An East Toledo Congregation with Two Worship Styles Side by Side
St. Mark Lutheran Church sits a half mile from the Maumee River on Woodville Road, in the heart of East Toledo, a neighborhood where the wood-frame houses and small corner storefronts of an older Toledo district still define daily life. For more than 130 years - and across multiple generations of families in the same pew - the congregation has gathered at 611 Woodville Road to worship, to teach its children, and to keep a steady open door for its neighbors.
The church is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a member of the Northwestern Ohio Synod, and identifies with a sacramental Lutheran tradition that centers the real presence of Christ in Holy Communion and the grace of God at the heart of Christian life. Anyone who walks in the doors hears the same greeting: "Whoever you are, whatever your journey, you are welcome here."
St. Mark is known for offering two clearly different Sunday worship styles under one roof. At 8:30 a.m. the congregation gathers for a traditional, liturgical service led by Kim Fletcher at the pipe organ and Cheryl Dunlap's traditional choir. At 10:30 a.m. the same sanctuary fills again with a contemporary praise service led by a band and a praise choir. Both services last about an hour, both include music, prayer, and a sermon grounded in a Biblical text, and both are deliberately designed to be excellent in music and execution so that worshipers can focus fully on the presence of God. In the summer (June through August) the schedule collapses to a single combined service at 9:30 a.m.
Finding Your Way In: Practical Details for First-Time Visitors
The church sits at 611 Woodville Rd, Toledo, OH 43605, and getting into the parking lot takes a little attention: drivers approaching from the west need to pass the church, turn onto Prentice Avenue, and come around the back to reach the lot. The building is a few minutes from any corner of East Toledo and is a regular stopping point for neighbors who come for the monthly meal and pantry distribution.
Sunday mornings begin with parking-lot greeters and move into a building staffed by ushers, communion assistants, and a team running the livestream booth. Children's programming runs at the same hour as adult programming: at 9:30 a.m., kids gather for SMASH (St. Mark Adventure Starts Here) Sunday School in the downstairs Kids Zone off the Fellowship Hall, confirmation students in grades 6 through 8 meet in their own classroom, high school students gather for a relaxed hour of fellowship and conversation, and adults join Pastor Beth for a Bible study and conversation based on current events. Between the two morning services, the whole congregation shares fellowship time with coffee and conversation.
First-time guests do not need to dress a particular way. The traditional service draws a mix of suits and casual clothes, and the 10:30 service is similarly relaxed. Children of all ages are welcome in worship; a children's message is part of every Sunday service so that even the youngest worshipers hear directly from the pastor. Communion is celebrated at both Sunday services, and all who wish to receive it are invited to the altar.
Inside Worship: Liturgy and Praise, Side by Side
Worship is the centerpiece of life at St. Mark, and the intentional split between liturgical and contemporary is one of the things members talk about most. The 8:30 a.m. traditional service uses the historic orders of worship, set pieces sung by the choir, and the full pipe organ. The 10:30 a.m. praise service uses modern songs, a band, and a praise choir, with the same sermon preached at both services. Returning worshipers notice the care Pastor Beth Giller takes with the Biblical text: each week's sermon is rooted in a specific passage and presented in a responsible, meaningful way.
Music is taken seriously on both sides. The traditional choir, led by Cheryl Dunlap, sings anthems and supports the congregation's hymn-singing from behind the organ loft. The praise band and praise choir work with the same musical standard at the 10:30 service. The children's ministry adds another layer with its own Sunday morning music programming as part of SMASH.
For those who cannot attend in person, every Sunday service is livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube, with the stream usually beginning about five minutes before worship. The replay remains available on both platforms after worship has ended, so the entire worship life of the congregation is accessible from home, from a hospital room, or from anywhere with an internet connection. St. Mark also runs a brief weekday devotional livestream called Pause for Prayer, hosted by Pastor Beth Giller at 5 p.m. on weekdays through Facebook Live.
Know, Live, Share: The Church's Vision in Three Words
St. Mark distills its purpose into a single sentence: "At St. Mark, we glorify Jesus Christ when we know, live, and share the Word." The congregation knows the Word through Bible study, worship, and relationships with Jesus and one another. It lives the Word through prayer, perseverance, and the power of the Spirit. It shares the Word by boldly crossing boundaries and welcoming all.
That three-part rhythm shapes everything else. Knowing the Word is the work of Sunday School, the adult Bible study between services, Wednesday Bible study with Pastor Cindy Ritter in the Ladies Lounge and on Zoom, and Confirmation for teenagers. Living the Word is the work of Stephen Ministry, prayer, and the everyday life of the congregation. Sharing the Word is the work of the food pantry, the neighborhood dinner, the Second Hand Store, the EDGE Youth Mission Team, and the church's welcome to everyone who walks through its doors, including its LGBTQ+ members and friends.
What the Church Believes, in Its Own Words
St. Mark teaches the central Lutheran conviction that salvation is by grace: "While we do good things for other people, we serve others not to 'earn' our way to heaven, but instead to show our gratitude for the mercy and grace God has shown to us." The Bible is the inspired Word of God and the revealed, contemporary presence of God in the world today, and every Sunday sermon is based on a Biblical text.
