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

Field Notes

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Sunday Worship

March 24th, 2024

Palm Sunday

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

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

10:30 a.m. Choral Holy Eucharist

This service begins on the terrace.

Please gather at 10:15 a.m. for preludes by the Positive Drumline Movement.

5:00 p.m. Passiontide Service at Christ Church, Philadelphia

Feat. the Choirs of St. Martin's and Christ Church.

In observance of Palm Sunday, we will depart from the church in silence following the 8:00 and 10:30 services. Please maintain the Holy Silence in all areas of the sanctuary, parish house, and grounds.

In observation of this Holy Silence, there will be no Hospitality Table following the 8:00 or 10:30 services.

There is no Adult Forum this Sunday or next Sunday.

Lastly, please note that our website will be down for maintenance from midnight Sunday until midnight Monday.

Holy Week and Easter

Watch via livestream here.

All services will be livestreamed with the exception of the 9:00 a.m. Children and Families service on Palm Sunday.

Palm Sunday

March 24th

8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist

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

10:30 a.m. Choral Holy Eucharist

5:00 p.m. Passiontide service with Christ Church, Phila.

Maundy Thursday

March 28th

7:00 p.m.

Choral Holy Eucharist with Foot Washing

Good Friday

March 29th

12:00 p.m.

Choral Holy Eucharist

7:00 p.m.

Seven Last Words

(learn more below)

Seven Last Words

March 29th (Good Friday)

7:00 p.m. Meditations and Musical Reflections on Christ's Final Words

Feat. music from the Fairmount String Quartet

Easter Vigil

March 30th

8:00 p.m.

Choral Holy Eucharist

Easter Vigil Feast

March 30th

Directly following the Vigil

We invite you to bring a dish to the Feast! If you are interested, please sign up on the clipboards in the back of the church.

Easter Sunday

March 31st

8:00 a.m. Spoken Holy Eucharist

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

11:15 a.m. Festival Choral Holy Eucharist with Organ and Brass

Easter Egg Hunt

March 31st (Easter Sunday)

Directly following the 9:00 a.m. service

This year's egg hunt will begin at approximately 9:45 a.m. following the Children and Families service. There will not be an egg hunt following the 11:15 a.m. service.

Easter Memorial Flowers

If you would like to make a donation to this year's Easter Flower Fund in honor of, or thanksgiving for, a loved one, please contact Connie Haggard at [email protected] Please submit names no later than THIS Sunday, March 24th.

A Note From Rev. Laura

Shortly before the start of our final Lenten Breakfast on Friday morning, the parishioner sitting beside me said sotto voce, “You know, I really don’t like Palm Sunday.”

Suddenly we were like co-conspirators, comparing notes and asking questions about what can seem like a mash-up, or the Cliff Notes version of Holy Week.  Cutting to the chase, from Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem, to the cross. It feels (at

It feels (at times) to both of us that Palm Sunday is for people looking for the shortcut that jumps over Holy Week to the “to do” list for the Easter Celebration. Ham or Turkey? Leg of lamb? Chocolate Cake or Lemon Curd? The flowers, the linens, the polished silver and shiny windows. 

But the truth is, there are no shortcuts in this life. The only way over is through and while one can skip over Maundy Thursday—foot washing? EEEK. Good Friday—too depressing what one sacrifices, which is, in fact, the point of the story. It’s the difference between being a participant and a celebrant. 

There’s nothing “wrong” with either. People are where they are for whatever reasons they are. No judgment. 

But if you want to drink deeper from the well, draw closer to Christ, and open yourself to the enormity of the spiritual gifts you’ve been given in this faith, our faith, then come and be. Be in a community of believers. Be surprised by the Holy Spirit. Be enthralled by the mystery of faith, and at Easter, be emboldened and inspired by the truth that “Resurrection means the worst thing is never the last thing.” (Frederick Buechner)

That was as true for Jesus as it is for you. Continue reading here.

Features

Earth Day Eco Fair

Presented by Climate Action Team

Sunday, April 21st

9:15 Adult Forum: Solar Faithful (Houston Room)

9:30 - 11:00 a.m. Eco Fair (Parish Hall)

Come learn about solar energy, composting, local wildlife, native plants, PAIPL’s Bike & Hike challenge, and more. Join us for a morning of educational and fun activities for all ages!

