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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Worship Service

Sunday, February 22nd, 2026:

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

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

10:30 a.m. Choral Holy Eucharist

Also via livestream here

Followed by Worship Reflections in the Houston Room

5:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross

Music Reflection by Soprano, Lisa Wooldridge

This Sunday's Readings

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 | Romans 5:12-19 | Matthew 4:1-11 | Psalm 32

Rector's Note

This week, our vestry voted to support ICE Out legislation that will come before Philadelphia City Council later this month. The set of bills puts limits on how ICE can conduct its enforcement efforts in our city, and attempts to protect immigrants and observers from the violence we have witnessed in Minneapolis and elsewhere.

We were asked to consider this by New Sanctuary Movement, a coalition of faith communities. Vestry was asked to consider this by St Martins’ own Refugee and Immigrant Committee.

This was a step taken with thought, discussion, and prayer. We know it’s a big step. At the same time, the actions and harm we have been witnessing in the news feel like they compel a response from people of faith.

Continue reading here.

Features

Annual Parish Budget Meeting

This Sunday, February 22nd

Immediately following the 10:30 a.m. service

All are invited to learn more about our Budget and Finances for the upcoming year with in a presentation on Sunday following the 10:30 a.m. Eucharist.

Stations of the Cross Begin This Sunday

Each Sunday in Lent at 5:00 p.m. in the Sanctuary

Join us for a short service of prayer, music, provided by St. Martin's professional musicians, in meditation on the Stations of the Cross. A 15 minute musical reflection follows each service.

Feb. 22nd: Lisa Wooldridge - Soprano
March 1st: Marisa Miller - Mezzo-Soprano
March 8th: Aaron Scarberry - Tenor
March 15th: Michael Miller - Bass-Baritone
March 22nd: Tyrone Whiting - Piano

Support Parish Family During Surgery Recovery

Please consider supporting one of our parish families, the Hagan-Bryants, as Stephanie Hagan recovers from surgery over the next few weeks. Options for support include bringing a meal, driving Stephanie to and from physical therapy, and helping to provide childcare. Click here to sign up/learn more.

Lenten Food & Fellowship Soup Dinners

Every Wednesday in Lent at 6:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall

During Lent our Food & Fellowship dinners will center around connection over a simple meal of soup and bread. You are invited to help create these community meals by bringing either: 1) a soup that feeds 8-10 people; or 2) a loaf of bread, pan of cornbread, or rolls. We are looking for gluten-free and vegetarian contributions for each meal. Please email Lorie Hershey at lhershey@stmartinec.org, if you would like to contribute on any of the following dates: Feb. 18th (Ash Wed.),

Feb. 25th, March 4th, March 11th, March 18th, March 25th.

Discussions In Diversity

Wed., Feb. 25th at 7:00 p.m.

Houston Room and via Zoom here

As part of our Adult Forum Series on Wednesdays at 7 p.m., we are again hosting a series of Discussions in Diversity during Black History Month. Join us for our last discussion this upcoming Wednesday, February 25th! Also plan to come for Food & Fellowship prior to the discussion, at 6:00 p.m.

Lenten Retreat at Holy Cross Monastery

Friday, March 20th to Sunday, March 22nd

Blooming in the Lenten Desert: Encountering God in Lent as We Age

As we age through mid-life and beyond, we are particularly suited to understand and experience Lent in a profound way. The Lenten desert experience is meant to ultimately deepen our relationship with God through embracing the Paschal Mystery. Likewise aging, with its physical limitations, losses, emotional challenges, invitations to let go and calls to new life, is a mirroring experience that can aid us in a very particular way during this liturgical season. Come explore this intersection. Please register here by March 1st. Learn more about our facilitator, Janet Corso, here.

Writing Our Way Through Lent:

A Quiet Time to Listen, Reflect, Create and Share

Presented by Wellspring

Saturdays Feb. 28th, March 7th, & March 14th

9:30-11:00 a.m. in Hilary House

Come share time with others as we listen to poems, reflections, and prayers, and after some time in silence, write as the spirit guides us. Find community, respite and inspiration as we move through challenging times. Come for one session, two or all. You are always welcome. Contact Joanne Conway at joanneconway86@gmail.com for information.

