Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields

SUMMERTIME AT ST. MARTIN’S

Mark your calendars:

Mark your calendars:
• Wednesday’s noon Healing Eucharist is on hiatus for the months of July and August.
• Each Sunday morning from 9 to 9:45 a.m., we’ll take a look at the summer scripture readings for the following Sunday in the parish hall. Join us for conversation and reflection.
• Children’s Liturgy of the Word continues during the 10 o’clock service. Children are guided out of the church by an adult and returned to their parents just before the peace. Your children are warmly invited; for those who do not want to participate, the “soft space” in the north transept (to the left of the pulpit) continues.
• The next “first Monday” Healing Eucharist will be held on August 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Other items of note:
• At the 10:00 a.m. services on Sundays July 18, 25 and August 1 and 8, we will distribute communion to one another around the altar.
• The parish office will be open from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. through the rest of the summer except for vacation days taken by Karen Clayton. Please check the calendar for dates of office closing early OR completely.
• The Rev. Beth Hixon is on vacation during the month of July. In her absence, please contact the Rev. Lou Temme if you have a pastoral emergency or concern.

PLEASE TAKE ALTAR FLOWERS TO SOMEONE TODAY

Throughout the summer months, after the 10 a.m. service, altar flowers are available to anyone who would like to brighten the day of a person who is homebound, sick, or just in need of a visit. Share the wealth after the service. Green floral paper and ribbon are located in the sacristy in the second drawer from the top on the left.

FEED YOUR BODY AND YOUR SOUL ON WEDNESDAY EVENINGS

Come for a picnic and the Holy Eucharist on Wednesdays, July 21, 28, August 4 and 11. Bring your own dinner, a blanket and share this outdoor dining experience at 6:00 p.m. Eucharist will follow at 7:00 p.m. If it rains, we’ll eat and break bread inside. (There will be card tables and chairs for those who would prefer not to sit on the ground).

HEALING EUCHARIST: MONDAY, AUGUST 2

Join us in the chapel at 7:30 p.m. for Holy Eucharist with Healing Prayers.

WANT TO HEAR ABOUT SHARLINE’S STAY IN JERUSALEM?

On Thursday, August 5, from 7-8:30 pm, Sharline Fulton will share some of her experience of living and working in East Jerusalem for three months, as the Warden of St. George’s College, Jerusalem. The group will meet in the parish office if it is very hot, or in the Houston Room. Please call Sharline at 215-247-8699 if you have any questions.

A PLACE AT THE TABLE

One of the results of our discernment meetings was the realization that church members yearned for a better sense of unity at St. Martin’s, which can be a challenge to achieve with four different worship services.

To help parishioners get to know each other better, we’re launching a program called “A Place at the Table,” starting in October, in which the parish will be invited into groups of seven, which will meet once a month for the next four months.

The purpose of the get-togethers is simply to get to know each other better.

Each group can decide what they’d like to do at their gatherings. They can just share a meal at one another’s house, or at a restaurant, or even on a picnic blanket.

They can pick a project they’d like to do together - maybe train for “Race for the Cure” or clean up a neighborhood block.

They can go on outings to a play, or to an amusement park.

They could even decide to paint each others’ kitchens!

It doesn’t matter, really - each group will decide for themselves. The larger goal is to broaden and strengthen the sense of community that is possible in a congregation like St. Martin’s, where we believe that God calls each of us to take our place at His table - hence the name of this wonderful new program - “A Place at the Table.”

Each group will need a “host” - someone to reach out to the members of his or her group in order to organize and host the initial get-together. We will need about 20-30 hosts. If you think this is something you’d like to do, please either sign up in the parish hall or contact Jean McConnell (jmcc403@hotmail.com or 215-247-5924) or Ronnie Polaneczky (ronpol@aol.com or 215-858-2683).

We are so, so excited about this program and welcome the chance to tell you more about it. If you THINK you’d like to host but need more information to decide for sure, we can talk to you about that, too.

SUBSTITUTE SEXTON NEEDED FOR SUNDAY, AUGUST 15

James Kent will be going on vacation soon. Would you be willing to shadow James on any of the following Sundays: July 25, August 1 or August 8? It’s a simple list of tasks and James could coach you in advance of the August 15 date you are needed. We will pay you for your time (7:30 a.m. through the hospitality that follows the 10 o’clock service, approximately 5 hours).