Each week leading up to the Eco Fair we will feature one of the booths you will be able to visit. To kick things off, Leigh Ashbrook introduces us to:

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education

"At our EcoFair, come visit the table for The Schuylkill Center of Environmental Education, located in Upper Roxborough. We care for 360 acres of mixed forest, meadows, ponds, and streams, all protected from future development under the aegis of Natural Lands Trust. As the name denotes, we provide education for all things environmental, which include God’s Creation." Continue reading here.

Vacation Bible School: Songs of Creation

Mon., June 17th - Fri., June 21st

9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.

This year's Vacation Bible School invites children to come celebrate the wonders of the earth! Our theme, Songs of Creation, is inspired by Psalm 150:6, “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.” We will explore the incredible ways people care for creation and celebrate it. Join us for a week of games, crafts, stories of faith, and lots of music! Please contact the Rev. Britta Carlson at [email protected] for more information.

Sermon Transcript

The Rev. Carol Duncan

March 10, 2024

Last Days of Lent

The day has surely come, says the lectionary to your procrastinating heart, that you are called to lean all the way into Lent. This is the fifth Sunday of Lent, the last before Palm Sunday. We have this whole week and Holy Week to keep Lent, and today’s Gospel encapsulates Jesus’ summons to serve him. For those who have been living Lent, now is the time to fulfill your quest to see Jesus as he is raised up. Jesus draws us to step with him into his last days of incarnation. Continue reading here.

View a recording of Sunday's livestream here.

An Invitation from the Director of Music & Arts

I wish to thank you all for your continued support and upholding of our Music & Arts ministries at St. Martin's. Your encouragement, compliments, ideas, and contributions are so greatly appreciated by me, our music staff, and all our volunteer musicians. Thank you, thank you! I want to invite you all to three facets of our Music & Arts Ministries. 

Firstly, I wish to invite you all to attend a Choir Rehearsal. This week's rehearsal will be Wednesday, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. after the Food and Fellowship meat at 6:00 p.m. After Holy Week and Easter, we will return to our standard rehearsal schedule of Thursdays, 7:00 p.m. - 9:00 p.m. I want to open the doors to you all for some or all of that time. Each rehearsal contains so much more than music-making. We discuss liturgy, the world, science, art, literature, and much more. Explore the behind-the-scenes of our choir. 

This Sunday, March 24, at 5 p.m. our choir will join forces with and at Christ Church, Philadelphia, to sing a beautiful service for Passiontide. Featuring our excellent section leaders, and the amassed voices of both ensembles, it promises to be a wonderful evening of scripture and music. Parking is limited around Christ Church so please do plan your travel. Gather with some friends and carpool to support the choir! 

Finally, I invite you to give to our Music & Arts ministries as you are able, particularly in support of our Fairmount String Quartet and guest brass musicians for Easter Sunday. All contributions to our Music Fund, great and small, are received with deep gratitude and all gifts are acknowledged. Click here to give.

Cantate Domino!



Tyrone Whiting

Director of Music & Arts 

Take Action

We Are Family: A Beyond Borders Call For Help

From the Rev. Carol Duncan:

"Dear Beyond Borders Friends,

Many of you watched the Beyond Borders Adult Forum with me or have heard me talk about the good work of Beyond Borders. I didn't ask for donations then, but I am asking you to consider making them now. Beyond Borders has run into difficulties, most likely connected to the pandemic and/or the troubles in Haiti. Their current class of the Family Graduation Program needs family sponsors. I hope that among us we will pledge enough funds to cover several families at $100 a month for two years. Whatever we pledge will go completely to the families, not to overhead. 

I am inviting you to join me on Wed. April 17th for one of three showings of a new Beyond Borders production called We Are Family. This half hour feature shows three portraits from families that have risen from dire poverty to stable lives in the Beyond Borders Family Graduation Program. You can click here at 8 am, or 12 noon, or 7 pm Eastern to watch."

Please click here to see Rev. Carol's complete message and to learn more about We Are Family and the Family Graduation Program.

Click here for a description of a study of similar programs in other countries that the Beyond Borders program is modeled on.

Coming Up

Election Day

Tuesday, April 23rd

Polls Open 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

If you are in Ward 9 Divisions 9, 10, or 11, your polling place is St. Martin's!

Deadline to register to vote: April 8th

Register to vote here.

Deadline to request an absentee ballot: April 16th

Request an absentee ballot here.

Weekday Morning Prayer

Join on Facebook or Zoom for weekday Morning Prayer at 7:30 a.m.

Biblical Studies on Zoom or by phone

Monday and Tuesday sessions. Link up!