Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields: Weekly Field Notes

The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Field Notes

For Pastoral Care

Call 215-247-7466 and leave a message. If you are experiencing a pastoral emergency text or call the Rev. Dr. Mary Barber at 845-527-9545.

Have you had an address, email, or phone number update?

Send us your update here.

Field Notes submission requests must be emailed by Tuesday at noon to ndiskan@stmartinec.org.

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Sunday Worship

November 2nd, 2025:

The Feasts of All Saints and All Souls

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Spoken)

In Person

9:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist for Children, Youth, and Families

In Person

10:30 a.m. Instructed Choral Holy Eucharist

In Person & via livestream here

Followed by Worship Reflections in the Houston Room

3:30 p.m. Columbarium Reception for the Feast of All Souls

5:00 p.m. Requiem Choral Eucharist

In Person & via livestream here

Readings for the Feast of All Saints (morning services)

Daniel 7:1-3,15-18 | Psalm 149 | Ephesians 1:11-23 | Luke 6:20-31

Readings for the Feast of All Souls (evening service)

Wisdom 3:1–9 | Psalm 130 | 1 Thessalonians 4:13–18 | John 5:24-27

Rector's Note

We have heard two announcements on two Sundays from our stewardship team. Sandy and Harry Gould talked about their giving to St Martin’s flowing from their gratitude toward God for all God has given them. Jennifer Prah presented a series of giving steps and invited us to pray about and consider moving up one step in our giving. Continue reading here.

Features

Consecration Sunday is Next Weekend!

A Message from Dani Reed, Consecration Sunday Chairperson:

During a difficult season in my family’s life, the Stephen Ministers of St. Martin’s walked beside me with quiet compassion, and the beauty of our music and art ministries helped hold my heart open. As we approach St. Martin’s Day and Consecration Sunday, I am learning again how giving can flow from that same place of gratitude and spiritual nourishment.

Please complete your RSVP cards for the free, catered Consecration Sunday lunch – and I hope you will join us as we celebrate, reflect, and give thanks together on St. Martin’s Day and Consecration Sunday (Note: one service only, 10:30AM, November 9th).

Learn more about Consecration Sunday here.

Requiem Choral Eucharist for the Feast of All Souls

This Sunday, Nov. 2nd at 5:00 p.m.

Join us for a service of hope and remembrance with choral music by Byrd, Croft, Friedell, and Purcell. A reception and time of reflection and prayer in the Columbarium precedes the service, starting at 3:30 p.m. All are welcome.

All Souls’ Day Columbarium Reception

This Sunday, Nov. 2nd at 3:30 p.m.

Join us this Sunday, November 2nd at 3:30 p.m. in the Mary Hare Taylor Knight Memorial Columbarium to celebrate and commemorate those we have loved and lost with prayers and reflections while reconnecting with long-time St. Martin’s friends and neighbors. Come early to place a votive candle on the marker of those you remember and hold dear. All are welcome.

❖ 3:30 pm Reception in the Columbarium with light refreshments

❖ 4:00 pm Blessing by The Rev. Dr. Mary Barber

❖ 5:00 pm Choral Requiem Eucharist service featuring the

Section Leaders of the Choir of St. Martin’s.

A Celebration of a New Ministry

The Institution & Induction of the Rev. Dr. Mary Barber,

10th Rector of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

Saturday, November 8th, 2025 at 10:00 a.m.

The Wardens and Vestry of the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields invite you to join us in celebrating the official installation of the Rev. Dr. Mary Barber as our 10th Rector. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, November 8th at 10:00 a.m. for this momentous service, presided over by our Bishop, The Rt. Rev Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez. The Rev. Joseph Wallace-Williams will preach. Also plan to join us for a reception following the service!

St. Martin's Day & Consecration Sunday

Next Sunday, Nov. 9th

ONE SERVICE at 10:30 a.m.

Followed by Consecration Sunday Bruch

Please plan to attend St. Martin's Day & Consecration Sunday on November 9th! There will be ONE service at 10:30 a.m. Also plan to attend our Consecration Sunday brunch following the service as well as the Guatemala Craft Fair Sale throughout the day. We can't wait to see you there!

Watch Our New Children's Choir Video!

Children, Youth, and Families

Photos from our Halloween party in the "Perish House"!

Music Notes

Each week, Tyrone Whiting, our Director of Music and Arts, will dive into specific aspects of our service music, highlighting liturgical, historical, and musical elements of our music-making. Click here to read the weekly Music Notes.

