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

October 5th, 2025:

The Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

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

12:00 p.m. Pet Blessings

4:00 p.m. Choral Evensong at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

19 S. 38th St., Philadelphia, PA 19104

This Week's Readings

Job 39:1–18 | Psalm 121 | Acts 4:32-35, 5:1-11 | Luke 12:13-21

A Note from Rev. Luke

People of all ages gathered around the playground for donuts and coffee on Saturday morning as we kicked off our first Children, Youth, and Families Work Day (or at least the first in the past two decades). Six families gathered with members of our Buildings and Grounds Committee to beautify the children’s playground and to care for our campus.

Wendy Leaver immediately sparked the children’s interest with a lesson on flower bulbs: what they are, and how to plant them. After the group broke apart to do their self-selected tasks, adults enthusiastically turned the soil of the new Children’s Garden by the playground, while children, teens, and their parents chose from a variety of other tasks: families raked playground chips; older children dead-headed hostas and weeded throughout campus; younger kids and their parents worked with Ike Roberts and Dave Schaaf to clean off memorial benches in the driveway.

Once the soil of the Children’s Garden was thoroughly turned over and the tree roots removed, it was the children’s turn to play in the dirt. With Wendy’s guidance, the children planted pansies as well as crocuses and Scilla bulbs for spring color. Wendy promised the children pumpkin planting in the spring, sharing her vision of pumpkin vines growing down the slope towards the Cricket Club with pumpkins in time for carving next October. Meanwhile, Ike Roberts and Dave Schaaf helped a determined four year-old, John, and his dad, Alex, scrub down benches. With smiles all around, someone observed that they weren’t sure “whether the children or the grandparents were having more fun.” Continue reading here.

Features

Memorial Service for John Wineland

This Saturday, October 4th

10:00 a.m. Viewing

11:00 a.m. Funeral Service

In person and via Livestream

Reception to follow in the Parish Hall

Please click here to read John's obituary. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Episcopal Community Services or St. James School.

Pet Blessings

This Sunday, October 5th

During the 9:00 a.m. Service and following the 10:30 service (~Noon)

Join us for pet blessings on the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi! Please bring your pet on a leash or in a carrier. Those attending the 9:00 a.m. service are encouraged to bring a stuffed animal or photo to be blessed. We look forward to seeing you and your animal companion(s) there!

Choral Evensong at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral

This Sunday, October 5th, 2025

4:00 p.m.

Join us at the Episcopal Cathedral (19 S. 38th St, Philadelphia, PA 19104) for a service of Choral Evensong featuring music by Parker Kitterman, Erik Meyer, C. V. Stanford, and Ireland, sung by the Choir of St. Martin's and conducted by our Director of Music & Arts, Tyrone Whiting. All are welcome!

St. Martin's Art Fair and Auction

Next Sunday, October 12, 2025

Art Fair & Silent Auction: Following the 10:30 a.m. service - 5:00 p.m.

Live Auction: 4:30 p.m.

Join us for an all-day celebration of art and creativity next Sunday, October 12. Beginning after the 10:30 a.m. service and running into the afternoon, St. Martin's will have a multitude of artworks for sale and in silent auction. Refreshments and food will be available throughout the day. There will be special Creation Stations for children and youth (and adults!).

All proceeds from the event help to support St. Martin's in a very tangible way, and your generosity and participation is greatly appreciated. It will be a day full of fun and creativity for all ages—bring your friends, neighbors, and family!

View the Art Catalogue for Next Sunday's Art Fair and Auction!

Please click here for a preview of artworks available for purchase at next Sunday's Art Fair and Auction! Choose from over 135 pieces generously donated by parishioners and community members, carefully curated by Sean Nesselrode Moncada, who holds a PhD in Art History, and Tyrone Whiting, our Director of Music and Arts.

Immigrant Organizations Field Guide

How can I make a difference in supporting immigrants unjustly targeted for mass deportation?

If this is a question you have pondered, look no further than the field guide to volunteer and giving opportunities developed by St. Martin's Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Ministry. The ministry has carefully vetted six Philadelphia organizations that have a proven track record in supporting immigrants who lack permanent legal status. Whether it's making a phone call to an immigrant family or accompanying an immigrant to court, you can have an impact as we rise as a faith community to meet the current immigrant crisis. Click here to access the guide online and save it to your computer. A limited number of printed copies will be distributed after services on Oct. 5.

Interested In Working with Flowers and Meeting Others?

Please do join the Flower Guild on Saturday, October 18th , 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. for a special event in the Parish Hall. All are welcome! It is an informal social occasion, and

Annette Lareau-Freeman will provide lunch. In addition to chatting, Jane Good will offer a demonstration of flower arranging. We will also do some planning for the fall. It you

are interested or have questions, please reach out to Annette Lareau-Freeman: alareau@sas.upenn.edu

Next Week's Forum: Can Higher Education Save Itself?

Led by Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman

7:00 p.m. in the Houston Room and via Zoom here.

