E-Messenger March 5, 2020
|
|
Dear People of God:
Earlier, on this rainy Thursday, I found myself filled with nostalgic memories of Wednesday night soup suppers of yesteryear. Yesterday, I believe St. Martin's tapped into that in a new way with our Wednesday night soup supper programming. The Altar Guild cooked a delicious pot of soup. We had a Bible study on Romans, a class on prayer, a painting the Gospel group, a special Godly Play lesson for children; a look at Lent for our youth, yoga and choir -- all on the same night. The parking lot was full, laughter was heard, study happened, and prayer time was intentional. Around 100 people were in various places across the campus, and there's room for more. It was wonderful and fun.
Wednesday Night Church used to be a cultural piece of what it meant to belong to a church. No matter what your denomination was, I am sure you have memories of going to church on Wednesday nights. It was simply what was done. Time moves on. More and more, adults are working longer and longer hours, kids are spending huge amounts of time on homework and extracurricular activities. Time more than ever is a commodity, but you all know this because you live it.
In conjunction with these demands on our time, Pew Research and other polling sites have routinely shown that more and more Americans are feeling isolated and lonely. I think the two go together.
Lent is a time when we examine our lives. It is a time when we have the opportunity to pray about what is important and focus on those things. I do not think Wednesday Night Church is something our families can do year-round, but for a season, the season of Lent, I encourage you to try to attend. St. Martin's will hold up its end of the bargain. We will feed you, put together an amazing program list, have childcare, and finish promptly at 7:30 p.m. Food, fellowship, love, education, and connection -- all in one place. This type of programming also is a great time to get to know your church family better. Take a look at the options further down in this E-Messenger, know you are invited, and please, come! As always, all are welcome.
In Christ,
Mitch+
|
|
The
Senior High Breakfast has moved to
Bruegger's on Forest Drive
for the month of March. If you are a 9th-12th grader, come join us for fun, food and fellowship starting at
6:45 a.m. on Friday (March 6)
. Friends are always welcome to join, and breakfast is on us!
|
|
SUNDAY, March 8
CLICK
HERE
FOR THE GOSPEL READING
|
|
Adults are invited to join Caitlyn Darnell at
9 a.m. Sunday (March 8)
in the Garden Room for the continuation of the "The Way of Love" series. The class is exploring the ancient pathways and practices that followers of Jesus have observed for centuries. This class also has a
Facebook Group
where discussion continues and resources are provided. So catch up online during the week, and then grab a cup of coffee in the downstairs kitchen in The Commons on Sunday and join the conversation!
|
|
St. Martin' youth are assisting with
Evensong this Sunday (March 8) at 6 p.m.
, by participating as RSCM members, serving as ushers and readers. Everyone is invited to attend this beautiful service conducted in song.
|
Please make sure to RSVP to
Courtney Baker for the following upcoming youth plans:
- Gravatt Day on March 15
- EYC Pilates on March 22
Check email and GroupMe messages from Courtney.
|
|
Children ages 4 through 3rd grade
are invited to join us each Sunday during Lent for a fun and interactive Lenten series being led by Judy Carter and Libby Nicholson. Meet in the Godly Play room in The Commons to begin. All classes will start at 9 a.m.
Fourth- and fifth-graders
meet at 9 a.m. in the classroom at the top of the stairs in The Commons.
|
|
|
Each Tuesday morning, beginning at
7:30 a.m., a group of parishioners gathers in All Saints' Hall in the Parish Hall
for Morning Prayer and breakfast. A book study is also included. All is done by 9 a.m. Visitors are always welcome to attend.
|
|
Holy Eucharist is celebrated on Tuesdays at noon in the chapel. Healing prayers offered on the first Tuesday of each month.
|
|
|
St. Martin's Reads, a group that loves to read and discuss books, will gather
Tuesday (March 10) at 6:30 p.m. in St. Luke’s Studio
to discuss “The Razor’s Edge” by Somerset Maugham. If you can't make it this time, plan to come to our next meeting which will be May 12, when we will be reading
"A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story . . . " by Sonia Purnell.
|
|
LENTEN WEDNESDAY, March 11
|
|
Our Lenten Wednesdays continue
Wednesday (March 11), beginning with a soup supper in the Parish Hall from
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. There is a
PBJ station for kiddos.
Programming runs from
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Class options and locations are:
- Grace to You, a study of Romans with Caitlyn Darnell and Mitch Smith, in All Saints' Hall.
- Lectio Divina with the Rev. Susan Prinz in St. Alban's.
- Pray, Paint, Sip with Allison Askins and Mimi Fulmer. (Two slots remain for this limited-space class, our only offering with an attendance cap.)
- Yoga with Amy Moore in the Garden Room in The Commons.
- Nursery care for infants through age 3.
- A special Lenten Godly Play for children ages 4 through 5th grade in the Godly Play room in The Commons.
- A Journey through Lent for middle and senior high students in the Youth Loft.
If you have NOT yet registered, please email
[email protected] so we are sure to make enough soup!
