E-Messenger April 2, 2020
PALM SUNDAY, March 29
Join us for church this Sunday, Palm Sunday,
via Facebook Live
Join our Facebook Live service
at 10 a.m . this Sunday (March 29) . Plan to add your prayer requests and share the service with others.

Click HERE for the readings.
Click HERE for the Book of Common Prayer.
Stations of the Cross are also being posted on our YouTube channel daily.

*Photo is from our 2019 Palm Sunday Service.
A WORD FROM MITCH

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On Tuesday, as many of you know, I cooked BBQ for Sher Baechtold (to the right) and her team working in the ICU at the Dorn VA Medical Center. (See her story down below.) Since then I have received numerous emails and text messages asking, "How can I help?" or "What can I do for others"? While the rest of this E-messenger will lay out our plans for Holy Week, I feel the need to answer these questions with a few simple thoughts.

First. Pray.
God listens! I truly believe it. Also, prayer helps ease personal anxiety and helps clear your head. Pray. Take some time alone or with another person and pray. Susan will soon have a video about making a "Holy Space" in your home. Consider her words, they are wise.

Second. Do the easy things.
Pick the low hanging fruit. Do you know kids are traveling the neighborhoods on walks with their parents, and thousands of people have hidden stuffed animals in their windows so that little children can go on "bear hunts"? It's easy. It is helpful. It takes almost no time, and it cheers up a child's day. Do you know of other easy ideas that follow all of the rules of physical distancing? Do them and then share them with others.

Third. Play to your strengths.
COVID-19 is a scary thing. The problem is fear causes us to lose focus on what we are good at because it forces our focus onto that one thing that we fear. Can I barbecue? Can I can I cook for a nursing team that is working double shifts? Absolutely! Can I deliver it safely? Sure, I can be as safe as any restaurant can. Passion meeting the service of God is the definition of Christian mission. What are your passions? How can they be of service? Do you knit? Have you considered knitting preemie hats or blankets for the hospitals? While hospitals may not be able to take your donations now, they soon will be again and stockpiles will be low. Can you sing? Consider singing for your neighborhood or your street. What are the things you have always done for others? Is there a new way you can do it while following CDC guidelines and being safe? I encourage you to think about it and pray about it. Play to your strengths, your God-given talents. The gifts of God for the people of God are still with us. We just need to think of ways to use them creatively.

In Christ,
Mitch+
SUSAN SHARES HOW TO SET AN ALTAR
 AT HOME

Friends,

This promises to be a Holy Week unlike any we've ever experienced. We, your clergy, pray that it will be a rich and meaningful time, even with all the shifts and changes required. 

To that purpose, a few thoughts about worshiping from home during this holiest of times. If you do not already have a space set aside at home, here are a few recommendations:

  • Find a comfortable place. Whether you are alone or part of a family, be in a place where all can gather around your computer, ipad or iphones comfortably. It could be at your dining table, on your deck, in your den.

  • Set your altar with a candle, a cross, perhaps items collected by family members that have some significance to them. Encourage contributors to share the meaning behind their "offerings." These could be a beloved stuffed animal, something from nature, a special book, something to be offered for the glory of God in love. Of course, your Book of Common Prayer and your Bible are good resources.

  • Know that anytime we gather with the intention of seeking God is holy time. Let this knowledge allow you to be flexible with children who might wander off, or distractions that may occur. Return to worship as you can, when you can.

  • And most of all, as you gather for worship, remember that you will not be alone. You, your family at St. Martin's-in-the-Fields, and thousands, if not millions, of others will be gathering with you. And God will be there.

Faithfully,
Susan+
CAITLYN REMINDS US THAT HOLY WEEK WILL BE DIFFERENT, BUT STILL HOLY

Holy Week is going to be full of feelings this year. I’ve never spent a Holy Week that wasn’t in the church. I have, like you, returned again and again to the sanctuary to mark the most precious, holy, and spectacular days of our year.

It will feel different marking these most holy days in our homes, physically distant from our siblings in Christ. But it will also feel familiar and comfortable. The stories are the same. The words of the liturgies are the same. The sacredness of this time is the same.