Children, Youth, & Families

Easter Pageant Rehearsals

Begin this Sunday, February 22!

Join an all ages (recommended ages 10+) theater troupe as we put on the second Easter Pageant at St. Martin's, this time based on Matthew's Gospel (Matt 28:1-10). No acting or theater experience is necessary, and you don’t have to be on stage to be part of the team. There are many ways to participate, and everyone is welcome to join for any or all of the sessions.

Rehearsals:

Sunday, February 22nd, 4–5 pm (Library) — Bible Study on Matthew 28:1-10

Sunday, Mar 1, 4–5 pm (Library) — Staging the Story

Sunday, Mar 8, 3–4:30 pm (in the Library + Sanctuary) — Full Cast Read-Through

Sunday, Mar 15th, 3–4:30 pm (in the Church) — Blocking & Costumes

Saturday, Apr 4th, 3–4:30 pm (in the Sanctuary) — Dress Rehearsal

Easter Pageant Play Performance 2026

Date: Easter Sunday, April 5th

Call-Time: 8:15 a.m.

Performance: during the 9:00 a.m. family service

Learn More

My Name is Pauli Murray: Film Showing + Discussion (rated PG-13)

Sunday, February 28

3:00 - 5:00 p.m. in the Houston Room

Our study of Pauli Murray— poet, priest, civil rights lawyer, theologian, and contemporary saint of the Episcopal Church— continues on Sunday, February 28 with a viewing and discussion of the powerful documentary My Name is Pauli Murray.

Pauli Murray’s witness helped lay the legal and moral groundwork for desegregation, women’s equality, and LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. As the first Black woman ordained an Episcopal priest, and now honored as a saint in our church’s calendar, Pauli’s life also calls us to see how faith, justice, and identity are deeply intertwined.

Together, we will reflect on themes of privilege and exclusion, faith and resilience, race and gender, belonging and belovedness—listening for how Pauli’s story speaks to our own lives and to our call as Christians today.

Call for Art: Stations of the Cross

St. Martin's is looking for Artists and Creators to help create a series of artworks to form a Stations of the Cross Exhibition for Lent. Artists should create works which respond to the title and/or text of the fourteen Stations of the Cross Titles & Texts which can be accessed here. Any form of art is accepted, from photography, to small sculpture, folk art to fine art, and all in between! Artwork is welcome from amateurs and professionals, children and adults! An honorarium of the most engaging work will be made in three categories: professional ($300), amateur ($200), and children/youth ($100). Contact Tyrone Whiting, Director of Music & Arts, at twhiting@stmartinec.org for questions and submissions. Please submit artwork by April 1st.

Tea with Tang & Song

Ft. Tenor Section Leader Aaron Scarberry

Feb. 28th at 6 p.m. and March 1st at 3 p.m. at the Philadelphia Ethical Society

Ancient Chinese poetry and songs steeped in power, romance, and intrigue.

Tea with Tang & Song is an intimate experience of music, poetry, and storytelling—featuring both literal tea and the kind that gets spilled through song.

Presented via an exciting new collaboration between Philly-based Liberty City Arts and Wear Yellow Proudly, this program drags ancient Chinese poetry and song straight into the present—serving up stories of power, romance, scandal, and tea that was definitely not meant to be kept secret. Musical settings of poetry from the Tang (618–907) and Song (960–1279) dynasties are paired with lively narration that dives into the gossip, intrigue, and human drama often left out of official history.

Audiences are invited to arrive early for a pre-show bubble tea reception, nodding to historic tea houses as spaces for gathering, conversation, and shared stories.

Featuring Philadelphia-based artists Aaron Scarberry, tenor, Helen Zhibing Huang, soprano, and Ting Ting Wong, piano. Get your tickets here.

