E-Messenger May 7, 2020

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Over the next few weeks, in our worship services, we will offer special prayers for mothers, teachers, and at the end of the month, students. Normally we would honor our teachers and Sunday school teachers in a worship service. We would have flowers at church for our mothers, and, of course, we would celebrate Youth Sunday. Unfortunately, as we are all aware, this is not a normal year.

In the Midwest, many churches will hold a "harvest festival" in the fall. It is a time when communities celebrate a successful farming season and a safe completion of the harvest. My hope is that when it is safe, we will be able to hold a harvest festival, one in which we honor the work of so many.

 

With that being said, as states begin to reopen, and as churches begin to gather, I think it is important to remind everyone that we are a church that is a part of a diocese. Our bishop has extended his current restrictions on church space usage, building usage, and in-person worship until May 31. A promised update will come sometime before then.

Many people have asked what "my" plan is for re-opening. As of now, while I have ideas regarding a stage-based approach to regathering safely, including small groups that can physically gather while respecting boundaries of personal space, they are nothing more than ideas. We are a denominational church. We will wait for direction and guidelines from our diocese, our bishop, and our Presiding Bishop. The most important thing in terms of our church coming back together is all of our collective safety.

When this all started, Susan Prinz preached a beautiful Maundy Thursday sermon. Her words then are important now: "We separate ourselves because we love each other. Our love is what keeps us virtually together, but physically apart." If you have not heard her sermon, I commend it to you. You can access it HERE , via our YouTube channel.

In our Gospel this week, Thomas asks a question that has echoed throughout history. "Lord," he asks, "We do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" And Jesus answers, "I am the way, the truth, the life." As our state begins to reopen, as people slowly start to emerge from their homes, I encourage you to be safe! Refrain from judgment of others, refrain from being too hard on yourselves, and remember that Jesus is the way. Fix your eyes on him. 

In Christ,

Mitch+

Then join us after church

 for a Zoom coffee hour!

This is a great way to catch up with one another. You will need Zoom on your device to join. If you do not have Zoom, when you click HERE , you'll be invited to download Zoom and join the meeting.

Once you are in Zoom, you will need the following to join the meeting:

Meeting ID: 924 4926 0578

Password: onthepoint

If you want to join by dialing in, call   253.215.8782

Meeting ID: 924 4926 0578

Password: 236317

Taking walks together is one of the great ways to give everyone a change of pace during this time when so many of us are at home. Dads, plan a walk on Saturday with just the kids. While on your outing, have your kids collect bits of nature that they can then come home and make into cards or pictures for Mother's Day like these trees made by Mia Stockard, 5, above, and Lily Stockard, 7, below, daughters of Amanda and Eric Stockard.

Click the button below for a few other ideas

if the nature walk doesn't work for your crew:

We know everyone is missing the music that makes St. Martin's worship so beautiful. In case you did not catch it earlier this week, the video above is a Mini Mendelssohn Concert, provided by English. Click on the image. You will also find it on our YouTube channel.

Commons Threads stitching their time over Zoom

If you would like to join the camaraderie of doing needlework or other hand-sewn projects, contact Stephanie Whitson so she can get you your Zoom invitation for the Common Threads gatherings taking place weekly on Sundays at 3 p.m.

We're turning the community garden that Davis Holt made for his Eagle Scout project into an Outreach effort! (Davis is the teenage son of Robyn Holt, our finance administrator.)

A few folks have been hard at work this week getting the area prepped, planned, and ready for planting to grow vegetables to donate to local food pantries. Mitch and Caitlyn enjoyed a round of rototilling this week, tilling the plot for planting.

Details about physically-distanced volunteer opportunities will be coming soon. Watch this space for how you can sign up to take part. 

In the meantime, we need the following items, which can be dropped off at the Parish Office door: 

Today (May 7) is the last day to give

to our special Harvest Hope effort

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! The link for each Sunday's worship service is posted here along with lots of other SMIF news.

Follow St. Martin's on Instagram at @smifsc, where we post: