The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is an Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Pennsylvania that is centered on the worship of God, the ministry of all baptized persons, and the call to be agents of Christ’s love in the world.
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Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields
8000 St. Martin’s Lane
Philadelphia, PA 19118
215.247.7466

The Rev. Louis H. Temme

A Letter from the Interim Rector: Decisions Stemming from Eastertide Forum Conversations

Dear members and friends of St. Martin’s:

On May 16th, we concluded our Eastertide worship experiment and series of Adult Forum discussions about the dynamics of our community in worship and fellowship. Much information was shared about what we value, where we are in tension, and what we might do to improve our life together, particularly on Sundays. The vestry, clergy and staff have been in conversation since then about what should happen next.

It is clear from the feedback on the single-service experiment that we want to do a better job of fellowship, to provide more opportunities to mix and connect with each other as an intergenerational community. It is equally clear that we strongly identify with our four distinct liturgical styles and do not want to give any of them up, even as we recognize the negative effects of the four-service schedule on our community life.

As we continue to discuss and refine our understanding of who we are as a parish and what we need to fulfill our mission, the Interim Rector and vestry propose the following:

  • Keep the four distinctive Sunday morning liturgies of St. Martin’s, but adjust the times they are held, in order to enable more of our adults and children to visit with each other after services and to attend the Sunday education hour. Worship will occur at 8:00 am, 9:00 am (two parallel family-oriented services), and 11:00 am. Forum and Church School will be at 10:00 am. Evensong will be held at 4:00 pm on the first Sundays of October through May. Details appear below.
  • Establish a new program, “A Place at the Table,” to enable community-building outside of Sunday mornings. This will be a series of self-managed groups of seven people. The groups will meet for up to three months, and choose activities that will encourage fellowship. We strongly urge every member of St. Martin’s to participate in a group. The groups will be established by a lay coordinator and will include individuals who are single or married and come from different services and age groups. Meals, study, and recreational activities are all possibilities for the group’s time together.
  • Increase the opportunities for more people to participate together in Sunday hospitality through the new service times, and by offering fuller receptions on combined-service Sundays and after Evensong services. In addition to “regular” course offerings, Adult Forum time will also be made available for fellowship and structured conversations around issues of importance to the community.

Worship & Fellowship (June through September):

From June through September 12th, we will follow our regular summer schedule, offering Holy Eucharist at 8:00 am and 10:00 am, with simple hospitality following both services.

On two Wednesday evenings of July and two of August, we will hold Holy Eucharist on the lawn with a potluck picnic afterwards. Look for dates and times to be announced in TWASM.

Worship, Christian Formation & Fellowship (September through May):

Beginning on September 19th, our Sunday morning schedule will be:

8:00 - 8:40
Holy Eucharist, without music.

9:00 – 9:50
Holy Eucharist (Rite II) planned with older children and youth in mind: Includes music with the Parish Choir and communion in the round. Homily,
creed and readings will remain shorter to keep to service time limit.

9:00 - 9:40
Holy Eucharist planned especially for young children and their families: Follows the current 10:15 rite but will be held in one of the spaces in the Parish House. Change of starting time is intended to enable the combined fellowship of all of our families, and opportunities for all who wish to participate in education hour.

10:00
Parish education hour, including Church School, with a new pre-school class; Youth Forum; and Adult Forum.

11:00- 12:00
Holy Eucharist (Rite II). A full traditional liturgy, with three readings, full creed, sermon and music by the St. Martin’s Choir. Change of starting time is intended to provide time for fellowship for those with lunchtime constraints.

Simple hospitality will follow each of the services, as it currently does. Professional nursery care will continue to be available from 9 am to 12 noon every Sunday.

Services will be held at 8:00 am and 9:30 am followed by a festive reception on the following Sundays: September 12th (“Homecoming” Sunday); November 14th (St. Martin’s Day); December 26th (Lessons & Carols); January 2nd; May 1st (Second Sunday of Easter); June 12th (Pentecost/Annual Meeting); and June 26th.

Evensong will be held at 4:00 pm on the first Sundays of October through May (an hour earlier), with a reception afterwards.

Non-Sunday adult formation opportunities will continue to be offered.

Nourishing the Body of Christ
Not all of the issues raised in our Eastertide discussions will be addressed by the changes proposed above. Sundays may still seem rushed, because we simply cannot fulfill an entire parish’s needs and values in one morning a week.

In making the changes described above, St. Martin’s leadership is trying to create new space for our community to connect with each other. The success of these changes depends on the whole parish’s willingness to participate - to take an active role in the relationship-building we seek.

In particular, we need people to help with the following:

  • Summer Fellowship – Planning and promoting of the July and August outdoor Eucharists and potlucks.
  • Family Service time changes – Planning for moving the 10:15 service to 9:00, including contacting the affected families.
  • Nametags – Planning for better maintenance and usability of our nametags at all services (making sure everyone has them, and making sure they are accessible and well-organized).
  • “A Place at the Table” – Planning and implementation.
  • Hospitality for combined-service Sundays – Particularly for September 12th.

Please contact Cathy Cowling if you are interested in helping with any of these planning efforts.

For a copy of the more detailed summary of the Eastertide Forum discussions prepared by Harris Sokoloff and Chris Satullo, please contact Marj Dupuis.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Eastertide experiment, and who offered their thoughtful and heartfelt feedback on the liturgies and on the issues discussed in the forums. We will remain in conversation with each other as we seek to make our community stronger.

Faithfully yours,

The Rev. Lou Temme
St. Martin’s Vestry, Clergy & Lay Staff
View and download a copy of this letter in PDF (1.3 MB) format.