We will meet on these Wednesdays:
March 11, 25 and April 1. No gathering on March 18 due to Caitlyn Darnell's ordination on March 19.
|
|
Every Wednesday during the school year! Invite a middle school or senior high friend to the Loft from 3:30 - 5 p.m. Snacks, games, homework time ... and always chaperoned.
|
|
Working together for justice . . .
You are invited to a
MORE Justice @ St. Martin’s information and orientation meeting
on
Thursday, March 12, at 6:30 p.m. in the Garden Room
. MORE Justice is a growing network of non-partisan, faith-based congregations that are culturally, economically, racially, geographically and religiously diverse coming together to fulfill our scriptural mandate to “do justice” and make the Central Midlands a more just place for all people. A light dinner will be provided at this meeting, but please RSVP to
[email protected]
if you will attend.
|
|
 |
Be sure to invite friends to our
Celtic Mass
next Sunday, (March 15) at 10:30 a.m.
Musical accompaniment to the Adult Choir by the Sean Heely Celtic Trio. You do not want to miss this beautiful service enriched by the Celtic tradition.
|
Stay tuned for more detailed information about
Holy Week
, which begins on
Palm Sunday (April 5) and runs through Saturday, April 11
.
Holy Week services include:
- Our Agape Meal, April 8
- Maundy Thursday service with the sacred act of footwashing and the overnight prayer vigil as well as special prayer stations and the labyrinth on April 9
- Good Friday services and the Way of the Cross on April 10
- Followed by the Great Vigil of Easter on Saturday, April 11
- And Easter Sunday services on April 12.
|
|
|
|
Instead of our monthly Holy Hike, we are inviting parishioners to take part in the Midlands
2020 Heart Walk Saturday, March 28, in honor of the late Bruce Carter,
a beloved parishioner who suffered from heart disease. Before Bruce died last year, he asked us to make our participation in this year's walk bigger and better than ever.
The point is to
get moving
. Heart disease/stroke is the number one killer for both men and women in the United States.
Over the past several years, the St. Martin's Team has included walkers of all ages -- from children to people in their 90s. (At 95, Vern Brantley is our team's honorary co-captain.) Some walk all three miles and some complete just the first mile, also called The Miracle Mile. Please show your support either by walking, contributing to the team, or coming out to cheer us on.
The walk will begin at Colonial Life Arena.
CHECK-IN is at 8 a.m. and START is at 9 a.m.
To donate to the St. Martin's team online, click
HERE
. You will need to click on the team category at the bottom of the page and search for St. Martin's.
For more information about this parish effort, contact Ann Avignone by email at
[email protected]
.
|
|
|
|
Thank you for your gifts of peanut butter to
Harvest Hope Food Bank
. Harvest Hope exceeded its goal of acquiring 10,000 jars of peanut butter.
Please now consider donating canned soups, vegetables and meats as you have in the past.
We donated
279 pounds
last week, and are at a total of 2,815 pounds year to date.
|
|
The local
Family Promise program
is in the process of getting its new director in place so
there will be no families to serve during the March week we had on our calendar.
Thanks to all who had already signed up to help. Stay tuned for future weeks of service.
|
|
We are collecting readers for Haitian
patients who will receive eye care from Columbia ophthalmologist Hal Crosswell later this month.
Baskets in the narthex.
|
|
Our
Crayton Backpack Program
provides weekend meals to 30 students at Crayton, the middle school across the street from the parish. These are students who have been identified by the guidance office as being in need of food during the weekends when they do not have access to the school lunch program. Needed items are
ramen noodles, raisins, applesauce, green beans, corn and Completes meals
. Thank you for your gifts.
You may also bring these items to the
Wednesday Night Lenten Program
and we will get them to our storage closet.
|
|
March 9
Peggy Ebert
The Rev. John Mims
Pat Townsend
March 10
Leland Burns
Kathryn McGrew
Jennifer Newton
|
|
March 11
Dan Cobb
Randy Fleniken
Mary Palmer Gaddy
March 12
Gayle Darby
Christopher Hammond
March 13
Martin McWilliams
|
|
|
Follow St. Martin's on
Facebook
(St. Martin's-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church)
.
Check the page throughout the week for what's happening in the parish!
LIKE
the page for us, and
SHARE
posts with friends and family!
|
|
Follow St. Martin's on Instagram at
@smifsc. Each week, a 3-Word Gospel is posted including a 3-word summary of the upcoming Sunday's Gospel and the citation for the verse in the New Testament so you can begin preparing for Sunday's sermon. Encourage friends and family to follow us so more people can learn about our parish, or simply hear a summary of the Gospel each week!
|
|
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 to login button on the homepage and follow the prompts).
Here's how to get the app. Depending on the type of phone you have (iphone or Android), click on the correct link below:
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
[email protected]
.
|
|
If you have been visiting with us
and are now interested in membership, please
fill out the Welcome/Prayer Request card available in each pew and place it in the offering plate so we can be in touch with you about next steps.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