The congregation celebrates two sacraments: Holy Communion and Holy Baptism. In Communion, St. Mark teaches Martin Luther's confession that Jesus Christ is present "in, with, and under" the bread and wine, and the congregation welcomes to the table all who wish to receive. First Communion is most often received in fifth grade, after a Communion Connection instruction event and a First Communion rite on All Saints Sunday. Babies are usually baptized when they are infants, with parents and sponsors pledging to walk with them until they are old enough to take ownership of their faith for themselves - which in Lutheran practice happens at Confirmation, generally in eighth grade after three years of instruction.
St. Mark's 2015 congregational decision to affirm and perform same-sex marriages is part of its public identity. The 2016 marriage policy states explicitly: "St. Mark Lutheran Church states that any couple who is able to obtain a legal marriage license in the State of Ohio is permitted to wed in the sanctuary or offsite using the pastor or staff member called/employed by the congregation." The church welcomes all who wish to worship and serve, including its LGBTQ+ friends, and treats the decision as a faithful expression of the gospel.
Sunday School and Confirmation: Where the Next Generation Grows Up
Children's ministry is run under the name SMASH, which stands for St. Mark Adventure Starts Here. SMASH Sunday School runs from 9:30 to 10:25 a.m. on Sundays during the program year (typically September through May), serving children age 3 through fifth grade. The program meets in the downstairs Kids Zone, just off the Fellowship Hall, and uses music, Bible stories, crafts, and games to introduce children to Jesus. To keep children safe, every child must be registered before attending, and registration forms are open each spring for the following school year.
Confirmation at St. Mark, also called Affirmation of Baptism, is a three-year spiritual growth experience for students in grades 6 through 8, designed to give young people the tools to take ownership of their faith in Jesus and affirm the promises made at their baptism. The current program's theme is "Discipleship," and confirmation students meet on Sunday mornings during the education hour. Each year ends with a Confirmation Sunday service in which students publicly affirm their faith.
First Communion preparation runs alongside these ministries through a Communion Connection instruction event aimed at fifth graders and any adult who wishes to revisit the sacrament. The event digs into the scriptural basis of Holy Communion, Luther's Small Catechism, and several intergenerational activities, with a culminating First Communion rite at the 10:30 service on All Saints Sunday.
EDGE Youth: Middle School, High School, and a Mission Team that Travels
EDGE is the youth ministry at St. Mark, gathering students in grades 6 through 12 for monthly events, devotions, and fellowship under the leadership of Emily Hemminger, the Youth and Family Life Director. The high school component of EDGE includes a Mission Team that travels each summer on week-long mission trips, both near Toledo and across the country. Past trips have taken the team to New Orleans, Louisiana; Yakima, Washington; Huntington, West Virginia; Houston, Texas; Boston, Massachusetts; and Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, among other places. Students from incoming ninth graders through graduating seniors are invited to apply.
When the pandemic pulled youth ministry out of the building, EDGE pivoted to a combination of video check-ins, Zoom youth group meetings on Wednesday evenings from 8 to 9 p.m., and frequent social posts at @stmark_edge on Instagram and in the "EDGE - St. Mark Youth" Facebook group. SMASH kept running through Facebook Live Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. for Fort Family Night. The in-person rhythm has now returned, but the digital infrastructure remains in place for any family that needs it.
The Kids Night and Wednesday Programs
On the second Wednesday of every month, the Fellowship Hall opens at 3:30 p.m. for St. Mark Kids Night, an afternoon designed for children from PreK through eighth grade. Free play starts the afternoon, structured programming follows at 4:30, and dinner - prepared by the kids themselves with the help of Chef Michael Armstrong - is served at 5:30, with pickup at 6. During the same window, kid-sized grocery bags are distributed, giving Kids Night a built-in food-pantry component for the families who attend.
The other Wednesday-morning adult education offering is Bible study with Pastor Cindy Ritter, currently working through "The Message of Jesus: Words That Changed the World" by Adam Hamilton. The morning class meets at 9:30 a.m. in the Ladies Lounge, and the evening session meets at 7:11 p.m. on Zoom so that working adults can join in. The study covers Jesus's teaching on the Kingdom of God, the Sermon on the Mount, the parables, the "I am" sayings in John, and other core texts.
Reaching Beyond the Sanctuary: East Toledo Neighborhood Ministry
The most visible sign of St. Mark's outreach to the neighborhood is the monthly Neighborhood Dinner, which takes place on the last Wednesday of each month from 4 to 6 p.m. The format is built on hospitality and dignity: doors open at 4 p.m., bagged groceries and toiletries are handed out at 4:15 p.m., and a sit-down dinner is served at 5 p.m. alongside a free Second Hand Store where guests can pick out clothes and household goods. Entry into the Second Hand Store is chosen at random during the evening. The dinner is open to anyone in the community, and dozens of volunteers from the church come alongside their neighbors each month.