Please contact Connie Haggard if you are interested, 215-247-7466, ext. 116 or dhaggard@voicenet.com).

“FILL THE BUS” ECS BOOKBAG PROJECT

St Martin’s has signed up to participate in an ECS (Episcopal Community Services) project to help high school students be prepared for school in the fall by providing a bookbag and supplies. These students are in both the ECS Foster/Kinship Care and FAST housing program which can be seen on the ECS website. This is a great family project or one to share with another family. Contact Cathy Cowling for more information.

UPDATE: We have fulfilled our initial commitment of 25 bookbags with supplies (way to go, St. Martin’s)! The blessing of the bags (and last day to bring them to church) is Sunday, August 8.

DISCERNMENT PROCESS UPDATE: OUR SEARCH FOR A RECTOR BEGINS TO FOCUS

The Discernment Committee is meeting with rector candidates
Is it really summer? Not so for your Discernment Committee, which has scheduled field visits in July and August for those candidates who are sufficiently qualified to remain in the process with us. July and August will be busy months.

Teams of three, in some cases four, Discernment Committee members are visiting the home parishes of those who most closely match our requirements for St. Martin’s’ rector. On these field visits we will be interviewing laity, meeting candidates’ spouses, attending worship services and conducting a formal interview with each candidate. Teams will take meticulous notes and return home with their data and impressions. At the end of the summer we hope to identify those few candidates whom we will encourage to remain in the process and whom we will invite to visit St. Martin’s this fall.

Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Barbara Dundon, Chair, Discernment Committee
Members: Barbara Baumgartner, Matt Cooper, Harry Gould, Pam Hill, Joan Mechlin, Michael Martin Mills, Art Misero, Cindy Skinner, Rush Smith, Karen Teel, Greg Williams.

LIKE BEING WITH THE YOUNGEST OF OUR PARISHIONERS?

We still need two teachers for the new pre-school/kindergarten class. If you are interested or have questions, please contact Cathy Cowling, ccowling@stmartinec.org.

EDUCATION FOR MINISTRY AND GRADUATION CONGRATULATIONS

Education for Ministry (EfM) is a four-year theological education for adults that focuses on scripture, church history, theology, and a process of theological reflection in the context of a small group seminar that is offered here at St Martin’s. Students commit to one year at a time. The group currently meets on Thursday mornings; however, based on students’ schedules, an evening seminar time is a possibility.

For more information, please contact either Melissa Buckingham or Cathy Cowling.

FOOD CUPBOARD NEEDS

When we take food from St. Martin’s to the food cupboard at St. Vincent’s Church, we have started to ask what they need at that time. Thank you for your response to the last list that we provided. Now they especially need tuna, canned meats (stews and such), cereal and canned fruit. We now fill the cupboard at St. Martin’s about every three weeks instead of four, but we can do better than that. Let’s work toward filling it every week. Some people are generous and bring a bag full, but if we each brought 1 item every week we could feed many hungry people.

REFUGEE PAKISTANI CLERGY FAMILY IN NEED OF OUR HELP

It takes a great deal of courage to leave your homeland in the face of religious persecution and set down roots half way across the world. And that is exactly what the Rev. Pervez Baig and his family have done. Fr. Baig, an Episcopal priest, left Pakistan, his wife, his 21 year-old daughter and his 19 year-old son nearly three years ago, and came to this area seeking a more secure life and future for himself and his family.

Through fervent prayer and with the humility (some might say, the “audacity”) that allows him to seek and ask for the help he needs, he has managed to: find secular employment; find a church in our deanery (House of Prayer) that, in return for Sunday and pastoral ministry, will house the family in their rectory; persistently deal with the mountains of immigration red-tape that made it possible for him to bring his family here just last month.

He hasn’t done this alone… both St. Luke’s and more recently, St. Paul’s, have provided him with housing, and we have helped him along the way by providing him pastoral care and monetary support for transportation, physician’s services, and food. Pervez and his family are scheduled to move into the rectory at the House of Prayer late this summer or early fall. The parishioners there are hard at work renovating the rectory, which needed and still needs a lot of work.

