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 or the Rev. Laura Palmer at 267-418-0123.

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

May 18th, 2025

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. Choral Holy Eucharist

In Person & via livestream here

Rector's Note

The news on deportations and immigration policy continues to be grim. This week, Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe reported that Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM) was informed that under its federal contract it must assist white Afrikaner refugees from South Africa. Our Presiding Bishop and EMM are instead standing against this policy and deciding to end 50M worth of contracts. It sadly may mean the end of a ministry that has been vital for our Church since the late 1800’s, a ministry that helped fund passage for refugees fleeing Nazi persecution and more recent genocides. You can read the full text of our Presiding Bishop’s statement here.

Continue reading here.

Features

Upcoming Memorial Service: Raymond "Skip" Lynch, Sr.

This Sunday, May 18th, at 3:00 p.m.

Reception to follow in the Parish Hall

Please click here to view Skip's obituary.

If you cannot attend in person and would like to view a livestream of the service, please click here.

Welcome to Lisa Wooldridge, Our New Soprano Section Leader

We are delighted to announce that Lisa Wooldridge will be joining our Music & Arts ministries as our new Soprano Section Leader, singing her first service with us on Sunday, June 1.

Lisa is a PhD Candidate in Neuroscience at the University of Pennsylvania. Alongside her academic achievements, she has spent the last three years serving as the Soprano Section Leader at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Hamilton Village. Lisa also sings with the Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia and Penn Collegium Musicum as well as having sung with the Tanglewood Festival Chorus.

15 candidates applied for the position and auditions were held over the last couple of weeks. It has been truly a pleasure to hear so many people sing and to see so much interest in our church, community, and ministries from a wide range of candidates.

We are grateful for the time and talent of all who applied, and we look forward to the gifts Lisa will bring to our worship and community life. Please join us in welcoming her to St. Martin's!

Annual Meeting & Vestry/Convention Elections

Sunday, June 1st following the 10:30 a.m. service

We are pleased to announce the following nominees for vestry elections on June 1st at the Annual Meeting:

Anthony Campisi, Al Good, Dani Reed, Rich Welch (4 year terms)
Victoria Sicks (1 year term to fill vacancy)

Diocesan Convention Delegates and Alternate:

Carolyn Green, Debby Schaff, Grace McGinley

Additional nominations by parishioner petition are permitted. Each nomination must be supported by the signatures of at least ten (10) voting members* of the parish, not including the nominee. Petitions must be submitted to the Secretary of the Vestry, David Collins (DHCollins@gmail.com; 609-240-2400). Petition nominations will be accepted through Sunday, May 25th.

The bylaws of the church do not permit nominations from the floor at the Annual Meeting. If valid petition nominations are received, the vote at the Annual Meeting will be by paper ballots.

--Nominating Committee: David Collins, David Dieck, Rita Downs, Dick Haggard, Rob Jennings, Paula Wineland, Mary Barber

Next Week's Adult Forum: “To Protest or Not to Protest”

Wednesday, May 21st

7:00 p.m.

Led by the Rev. Luke Selles and Chris Satullo

Houston Room and via Zoom (Passcode 074688)

Join Rev. Luke and Chris Satullo for an interactive presentation on protests, their purpose, and how to prepare for them, in order to guide your decision on when to join a protest.

Book Talk: "Happenstance” by Parishioner David Contosta

Saturday, May 31st, at 4:30pm

At Booked, 8511 Germantown Ave

Long-time St. Martin's member David Contosta has recently published a novel entitled "Happenstance." He will be giving a book signing and reading from it on Saturday, May 31 at "Booked," a bookshop in Chestnut Hill. The event is free and open to the public. The novel unfolds during the years from 1916 to 1938 and is set mainly at a picturesque orphanage in a village just outside Philadelphia, as well as more briefly in Center City Philadelphia, Greenwich Village, New York, and suburban Boston. David's new novel, "Happenstance," represents his 26th published book.

Primary Elections

This Upcoming Tuesday, May 20th

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

Click here to access a non-partisan Voter Guide to help you determine who you'd like to vote for and find out where your polling place is. If you are in Ward 9, Divisions 9-11, your polling place is St. Martin's!

Children, Youth, & Families

Youth Interest Survey (ages 8-18)

Honoring Our Graduates

If you have a high school or college graduate in your life that you would like to honor at St. Martin's services in June, please submit their name and information using this form.

VBS 2025:

Come Grow with Us!

Monday, June 24th-Friday, June 27th

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

Please register by June 3rd to have your children join us this summer for a week of growth and discovery through storytelling, service-learning, gardening, and song. Click on the poster to learn more!

Volunteering for VBS 2025

If you are interested in supporting VBS this summer either the week of or with preparation before, please fill out this in-take form. Thank you!

Knowing Jesus in a New Way: Eastertide Sunday School Series for All-Ages

Six Sundays: May 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th, June 1st & 8th

9:30-10:15 a.m. in the church

Easter isn’t just a day, it’s a season—a season for rejoicing as we build up our community of faith and prepare to welcome the Holy Spirit into our midst at Pentecost. This year we are invited to continue to enlarge our understanding of who we are as a parish—to get to know each other across our different worship services and ages. Read more here.

In case you missed it: Congregational Evensong Reflection

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our Congregational Evensong service, where I spoke about "The Transformative Power of Congregational Singing." I value the chance to explore concepts of music in worship with you as we explore the ways that singing together can heal, unite, and deepen our faith. You can listen again to the reflection by clicking here.

