue of migration from the perspective of tribe or nation, but from within a faith community of love and welcome” (cf. United Methodist Church Resolution #6028 Global Migration and the Quest for Justice).
     Update: “In 2020, a ceiling of 18,000 has been set effectively gutting refugee resettlement (in 2019 it was 30,000). The president has also signed an executive order that clears the way for state and local governments to block refugees from their communities.”
     Your Senators and Representative need to hear from you why refugee resettlement in the U.S. is important as a matter of justice.

     Please email through this source: www.umcjustice.org/what-you-can-do/advocacy/take-action/stand-with-immigrants-and-refugees

     Messy Church is a once-a-month, Saturday evening time of activities for all ages, fellowship, and celebration, capped off with a shared meal. Messy Church continues to meet on the first Saturday, from 5:00pm to 7:00pm, in Grace Café.

     The Messy Church program is a way of connecting individuals and families to the Christian faith by focusing on fun, fellowship, creativity, hospitality, and celebration. Messy Church offers Christ centered values for all ages. It provides a wonderful option for people who find it uncomfortable on Sunday morning and those looking for an alternative worship experience.     Visit www.stmarksumc.com/Messychurch for more information.

Save the date St. Mark’s Crab Feed is on February 29, 2020!  The fun will happen at The La Sierra Community Center 5325 Engle Road, Carmichael. If you would like to help with this year’s event, please contact Tom Grant at tandcgrant@sbcglobal.net”