To celebrate and mark these times together at St. Martin’s:
  • We will be “premiering” videos on our YouTube channel at the same time as when our physical services would have been held. These services will feel like the Facebook Live worship we have been doing, but, we hope, easier to find and use.
  • We’ll be sending a Holy Week email to you Monday with those times and details.
  • Alongside each of these videos, we’ll also be giving you ideas for how to mark these days in your own homes.

While we may be physically distant, may this time draw us spiritually close to each other, and to our Risen Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Caitlyn+

*Photo is of our chapel during last year's Maundy Thursday/Good Friday Prayer Vigil.
A story about a priest, an ICU social worker and BBQ wings . . .
FRIDAY, April 3
Zoom into our Senior High breakfast Friday morning (April 3).

All 9th-12th graders are invited to join us for breakfast at home at 8:15 a.m. Pour a bowl of cereal or toast a bagel and join the online breakfast.

Click here:  https://zoom.us  to log in via computer. The Zoom application will automatically start downloading even if you have previously used Zoom. You will need to install it to join the call.

Questions? Contact Courtney Baker at  courtney.baker@smifsc.com
CHILDREN
Be on the lookout via our YouTube Channel for some special stories we will be sharing (click on Children & Youth window):
  • This Sunday's bedtime story will be the story of the Easter rock as told by Judy Carter and Libby Nicholson.
  • And keep preparing for Easter with our "Faces of Easter" Godly Play story. Perhaps have your child draw his or her own faces and place treasured items from your home on the faces as done in the story in the Godly Play room.
Holy Week activities:
  • Click HERE for instructions on creating Holy Week in a Box.
And click HERE for instructions on making Easter flags. Do not worry about having the exact supplies. Use whatever you have at home. They will be beautiful!
HOW TO LIVE STREAM VIA FACEBOOK
Here's how to follow services on Facebook:

If you want to watch on your phone, and have the Facebook app, go to the church's Facebook page at 10 a.m. and navigate to the video section.

If you are watching on your personal computer, click HERE to go to the church's Facebook video feed.
ST. MARTIN'S YouTube CHANNEL
The link to the St. Martin's YouTube Channel is now easily accessible on the homepage of our website (see circled space on photo to left).

Or click HERE and catch up on the great videos that have been posted thus far, including daily Stations of the Cross videos.

If you've missed something, no worries. It will be here waiting for you.
BIRTHDAYS
April 5
Karen Strickland
Gracie Adams

April 6


April 7
Suzie Anderson
Anna James
Branda Morganelli
April 8
Jim Epley Jr.
Anne Grace Gaddy
Sherri Henderson

April 9
Everett Brazell

ST. MARTIN'S ON FACEBOOK
Follow St. Martin's on  Facebook   (St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church) throughout the week for parish news!  LIKE  the page for us, and  SHARE  posts with friends and family! This Sunday's service will be LIVESTREAMED .
@smifsc ON INSTAGRAM
Follow St. Martin's on Instagram at @smifsc, where we post:
  • The 3-Word Gospel on Tuesdays
  • Compline from Home each evening, Monday through Friday
Encourage friends and family to follow us, too!
ONLINE GIVING
Thank you for your gifts . . .
To make your pledge via online giving , click HERE.

To make a financial gift to St. Martin's online , click HERE .

To make your Capital Campaign pledge online , click HERE .

To make a gift to the Capital Campaign , click HERE .
CHURCH DIRECTORY
We have TWO easy ways to get a church directory: one is an app for your phone and the other is by creating an account on our website (go to login button on homepage and follow prompts). 

Log in info: 
Site # 90036 
Username and password are same as your church website log in. You will only have to input this info once. If you haven't created a login, follow the steps with the Member Login button on the homepage of the church

If you have created a login, but don't remember your password: Contact   robyn.holt@stmartinsinthefields.com .

Here's how to get the app, depending on the type of phone you have (iphone or Android):
iPhone    
Android    
STAY CONNECTED
5220 Clemson Avenue
Columbia, SC 29206
803.787.0392 | www.stmartinsinthefields.com