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St. Martin's Newsletter
September 11, 2025
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Sunday, September 14
The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 18
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8:00 Holy Eucharist (spoken)
9:45 Church School and Nursery
10:00 Holy Eucharist in person and online
11:15 Coffee Hour
1:30 Women's Spirituality Group
Contact Susan Allen for details and to RSVP.
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Dear Friends,
On Sunday, we caught a rare glimpse of the other side of the Apostle Paul. Not Paul the lawmaker, the stern teacher – but Paul the radical visionary. Last Sunday’s lectionary offered us a chance to encounter this radical Paul through his letter to Philemon. On Homecoming, we could not wish for a better vision for our life together in Christian community.
Philemon is the shortest of Paul’s letters — one page, barely more than a postcard. But what a postcard! Paul isn’t writing to a whole church this time. He’s writing to one man — Philemon, a leader of a house church. The subject? A runaway slave named Onesimus, who had met Paul, and through him found faith in Christ. And now Paul is torn between holding onto Onesimus and his obligation to send this runaway slave back to his master. Paul decides to send Onesimus back. Not because he felt morally obliged or legally bound to do so, but because he wanted to demonstrate to both Onesimus and Philemon this new and radical way of being in community together. He sends Onesimus back, but not empty-handed. Onesimus carries a letter. A plea. A challenge. Paul asks Philemon to receive him no longer as a slave, but as a brother. One page. One life-changing request. One gospel question: What does it mean to live as people shaped by Christ?
Paul could have commanded. He had the authority. But instead, he appeals “on the basis of love.” He praises Philemon first. “You refresh the hearts of the saints,” he says. And then comes the ask. “Welcome Onesimus back — not as property, not as a servant — but as family.”
Do you hear the risk? Do you hear the disruption? And then Paul goes further. “If he owes you anything… charge it to me. I will repay.” That’s not just clever negotiation; it’s the gospel way.
Reconciliation is never abstract. It always involves flesh and blood. Names. Faces. Histories. It means looking at someone we once defined by status… or by failure… or by difference… and seeing them now as brother, as sister, as family.
That was radical in the first century, and perhaps it’s even more radical today because we, too, live in a world that draws lines and makes sharp distinctions between people. Immigrants are branded “illegal.” Transgender people are targeted, erased, and made to feel unsafe. And the question arises: do we see them as the world sees them, or as Christ sees them? “No longer stranger or neighbor, or to quote Paul, “no longer Jew or Greek, male or female, slave or free”. We might also add no longer queer or straight. This is the gospel! Do we dare to live it?
Today, once again in our nation’s history, we stand in the tension between the world shaped by the radical call of the gospel and the world of the status quo – what I call the world of business as usual. What if our first word to members of immigrant communities is, “You are family?”
Imagine if our first word to queer and transgender sisters and brothers is, “You are one with us.” What kind of witness would that be? What kind of hope would the world see in us? Paul says to Philemon, “I am confident you will do even more than I ask.” Can Christ say the same of us?
So as we move into a new program year – a year rich in both possibilities as well as challenges -could we ask ourselves: What does belief in the importance of reconciliation demand of us? Who do we recognize in the guise of Onesimus today? What lines are we being asked to cross for love - not love, a sentimental feeling, but love as the outward expression of God’s mercy and justice?
Jesus said, “By this shall all know that you are my disciples.” It is not easy. It is not cheap. But it is gospel.
See you in church or online this Sunday!
Mark+
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Are you new or relatively new to St. Martin’s?
Do you come from another Christian tradition?
Do you have questions about the Episcopal Church but were afraid to ask?
Please join Father Mark on Sunday, September 21 at 11:30am in the 3rd floor classroom.
Questions? Contact Susan Esposito
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Called to Community (C2C):
Gen Z/Millennials (Formerly the 20s-30s group) will meet for pizza and conversation on Saturday, September 20 at 5pm. Brooke Huminski and Ben Zabinski will host in their Oak Hill home. Come with ideas for future get-togethers. New members welcome!
For information and to RSVP email Brooke at or contact the church office.
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Are you a man who loves to read?
Maybe you spent years reading to others as seen in the photos of Bill Hollinshead and Michael Guberman.
And, maybe it is time to read and discuss a book with adults!
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Join the Men's Reading Group! The next meeting is Tuesday, September 23, at 6:00pm.
Enjoy a dinner and discussion about Twist by Colum McCann
For details, location, and to RSVP contact Steve McAleer.
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Consider starting your Wednesdays with Holy Eucharist in the chapel at 7am. After Holy Eucharist, you are invited for a coffee, pastries, and conversation in the kitchen.
