Community Engagement

St. Martin’s is committed to community. Jesus’ call to “love thy neighbor” is realized with our neighbors in Chestnut Hill, our regional neighbors in Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley, and our national and international community.
Report from the September 2021 Community Engagement Committee Retreat
St. Martin's Community Engagement Ministries
Supper is currently on hiatus during the COVID-19 Pandemic. SUPPER At St. Martin’s was launched in 2011 to bring neighbors and families together over a free, nutritious community meal, lovingly prepared by volunteers, twice a month. We have room at the table for everyone, no matter what. During the Covid-19 shutdown, the SUPPER at St. Martin’s program has continued to provide financial support to organizations whose doors were still open. St. Martin's Climate Action Team The St. Martin's Climate Action Team brings members of our congregation together to understand, act on, and pray about the very real challenge of climate change. Community Engagement Ministry Partner St. James School serves the immediate under-resourced area of Ridge/Allegheny/Hunting Park. The school (grades 4-8) provides a private school education worth approximately $30k per student to nearly ninety students per year at minimal to no cost to the families. The staff and faculty also engage the residents through the Welcome Table and through many community activities. St. Martin's parishioners volunteer and contribute needed funding on a reliable basis and the commitment through the covenant creates a sense of stability and structure on both sides. The work of the Guatemala Companion Parish Committee involves maintaining the relationship between St. Martin’s and the priests and parishioners in our three Guatemalan companion parishes (San Marcos, San Juan Apostol, and San Martin, Obispo), supporting programs developed by our companions, and visiting our companion parishes. Over nearly 25 years of relationship-building, the Committee has provided funding to support programs devised by our companion parishes to promote human, economic, and/or community development. Becoming Beloved Community: A Process for Racial Justice. At St. Martin’s we use the phrase Becoming Beloved Community to describe the parish’s ongoing work of inclusion, transformation, and public witness aimed at racial justice. The effort flows from the parish’s aspirational value to become a racism-free and diverse community that reflects the city where we worship. Launched in 2016, the Refugee Resettlement Ministry at St. Martin’s was created out of concern by several members of the parish about the global refugee crisis, particularly coming out of Syria. St. Martin’s Refugee Resettlement Ministry joins with leaders of faith communities, secular organizations, and citizens in the Philadelphia area to resettle refugees in a safe, secure, and welcoming environment. The Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields is a founding member of Philadelphians Organized to Witness, Empower, and Rebuild (POWER), a faith-based community organizing project that includes over 40 interfaith congregations throughout Philadelphia and more throughout Pennsylvania. St. Martins has been a long time contributor to the Jubilee School, a Pre-K through 6th grade independent school in West Philadelphia committed to integrating scholarship, social activism, and the celebration of heritage, in a rigorous, comprehensive private school education which is affordable to all, regardless of income.SUPPER
Climate Action Team
St. James School
Guatemala Companion Parish Ministry
Racial Justice
Refugee Resettlement Ministry
POWER Local Organizing Committee
Jubilee School
Ongoing Ministries
Food & Hygiene Items for St. Luke's - Daily
Drop off non-perishable foods and hygiene items at St. Martin's. Donations are taken down to St. Luke's Food Cupboard in Germantown every week or so.
Blessed Baking - Weekly on Friday
Each Friday at 9:00 a.m. bring homemade, packaged, and fully labeled baked goods for The Welcome Table at St. James School. Jane Good leads this effort.
Diaper Drive for the Church of the Crucifixion - Daily
St. Martin's Refugee Resettlement Ministry hosts an ongoing Diaper Drive to support immigrant families served by the Church of the Crucifixion in South Philadelphia. Packaged diapers of all sizes can be delivered outside the parish house daily. They are collected each Friday at 9:00 a.m. Read more here.
Community Engagement Events
News
Summary of "Wednesday Evenings Under God": July 13, 2022
A Minivan for Haseeb and Family
Rector's Warden Report: June 30, 2022
Write to Mayor Kenney for Voter Access Funding
Sustain Scholarships for School Children in Our Guatemala Companion Parish
Other Ministries
American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem (AFEDJ) raises funds for humanitarian work of the Diocese of Jerusalem and its institutions so it may better serve the needs of all peopl… Episcopal Community Services has served people in need for over 150 years. The programs have changed with the times, but the legacy of caring and competence forged in the age of orphanages and…AFEDJ
Episcopal Community Services