This tiny parish needs some help and Tom McGill, the Senior Warden, has provided deanery parishes with a list of specific needs. Here is his list, roughly in the order that they should be scheduled (1-3 could be happen soon; 4-5 probably after the middle of July):

1. A new shingled roof
2. Repair of concrete steps leading to the rectory (cement work)
3. Replace 2 wooden staircases (carpentry)
4. Interior paint throughout (team of painters)
5. Sand and refinish floors throughout.

They are looking for:( a) individuals or groups of volunteers willing to help and learn; (b) highly skilled amateurs willing to do the work and/or teach and lead work parties; © referrals to professionals who are competent and who might donate their services or serve at reduced cost. If you have referrals or would like an opportunity to serve as a volunteer, please email House of Prayer senior warden, Tom McGill, at tmcgilljr@aol.com .

INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK NEEDS A CAR

If you are thinking of replacing an older car that is still in decent working condition or know someone who is. Or if you know a car dealer. IHN needs to replace its 19-year old Honda in order that they can continue helping families move possessions, help the unemployed get to job interviews, and help families search for housing. As a 501 c3, it can provide all necessary paperwork for a tax write-off OR they may be able to pay a low price for the right vehicle. Please call Rachel at 215-247-4663, ext 136.

INTERFAITH HOSPITALITY NETWORK NEEDS A CAR

REVISED COMMON LECTIONARY

We are now using the Revised Common Lectionary in the preparation of our parish Sunday liturgies. Please read the latest RUBRICS (find on the right side of any web page) for an explanation of why the Common Lectionary was Revised!

Additionally on this website, you can find an online copy to use. Locate OTHER RESOURCES in the right hand column. Use the link called THIS WEEK’S LECTIONARY. Offered there as well are reflections and responses for your enrichment.

DON’T FORGET TO TELL US WHEN…

1. You move.
2. You get a new email address or home/work phone number.
3. You want us to know your cell phone number or a work email.
4. Any of the information in the directory needs correction of any kind.
5. There has been a new addition to your family.
6. You or a member of your family are hospitalized.
7. You would like this parish community to pray for you or someone you love.
8. You would like a clergy visit.

You can call Karen Clayton in the parish office (215-247-7466, x106 or kclayton@stmartinec.org) for any of the above, or, if you would prefer to leave a confidential message about a prayer request or to request a clergy visit, you can do so by contacting the Rev. Beth W. Hixon (bhixon@stmartinec.org or 215-247-7466, x102).

Another way to leave a request for prayers is to call the prayer voice mailbox at 215-247-7466, x107.

GUIDLINES TO MINIMIZE TRANSMISSION OF THE FLU

In general:
• If you or a family member has a fever, sore throat, or a runny nose, is coughing or sneezing , stay home.
• Wash hands / use gel frequently (everywhere, church included).
• Observe other highly publicized measures to prevent the mechanical spread of the virus and to maintain immunity.
• Get flu shots as soon as possible (especially children, pregnant
women, those with chronic conditions).

Liturgical Acts:
• Consider passing the peace through eye-contact, a word, a gesture.
• Refrain from dipping bread into the wine chalice. Remember that consuming bread only or wine only = a full communion.
• Cross arms over chest if you do not wish to receive wine from the cup.
• Use gel with brisk hand friction over all hand and finger surfaces
until hands are dry before assisting with bread-breaking.

Be assured that:
• The clergy, staff and flu ad-hoc advisory team will be monitoring the progress of the flu in the area and will advise the congregation
of additional measures to take should the need arise.
• Your needs, observations, concerns and comments are
always welcome. Direct these to any clergy, staff or advisory team member*.

*Advisory team members: Jocelyn Anthony, Allison Ballantine, M.D.,
Dick Dupuis, M.D. Jack and Roxane Coleman, Jean McConnell, R.N.,
Joan Mechlin, R.N., Art Misero, R.N., Jan Oliver, R.N., Carol Sudtlegte, R.N., Jennifer Weinstein, R.N. and Paula Wineland, M.D.