Additionally, consider joining Morning Prayer on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays at 9am also in the chapel. Morning Prayer is offered in person and online using this Zoom link.
Before attending Morning Prayer, try to download the Daily Prayer App. When you go to your app store, look for the blue square with white letters that say "Daily Prayer."
| | Church School celebrated Homecoming Sunday with reading, singing, discussing, and creating! The word for the day was HOME! Round up all your little ones – kids, grandkids, nieces, nephews, and any other pint-sized family members – for their very own spectacular blend of learning, laughing, and worshiping together. For more information about KidZone, contact Kathryn. | | |
Jeana Whittredge, Licensed Social Worker and Spiritual Director, will be offering a Dream Workshop on Saturday, September 20th in the Great Hall at St. Martin's from 9am to noon.
Dreams are a beautiful way of connecting to the soul and achieving integration, transformation, and wholeness. Dreamwork techniques will be explored.
The cost of the workshop is $25, which will include art materials. Bring a friend and a dream! Please register with Jeana at (413) 313-3033 or jwhittredge3@gmail.com.
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Fall Classes for Adults
This fall, St. Martin's is launching an exciting lineup of classes designed to enrich your mind and expand your horizons! These thoughtfully curated sessions promise to spark new insights and practical skills. Reserve your Sundays at 11:30am for these gatherings, taking place in our third floor classroom and the Stearns Room.
October 19 - Medicare 101
November 9 - Ignite Your Writing Potential!
December 7 - Exploring Handel’s Messiah
In addition to the Sunday classes, make plans to attend Handel's Messiah at the Vets Auditorium on Sunday, December 14, at 3pm. Tickets can be purchased here. If you have any questions about the performance or tickets, call 401.248.7000 or email boxoffice@riphil.org. Kathryn and Tom Barr will be in the Mezzanine/Balcony in seats C211 and C212 and would love to have you near. There are a variety of ticket prices.
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Meditation Hour will be on pause this fall due to some scheduling and space challenges. We will share details about resuming in January as the time draws closer.
Make plans to attend as our own Tom May and two others are ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons at a service on Saturday, September 27, at 10am, at All Saints' Memorial Church, 674 Westminster St., Providence. Please RSVP to kristin@episcopalri.org.
| | The Thrifty Goose & Estate Sale | | |
Did you know that the Thrifty Goose has a new Boutique for designer clothes and high fashion! Check out the Boutique on Saturdays and Wednesdays, 10am to 2pm.
And, if you have thought about donating your super special clothes, now is your time!
If you have any questions about the Boutique or the Thrifty Goose, please email John Marenzana.
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2025 ESTATE SALE
Save the Dates: October 24 - 26
We are now accepting donations for the Estate Sale, which will take place this October.
Click here to get more information about donating to the Estate Sale.
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O God, because without you we are not able to please you, mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Those who have birthdays this week: Claire Kokoska, Lynne Burke, David Ely, and Becky Anderson.
Those who have been commended to us: Eidan, Angela, Jeremiah, Justin, Truls, Sheila, Aldo & Madeleine, Jim, Frances & Tom, Jonathan, Nancy, Ann, John, Timmons, Dawn, Kaela, Sam, Carolyn, Vitor, Virginia, Priscilla and Stewart, Marcia, Mary Cate, Horvord, Ann Marie, Kathy, Sarah, Judy, Anne, Allan, Glenn, Nadia, Larry, Elizabeth, Joseleyne, Barb, Lawrence, Paul, George, Benjamin, Paul, Jami and Haleigh, Walter, Bobby, Nancy, David, Mary, James, Donna, Jerry, Connie, Elisabeth, Sam, Sarah, Andrew, Aurise, Mary, Jervis, Emmy, The Gray-Warren Family, Rosalind, Bobby, Drew, Antigone, Ellen, Jim, Walter and Nancy, Elinor, Hal and Beth, Ron, Mary, Malcolm, Kerri, Bill, Jennifer, Mary Jane, Andrea, Lawrence, Leigh, Ken, John, Luis Fernando, Renato, Fernanda, and Luis Renato, Jerry, Mary, and Dr. C.
A celebration of life service for Peter Grim Lisle will be held at 2pm on Friday, September 12, in the Historic Chapel at Swan Point Cemetery,
585 Blackstone Blvd, Providence, RI.
A celebration of life service for Margaret Leach Cole, mother of Melinda DelCioppio, will be held at 10am on Saturday, September 13, at St. Martin's.
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