Zoom Passcode: 0746884

Our speaker is Dr. Jonathan Zimmerman, the Judy and Howard Berkowitz Professor in Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His field is the history of education. Through his prolific op-eds in papers such as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Christian Science Monitor, he has become one of America's leading voices on issues of free speech and viewpoint diversity, the failings of higher education leadership, and the Trump Administration attacks on higher ed. A former Peace Corps volunteer and public school teacher, he has written numerous books on education, including The Amateur Hour: A History of College Teaching and Whose America? Culture Wars in the Public Schools. Back in the day, he co-hosted a WHYY-produced podcast, That's History, with Chris Satullo.

Children, Youth, and Families

St. Martin's Church School

Now Through-Sunday, Dec 14th

9:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.

Church School continues this Sunday! For a full schedule with locations (subject to some change as we adapt to the needs of those who join), you can click here. To learn more about Godly Play, the curriculum that we will be using, you can click here.

St. Martin's Families: Game Night

Saturday, October 25th

5:00 - 7:00 p.m.

Parish House

Join us for pizza and games in the Parish House. All ages, families, and single folks are welcome! Bring a drink or dessert to share and a favorite game. Halloween costumes and spooky games or treats are welcome.

CYF Halloween Haunted House Party

Wednesday, October 29th

5:00 p.m. in the Parish House

The week of Halloween, Choristers rehearsal will end early and there will be a Halloween party for kids, ages 7-12, from 5-6 p.m. in the Parish House. This year our party will be Haunted House themed, and will include games, snacks, and more spooky fun. Costumes encouraged!

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 this week's Music Notes.

Stained Glass at St. Martin’s: What’s the Story?

Sunday October 19th from 3:15 – 4:45 p.m., followed by Evensong at 5:00 p.m.

No RSVP Needed + Free to Attend

Repeat Event November 16th from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m.*

Attendees will be guided in a process of sacred looking (visio divina), exploring how light, color, and content inspire and teach. As a group, we will look at and discuss a window or two. Then you (alone or with others) will select a window to contemplate. Finally, we will each share the story of our experience, helping one another be inspired by the spectacular windows of St. Martin’s.

*A repeat event will occur on Sunday, November 16th, from 2:30 – 4:00 p.m. Guests from Interfaith Philadelphia will be joining us - members and friends of St. Martin’s are encouraged to attend and help them feel welcome!)

Facilitator: Rev. John Hougen, PhD, co-chair of Wellspring at St. Martin’s and coordinator of The Art of Interfaith Understanding at Interfaith Philadelphia.

Ringing for Joy!

Do you want to make music and contribute to our growing Music & Arts Ministries? St. Martin’s is launching a brand-new Adult Beginner Handbell Choir starting Monday, October 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Choir Room! No music experience is needed! Led by volunteer handbell leader, Wendy Leaver, we’ll learn step by step while ringing beautiful and simple hymn tunes. Come give it a try—you might just discover a new hobby!

Interested? Reach out to Wendy (braidedset@gmail.com), or chat with her or Tyrone at church. We’d love to have you join the fun!

Our Thursday 6:00 p.m. Handbell Choir is looking for just ONE more ringer who can read music to complete the team! Playing the bells is simple—the real joy comes from bringing the notes on the page to life. If you can read music, we need you to help us make our sound even more joyful!

Take Action

Need in Deed Soirée

Thursday, Oct. 9th, 6-9 p.m.

BNY Mellon, 1735 Market Street

The staff and friends of Need in Deed (NID) like to eat well, play well and honor teachers. Join them for a chance to support the good work happening in NID classrooms around the city. If you like, you can also tear it up on the dance floor with DJ JAMZ. Got a silent auction offering? Can you teach someone how to make a lap quilt, or play chess? Do you have a piece of pottery to donate? To make a contribution or for more information about the Soirée, contact Barbara Dundon or Pam Prell. Tickets start at $120 and are available here.

Sermon

The Rev. Luke Selles

September 28th, 2025

In the popular imagination, hell is a place of fire, of eternal torment, condemnation, and punishment. It is a place where no one wants to go, a place we might wish only on our worst enemies, especially if they have not been punished or received their God’s Justice in this life. For centuries, hell has also been used as a form of control over people’s behavior – and is even now used as a weapon against groups of people. And here, Jesus, seems to be reinforcing that understanding of hell as a place of punishment.

What is interesting is that there is no biblical consensus on whether it even exists, let alone what it would look like if it does. Continue reading here.

Coming Up

Spirituality of Aging

Next Wednesday, October 8th

10:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. (Houston Room and via Zoom)

Spirituality of Aging is a conversation group bringing older adults together to share our stories, questions and insights about aging, in a supportive, congenial spirit. The group meets monthly, and is open to all who want to explore with others the experience of growing older (and, we hope, wiser). To RSVP, or for more information, please contact Elizabeth Morrison at elizabeth.donnell.morrison@gmail.com.