2025 Stations of the Cross Call for Art Honoraria Recipients

I am delighted to announce the honoraria recipients of this year's Stations of the Cross Call for Art! We received wonderful and thoughtful submissions to 2025's Call for Art, which were displayed in our sanctuary during Lent & Holy Week. Thank you to every single artist for their creation, talent, efforts, and achievement in submitting their pieces. We received some very moving pieces and we are delighted to offer three honoraria to:

Children & Youth Category: Nat Smith
Joint Recipients of the Non-Professional Category: Susan Kaufman & Al Pearson
Professional Category: Ryan Gober

Please join us in congratulating our honoraria recipients, who will be presented with their awards this Sunday, May 18th, at the 10:30 a.m. service. Sincere gratitude to you all for your support of our music and arts ministries. Cantate Domino!

- Tyrone Whiting, Director of Music & Arts

Fairmount String Quartet: Voices of Spring

Saturday, May 31, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Martin's

Repeat performance Sunday, June 1st at 12:00 p.m at Main Line Unitarian Church

Pay-what-you-can at the door admission. $30 for adults and $8 for students is suggested.

A Meet the Artists reception follows these concerts.

Click here to reserve your seats!

Program:

Franz Joseph Haydn – String Quartet in Bb, Op. 76, #4, “Sunrise”

Elena Ruehr – String Quartet #8, “Insect Dances”

Giuseppe Verdi – String Quartet in e minor

In case you missed it! Pergolesi Stabat Mater recording

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our inspiring Holy Week services and concerts! We are thrilled to share the recording of our performance of Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater– listen here. Special congratulations to our wonderful soloists, Anika Kildegaard and Marisa Miller, whose stunning performances brought this piece to life.

Take Action

Your Generosity Matters! Please Help Our Neighbors Support Their Pets

Too much of a good thing is wonderful! Our Pet Pantry donations are soaring thanks to contributions from Blue Bell Elementary school and a nearby pet store. We have a week to continue to gather supplies for our neighbors who need help feeding and caring for their pets.

You can make a big difference! The first Pet Pantry ran out of food/supplies in 90 minutes—before the event was even halfway over and stood in line for four hours before it started!

Let’s help make sure that doesn’t happen again! Thank you, thank you!!

The deadline for donations here at St. Martin's is May 26th. There's a desperate need for food, medicine, pet supplies, and new or lightly used toys. You can also view the pet pantry's Amazon wish-list here.

Capstone Event for Need in Deed, Shout Out

May 21st & 22nd, from 4-6 p.m. at the Arch Street Meetinghouse

Tired of all the bad news in the world? Come to the Need in Deed Shout Out on either Wed., May 21st or Thurs., May 22nd and feel the rush of joy that comes from seeing how passionate kids are about making positive change in their communities. This annual event is a chance for representatives from 3rd-8th Philly public schools to showcase the projects they have worked on to address social issues that concern them. Picture a Science Fair—but for social issues facing Philadelphia. These students have tackled such problems as smoking, homelessness, food waste, and access to healthcare for women, among others. And now they are eager to have an audience of caring adults to celebrate with them. Please click here to RSVP. Carpooling from St. Martin’s is available. Questions? Contact Barbara Dundon or Pam Prell.

Guatemala Student Scholarship Fundraising Campaign 2025

St Martin’s Guatemala Companion Parish Committee will be collecting pledges for the 2026 San Juan Apostol Scholarship Fund and the Totonicapán Scholarship Fund from Sunday, June 1st through Sunday, June 29th. In 2024 St Martin’s parishioners generously pledged and donated to support 34 young learners otherwise unable to attend school due to economic hardships. The annual awards of $550 per student support tuition, uniforms and healthy nutrition for students and provide families with hope for bright futures. Education is making a difference to break a cycle of poverty with student graduates making a difference in their families and local community. The young people we sponsor and their families are so very thankful for our support.

This year our goal is $15,000. Please consider pledging a contribution to this scholarship fund for the 2026 school year. Pledges beginning at $25 dollars can be made. A full scholarship for a student is $550. Committee members will be available at the end of all services with clipboards for you to sign up or you can contribute directly online or via the plate. Contributions of pledged funds are expected to be paid on or before Sept. 30th.

Meals On Wheels Volunteers Needed

Keystone House is in need of volunteers to assist with their Meals on Wheels Program. Volunteers will help pack meals for delivery and/or drive delivery routes within a 5-mile radius of Keystone House (8765 Stenton Ave, Wyndmoor). If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Ann Marie Keffer at akeffer@keystonecare.com

Sermon Transcript

David Kasievich, Head of St. James School

May 11, 2025

Good morning, Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields. Thank you for welcoming me so warmly. It’s wonderful to be back with you, celebrating the deep and meaningful partnership between your community and St. James School. We have now journeyed together for 13 years—and that journey has never been symbolic alone. You’ve walked with St. James in real, tangible, and transformative ways. Continue reading here.

Coming Up

St. James School "Drive to Thrive" Benefit Event

Tuesday, May 20th at 6:00 p.m.

6825 Norwitch Drive, Philadelphia, PA

All are invited to St. James' Dr. Audrey Evans Benefit on May 20th. Come join for a festive evening supporting St. James!

Among this year's honorees this year is our retired presiding Bishop, Michael Curry. Click here for more information.

The Philadelphia Eleven Film Screening

Sunday, June 22nd, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

The Philadelphia Eleven tells the story of the first group of women to be ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church. Join us June 22nd at 4:00 p.m. for a screening of the film to learn more about this historic group of women and the lasting impact they made in the Episcopal Church and beyond.