Dr. James Palmer Piano Lecture Recital

Sunday, November 16th

5:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

We are excited to welcome pianist, Dr. James Palmer for a special recital on Nov 16th at 5 p.m. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear a wonderful program by a great pianist! Works include Mozart, Scriabin, Verdi, Liszt, and more.

Fairmount String Quartet: Hungarian Connections

November 15th at 7:30 p.m.

Join our resident ensemble, the Fairmount String Quartet, with guest artist Anna Kislitsyna, on Saturday, November 15th at 7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary for a program of music with a "Hungarian Connection". The program includes Haydn's String Quartet, Op. 33, #1; Ligeti's "Old Hungarian Ballroom Dances"; and Dohnanyi's mystical and powerful Piano Quintet, Op. 26. It is a program that feels all the feels! Admission is pay-what-you-can and a meet-the-artists reception follows the concert in the Parish Hall. Reserve your spot at fairmountstringquartet.org.

Take Action

Guatemala Raffle Continues Sunday

Good things come in twos, right? Our treasured tradition of raffling off a handmade Guatemalan tapestry is underway and this year, we have two pieces to raffle! (Sneak preview of one tapestry in the picture). For three weeks, starting Sunday, Oct 19th, we’ll sell raffle tickets with the drawing of winners taking place on Saint Martin’s Day. Tickets will be 1 ticket for $1 and 6 tickets for $5. In more good news, our annual Guatemala Craft Sale will be held on two days this year, allowing you more time to purchase beautiful handmade crafts. Continue reading here.

Team Green Bean Canned Food Drive

St. James School is once again putting together Thanksgiving meal bags for those who might not otherwise be able to prepare a Thanksgiving dinner. The bags will be given out shortly before Thanksgiving. Like previous years, St. Martin's has been asked to be on Team Green Bean! Please consider purchasing a few cans of green beans to contribute to this effort - we are aiming for at least 300 cans of beans. In addition, St. James asks you to consider donating a $25 gift card to either ShopRite or Aldi so that all families can purchase a holiday turkey or ham. A gift card is placed in each meal bag. Please deliver your green beans by Nov. 17th to the bench in the Parish House foyer. For safekeeping, gift cards should be delivered to Noor Diskan, Director of Communications & Events.

Sneakers4Good Shoe Donation Drive

We’ve partnered with Sneakers4Good to provide a socially responsible way to donate your used sneakers and running shoes to a good cause. The sneakers will help benefit Face to Face in Germantown as well as support micro-enterprises in 25 developing countries. The athletic shoes will be given a second life as well as kept out of landfills where they can take decades to fully decompose. There is no limit, so clean out your closets! We accept only gently worn, used or new athletic sneakers and running shoes. Please place any lightly used or new sneakers/running shoes in the sneakers4good boxes at the entrance to the church. Lightly worn sneakers/running shoes only, please! The Sneaker Drive is a lead up to the 33rd Face to Face Turkey Trot on November 27, (Thanksgiving Day) at 9 a.m. along Forbidden Drive in Fairmount Park. Register here!

Come Meet Coleen Hedglin, the new Co-Director of Beyond Borders

Sunday, Nov. 2nd and Monday, Nov. 3rd

Coleen will be attending the 10:30 a.m. service on All Saints' Day (Nov. 2nd). All are invited to come a little early to meet her, and stick around for a bit after church also. She’s in the area to meet supporters in Baltimore and Philadelphia and is very grateful for St. Martin’s long support of Beyond Borders work. She also wants to have a conversation with whoever can come at 1:00 p.m. on Monday Nov. 3. We will just have coffee and maybe cookies in the Houston Room - it will be very informal. Please stop by! Continue reading here.

Northwest Volunteer Connect

Saturday November 15, 11:00-2:00 p.m. at Summit Presbyterian Church

As the giving season approaches, get connected to organizations seeking volunteers at this "job fair" styled event hosted by Summit Presbyterian Church in partnership with East Mt. Airy Neighbors and West Mt. Airy Neighbors. Over 30 local organizations will have tables and representatives to share ways that you can get involved. Go to www.summitpres.net to learn more and see who will be there.

Sermon

The Rev. Luke Selles

10.26.25

Today we have another parable, another story in which Jesus teaches us about the Kingdom of God, God’s vision for the world. This is paired with last week’s parable about the widow who was persistent in seeking justice, and Luke tells us that these two parables are about prayer. In our parable for today, there are two characters: there is the Pharisee, who was part of a Jewish group of which Jesus was also a part – Jesus was a Pharisee. The Pharisees held the Torah, the Law of Moses, in such high esteem that they took an additional oral law to make sure they never broke it. And praying with the Pharisee at the Temple at Jerusalem, is a tax collector. Continue reading here.