Fairmount String Quartet: Chiaroscuro

Saturday, March 7th

7:30 p.m. in the Sanctuary

St. Martin's Ensemble-in-Residence, the Fairmount String Quartet, invites you to join them for the second program in their 2025-26 Classical Series, "Chiaroscuro". "Chiaroscuro" refers to the interplay of light and dark, which is explored in this program of music by Mozart, Brahms, and local composer Suzanne Dicker.

Program:

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - String Quartet, K. 589

Suzanne Dicker - A Human Battle with a Heartless World

Johannes Brahms - String Quartet Op. 51, #1

Admission is pay-what-you-can. You can reserve your seats here. A reception in Parish Hall will follow the performance. The program will also be performed on Sunday, March 8th at 3 p.m. at Settlement Music School, 318 Davisville Rd., Willow Grove, PA

Take Action

Opportunity To Join The Housing Affordability Campaign

POWER Philly is a partnership of more than 30 congregations in the Philadelphia area. Together we are launching the We Make Philly campaign. Its goal is to require that the City Council commits to developing a plan to ensure that our city is fully funded and affordable for all.

Are you or is someone you know facing difficulties relating to affordable housing? St. Martin’s LOC ( local organizing committee for POWER) is collecting stories to present to the Philadelphia City Council during press conferences on March 3. Mark this date on your calendar! The goal is to present 2000 stories.

If you have a story about how the affordability crisis has impacted you or a relative or friend, you can share by contacting Kim McNulty (kmcnulty10@comcast.net) or Carol Duncan (330-705-4795 or carol.duncan8031@gmail.com) Continue reading here.

Love Thy Neighbor: Faith-based Support for Vulnerable Immigrant Communities

Wed. Feb. 25th from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. via zoom

Presented by Interfaith Philadelphia

Click here to register

Philadelphia-area religious communities are asking, “What can we do?” This gathering connects faith communities with organizations, already serving on the ground, so we can respond thoughtfully and in coordination with real needs. Together, we will:

Connect organizations providing services, advocacy, and direct action with faith communities seeking to help
Understand what help is needed, where it is needed, and how volunteers can assist responsibly
Strengthen communication and coordination across communities
Share knowledge on locations, needs, volunteer support, and primary contacts

Immigrants At Risk Need Your Help

In these challenging times, when agents of our own government indiscriminately round up, detain and deport children, people with illnesses and disabilities, asylum seekers who have followed all the legal processes to remain in the United States – even decorated U.S. combat veterans – it is understandable that many of us feel powerless against such a juggernaut. The good news is, you’re not powerless. The even better news is, you’re in very good company.

Each Sunday for the next month, representatives of RRIM will be present at hospitality following the 8 and 10:30 a.m. services to provide you with the resources to become a force for good in whatever way feels most appropriate for you. We have resources, which we will distribute to you. Choose the path that feels right to you.

Sermon

The Rev. Dr. Mary Barber

February 18, 2026 - Ash Wednesday

Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them. It always seems a little strange that these are the instructions we hear from Jesus on a day when we will walk around in public with a black mark on our foreheads. Does it feel like we are doing the exact thing Jesus is counseling against in this reading?

Well, maybe. In today’s world of less and less church involvement, we may not get a lot of praise for showing our religious observance. We’re probably just as likely to provoke confused stares or even anger from folks with negative associations to organized religion. But still, what is Jesus saying here, and what does it mean for our Ash Wednesday tradition?

Continue reading here.

Coming Up

St. Martin's To Be Honored at St. James School's Dr. Audrey Evans Benefit Event

Wednesday, May 20th, from 6:00-9:00 p.m.

We are excited to share that St. Martin's will be honored at the 2026 Dr. Audrey Evans Benefit, alongside the Epiphany School of Dorchester, Massachusetts.

This year’s theme, “Sharing the Spark,” reflects how small acts of kindness and faithful service can kindle lasting hope and inspire others to share their spark. Members of St. Martin’s are invited to take advantage of early access to tickets and sponsorship opportunities here. For questions, contact Gillian Golson, Annual Giving Manager at ggolson@stjamesphila.org or (484) 224-3891.