Visitation
One-to-One Relational Meetings: We believe that all ministry begins with relationships. Our clergy and lay leaders intentionally seek opportunities to meet one-to-one with newcomers and long term members to deepen our relationships, and to understand our shared hurts, hopes, and loves. By getting to know you we will be better able to minister to you and connect you to meaningful ministry and community at St. Martin's.
Lay Visitors are volunteers who visit parishioners in the hospital, in their homes, or other places of residence to help maintain their connections to the life of the church. For more information, or if you wish to join this ministry, contact the Rev. Anne Thatcher.
Lay Eucharistic Visitors are trained lay people who bring communion and fellowship to those, who for various reasons, are homebound and cannot attend on Sundays. Team members visit on a rotating basis. If you or someone you know is interested please contact Anne Swoyer. Please also feel free to share the names of anyone who would appreciate being a recipient of these visits.
Clergy Visitation is done by the clergy staff to pray with members or their loved ones who are sick, dying, or are in any type of crisis. Visits may also be done in times of celebration. Please let the office know if you or loved ones need a clergy’s visit by calling 215.247.7466, or email the clergy.
The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel was educated at Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and Union Theological Seminary in New York City. He was ordained Priest in 1995 in Danville, Pennsylvania where he worked as a Hospital Chaplain and a Head Start teacher. Pastoral positions followed at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Flossmoor, Illinois, St. Paul and the Redeemer in Chicago, and then Rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Park Ridge, Illinois. After following his wife, the Rev. Dr. Alison Boden, to her new position in Princeton, New Jersey, he was called to be the Executive Director of the Crisis Ministry of Mercer County. The largest food pantry and the gateway agency for Homelessness Prevention services in Mercer County, the Crisis Ministry also runs a Welfare to Work program and an innovative free farmers market. Jarrett became Rector of St. Martin’s in February 2011. He formerly served as the co-chair of Philadelphians Organized to Witness Empower and Rebuild (POWER). Jarrett serves as Dean of the Wissahickon Deanery and is an Associate of the Order of the Holy Cross. He is an Adjunct Professor at Princeton Theological Seminary where he co-teaches a regular class on Faith Based Community Organizing, Theology and Practice. Jarrett has been published in Sojourners, the Huffington Post, Yours the Power, and the Journal of Public Theology. He is the father of two children, Timothy and Martha. Anne is a native Westerner, having spent her childhood years in Oregon and Colorado. She follows in the footsteps of her great-grandfather from Wales who was an Anglican priest and her uncle who was an Episcopal priest. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology from Whitman College, a M.Ed. from Western Washington University, a graduate certificate in Leadership and Camp Ministry from Wheaton College (IL), a diploma in Anglican Studies from the Berkeley Divinity School at Yale and an M.Div. from the Yale Divinity School. An experienced ropes course facilitator and wilderness trip leader and trained to work with traumatized communities, Anne believes in the power of conflict resolution and peace making through mediation. She has recently spent time with a Christian Peacemaker Teams delegation to Israel/Palestine and attended a human rights training with Cristosal in El Salvador. Barbara joined St.
Martin’s as the Associate for Spiritual Formation and Care in 2014. In June
Barbara’s family moved from State College to Philadelphia, where her husband
works at Drexel University. They’re excited to be a part of St. Martin’s
vibrant faith community. Barbara’s family includes her husband, Jess, adult
son, Jesse, and high school-aged daughter, Hannah. Non-human family members
include Tara the rat and Oakley the dog. Barb began
seminary in the fall of 2017. Read more here. In June 2019, Barb was ordained a Deacon in the Episcopal Church,
on her path to full priestly ordination later in the year. Read more about becoming a deacon here. On Friday, December 13, 2019, Barbara was ordained to the Priesthood at St. Martin's.The Rev. Jarrett Kerbel
Rector
(215) 247-7466 ext. 101 | The Rev. Anne Thatcher
Associate Rector
(215) 247-7466 ext. 105 | The Rev. Barbara Ballenger
Associate for Spiritual Formation and Care
(215) 247-7466 ext. 102 |
Barbara hales originally from northeast Ohio, where she grew up and went to
school. She received a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Kent State
University and a master’s degree in pastoral ministry from Ursuline College.
Barbara’s ministry background is based largely in the Roman Catholic Church
where she worked for more than 17 years in a variety of faith-based positions,
including parish faith formation director, campus minister, newspaper reporter
and program coordinator for Catholic Relief Services. She also worked for eight
years in a performing arts ministry as a retreat leader, songwriter and
storyteller.
Most recently Barbara worked for Episcopal Relief & Development as a
training coordinator in US Disaster Preparedness and Response. She joined the
Episcopal Church in 2010, with the long-term goal of priestly ordination.
Woven through her work in ministry is a passion for social, economic and
environmental justice. Over the years, Barbara has worked on issues of peace
and non-violence, cultural understanding, global and domestic poverty,
sustainability and environmental stewardship.
For fun Barbara loves to read, make music, and turn broken things into mosaics.
You’ll probably also see her riding her bike around West Mount Airy and
Chestnut Hill. She might even stop and ask you for directions.