St. Mark also keeps a year-round food pantry that is restocked by donations from members and the wider community. The most-needed items are soup, fruit, cereal, and personal hygiene products for both men and women. Donations of home goods go to the Second Hand Store. Anyone can drop off donations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. or on Sunday mornings.
The congregation takes its identity as an outreach church so seriously that it has invested significant energy in partnerships with other East Toledo congregations and the Northwestern Ohio Synod through the East Toledo Parish Plan. The plan, approved in 2021, created a three-year experiment in collaborative ministry with Bethlehem Lutheran Church and the Synod, retaining each congregation's individual identity while pooling pastoral resources to serve the wider neighborhood more effectively.
Recovery, Grief, and Pastoral Care
St. Mark hosts two long-running recovery groups in its building. Alcoholics Anonymous meets on Tuesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, and AL-ANON meets on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in the Chapel. These groups are a steady fixture of St. Mark's community life, drawing people from the wider East Toledo area as well as members of the congregation.
The congregation also runs a Stephen Ministry program, which trains lay members to provide one-to-one Christian care for people walking through difficult seasons - illness, grief, job loss, divorce, or other major transitions. Stephen Ministers listen, encourage, pray with and for those they serve, and walk alongside them for as long as the need lasts. The program is paired with a Pastoral Care staff role that allows Pastor Cindy Ritter and the team to visit members who are hospitalized, homebound, or otherwise unable to attend Sunday worship.
Beyond these structured programs, St. Mark invites anyone to contact the church office if they are looking for help. The "Find Help" area of the church's ministry includes the food pantry and Second Hand Store, the recovery groups, Stephen Ministry, and connections to wider community resources.
Music, Weddings, and the Calendar Year
Music is one of the loudest signatures of St. Mark. The traditional choir and the praise band and choir each rehearse weekly under their directors, and the music program is woven through worship, special services, and seasonal celebrations. The traditional choir's primary role is the 8:30 liturgy, while the praise band and praise choir lead the 10:30 service. Both choral groups are open to new members; volunteers interested in joining either program are invited to contact the church office.
Weddings are an important part of the church's ministry to its members and to the wider community. Following the 2016 congregational vote, St. Mark welcomes any couple who can obtain a legal Ohio marriage license to be married in the sanctuary or offsite by a pastor or staff member of the church, with appropriate pre-marital conversations. Funeral and memorial services follow the same pastoral welcome.
The yearly rhythm of life at St. Mark includes Fall Fest and Trunk or Treat, an afternoon of costumes, a parade on the Pumpkin Runway, a scavenger hunt, crafts, and a family lunch. Lent is marked with Wednesday evening worship, and Holy Week is a major focus of the shared life. The annual Spire newsletter keeps the congregation connected to seasonal events and the work of the church council.
The Staff that Keeps the Congregation Running
Pastor Beth Giller is the pastor of St. Mark and the primary preacher and teacher of the congregation, having been called to the church in 2000. She is a steady voice in the livestreamed Pause for Prayer devotional and leads the adult Bible study hour on Sunday mornings. Pastor Cindy Ritter serves the church in a part-time Pastoral Care role, providing visitation and care for members and leading Wednesday Bible study.
Emily Hemminger is the Youth and Family Life Director and the heart of the EDGE Youth and Mission Team ministry. She also organizes Kids Night and the church's youth mission trips. Cheryl Dunlap directs the traditional choir, and Kim Fletcher is the church's organist, providing the music leadership for the 8:30 liturgy. Diane Lorenzen is the Council President, Ryan Erard is the Office Manager, and Kelda Vernatter is the Treasurer.
Giving, Supporting, and Staying Connected
St. Mark offers several ways to support its ministry. Online giving is available through the Give button on the church's website, through the Give+ mobile app, and by mailing contributions to the church office. Stock gifts, planned gifts, and special offerings for ministries such as youth mission trips and the food pantry are coordinated through the church office.
People who want to participate in the life of the church without attending in person can join the livestream on Sunday mornings, follow the church's Facebook page ("St. Mark Lutheran Church - ELCA"), subscribe to the YouTube channel at youtube.com/stmarktoledo, or follow @stmark_edge on Instagram for youth ministry updates. The Prayer Wall, hosted on the church's website, lets members and friends share prayer requests and pray for one another.
Finally, anyone interested in lending a hand can join the team of door greeters, ushers, communion servers, sound booth volunteers, or live stream operators who keep Sunday mornings running. The Serve section of the congregation's life also extends to the food pantry, the Neighborhood Dinner, the Second Hand Store, and the EDGE Mission Team, which always needs adults willing to chaperone and lead.
At the end of the day, St. Mark Lutheran Church is a 130-year-old Lutheran congregation in East Toledo that takes seriously both the inheritance it has received and the neighborhood that surrounds it. Whether members come for the traditional liturgy at 8:30 a.m., the contemporary praise at 10:30 a.m., the food pantry on the last Wednesday of the month, or the summer Mission Team trip, they come to the same place, at 611 Woodville Road, to know, live, and share the Word.