Women of the church have had some form of organization for many years.  There has been the Women’s Home and Foreign Missionary Society of Evangelical Lutheran church of Osborn which held its first meeting on Nov. 4, 1883.  For many years these ladies held meetings on the first and third Saturdays of each month.  The foreign missions were emphasized on the first Saturday and home missions on the third Saturday.  This latter emphasis included the caring for needs of the church and needy persons in the community.  By the end of the first year they had raised $50.30 from a Thanksgiving dinner which they used to purchase new lights for the church.  Receipts for the Foreign Mission Department for the first were $45.69.  Starting in 1891 the group was able to contribute $25 a year for education for a girl in India.  When the present church was built in new Osborn, it was the Ladies Aid group that previous histories credit with contributing the funds for the large chancel stained glass window in honor of their pastor, the Rev. Harvey Crowell.  They also provided funds for the lighting fixtures and some other incidentals.

The Lutheran women’s Guild was organized in 1943 when the Ladies Aid, Loyal Worker’s Class and the La Fidelis Class were merged into a new organization.  The purpose of the group was to provide opportunities to its members for education, fellowship, and service. Supporting a girl at Oesterlen Home in Springfield, attending to the needs of the Lutheran Inner Mission work in Dayton, creating the Service Center at St. Mark’s for World War II military personnel, remodeling the parsonage kitchen, and providing paraments for the altar were among their projects and activities.  In addition to free will offerings, the women raised funds by collecting sales tax stamps used in the 1940s and ‘50s.  The state provided a small rebate after the tax stamps were collected, sorted, counted, and submitted.

The Dorcas Missionary Society was formed in January 1947 to provide evening meetings.  The first president was Frances Schwerin; the secretary was Mildred Colombo, a member today known as Mildred Smith. An Olive Leaf group was in existence in the late 1950s and 1960s.  Other circle names included a Katherine Luther circle, a Harvesters circle, and Alpha circle.  For a period of time there were as many as four circles all operating at the same time under the umbrella of executive officers of the United Lutheran Church Women (ULCW).    In 1958, for example, there was the Dorcas Circle with president Betty Fischer, Katherine Luther circle whose president then was Florence Anderson, Alpha Circle with Mary Kline, president, and the Harvester’s Circle, Louise Ginac, president.  The ULCW president in 1958 was Rachel Riley.  In 1998 Belles of St. Mark’s is the only women’s group in the congregation.  Organized in the spring of 1996 after Pastor Gordon Glink brought attention to the needs of numerous widows in the congregation, it is led by Sara Gohlke.  Irene Singleton, Mildred Smith, and Dallas Shade helped Sara get this group launched.

Among the service efforts of the women during the past years was the sewing of baby layettes, the making of small lap quilts, and the construction of school supply tote bags for use in Brazil and Africa.  The bags were equipped with pencils, erasers, crayons, pads of paper, tube of paste, small scissors, and ruler.

Another project which continued for at least ten years was the monthly birthday party at the Christel Manor nursing home (now Collinswood).  Each month, homemade cakes were baked and served to all the residents; small gifts and cards for the birthday celebrants were donated and wrapped.  Women from the circles took them to the nursing home and mingled with the patients as they helped make things festive.

There have been several efforts throughout the years to form a social/service organization for men.  In 1946, the St. Mark’s Brotherhood was organized.  Their first president was J.L. Robinson, father of current members Charles and John Robinson.  These men enjoyed making improvements to the church property, they also cooked and served the mother-daughter banquet for a number of years, and sponsored a Cub Scout Pack.  The Brotherhood also assumed responsibility for the athletic program of the church.  Softball, basketball, and bowling teams were important to many young men of the congregation starting some time in the 1940s.  A trophy case built by Charles Robinson and containing memorabilia of these activities can still be found in the council room.  The World Hunger Appeal spaghetti dinner now sponsored by council’s Social Concern Ministry is a present-day remnant of the men’s group.  Richard Johnson recruits “noodle makers” from among the men for a Saturday of fellowship to make spaghetti and noodles from “scratch.”

There was a Luther League at St. Mark’s as early as 1898.  Organized to serve the teen-age population, it also aimed to provide opportunities for fellowship, education, and service.  There have been periods of time at the church when there has been both a Luther League and an Intermediate Luther League to accommodate the younger youth. At the time of the Centennial in 1948, Pastor Weihl wrote: “Luther League has been active at various times in the history of the church. The present organization dates back to the fall of 1937 when the young people’s group was reorganized... Youth Banquets were held from 1938.  Luther League supported all the projects of the Luther League of America sending delegates to conferences and Synodical conventions, entertaining the Southern conference Luther league and the Dayton District Federation.  In 1948, Henry Deiderich was president and Charles Robinson was treasurer."

In recent years the youth group has been named First Priority.  A Christian “rock” band “Image” was formed by Matthew Rothgeb and Ryan Kempf.  They practiced and performed several concerts at the church.  In 1998 council hired Alicia Kempf as Youth director to redevelop a strong youth program.  Alicia spent 1997-98' with “Captive Free,” a musical missionary group sponsored by Youth Encounter. 

Unrelated to the Luther League or regular youth program was a special ecumenical youth program organized by Eugenia Hilbrink, and sponsored and hosted by St. Mark’s.  Held on October 1, 1995 was a five hour Saturday worship and educational experience for high school students titled “Peace is Possible” or PIP.  Eighty teens attended.  At a time when there was a national concern about domestic violence, street violence, and the effect of TV violence on our youth, the event focused on the fostering of hope for personal, family, and community peace and on the acceptance of responsibility for achieving this goal.  While it as a singular experience for the church and for Fairborn, it was successful on many levels.

To give a sense of the fluctuating fortunes of the organizations within the church, there are three lists of interest.  In 1898, the church historian mentions the Sunday School, the Women’s Home and foreign Missionary Society, the Ladies’ Aid Society, the Luther League, and the Mission Band as “kindred organizations.”  In 1948, the following organization were listed; the Sunday School, the Women’s Missionary Society, the Lutheran Women’s Guild, Dorcas Missionary Society, St. Mark’s Brotherhood, Daily Vacation Bible School, the Athletic Committee. Today, there is a very small Sunday School, the Belles of St. Mark’s, the Vacation bible School, First Priority, the Altar Guild, a Telecare Ministry organized by Sandy Forsberg, and the Prayer Circle.  There are both societal and church factors influencing these differences.  These include, but are not limited to, the advent of television, the large number of working women, the increasing numbers of one parent homes, the wide diversity of activities and entertainments which are now open to women and available in the community, and even the greater involvement of women on the church council and in other venues of church life.  It should also be reported that through the 1990s many of Council’s sub ministries have become stronger and make an effective impact on church life.  The Property Committee, the Evangelism Committee, the Social Concerns Ministry, and the Memorial committee all have quite regular meetings and active agendas.