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Rector's Note
Answering the Gospel's Call Together
No matter what is happening around us, the Church remains the Body of Christ and the call of the Gospel remains emphatic, full of grace, and trustworthy. We are entering a new era in our nation and members are asking me how the Church will respond. My response is simple, "We will continue to do the good work the Gospel calls us to do!"
Our faithful response to God in the past will continue however conditions around us may change. We will feed the poor, clothe the naked, house the homeless, welcome the refugee, visit the prisoner, comfort the persecuted, liberate the oppressed and all for the sake of Christ's name. We will respect the dignity of every human being, we will work for racial justice and economic security for the most vulnerable, we will speak up against sexism and misogyny, affirm and welcome LGBTQ people and champion their civil rights, and celebrate the advancement and equality of all people. This is our baptismal work as a community set apart to represent Jesus Christ in this world...
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Housing Assistance Urgently Needed for the Dahans!
A variety of circumstances have led to the Dahan family being without a permanent home to move into this week as anticipated. The seminary has graciously extended their stay for the time being, but we need to find an alternative solution as soon as possible. If you know of a realtor or landlord in the zip code 19149, in the area of Cottman Ave. and Roosevelt Blvd.,
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Parish Forum Jan. 29
The Power of a Broken Heart: Addressing Injustice in Painful Times
The Rev. Chaz Howard, University Chaplain of the University of Pennsylvania, helps us find energy and meaning in doing the ongoing spiritual work of justice.
Parish Forum Feb. 5
Annual Finance Meeting
Come hear about how your financial contributions are being put towards ministry here and around the world! This is our yearly update on the close of the prior fiscal year and the budget for the current fiscal year.
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How to be Happier
Saturdays:
Jan. 28, and
Feb. 4, 11, 18 and 25;
10 to 11 a.m.
Fee: $60
Learn ways to ways to increase happiness and life satisfaction in this six-week series. The classes are based on the new field of positive psychology, which, instead of treating illness, looks at ways to promote happiness, life satisfaction, and resilience. Dr. Sarah Whitman is a psychiatrist practicing in the Philadelphia area. Her practice focuses on chronic physical pain.
Registration required
.
Spirituality of Aging
Feb. 1, 3:00
to 4:30 p.m. in Hilary House
Convener: Karen Rowley
All are invited to learn where God may be and how God is acting as we move in the second half of life.
No registration required.
Listening Lessons: Praying from the Silent Center
Wednesday, Feb. 15,
7:00 to 8:30 p.m. in Hilary House
Presenter: The Rev. Sharline Fulton
Suggested donation: $15
According to Basil Pennington, Centering Prayer is "but a simple way to open the door wide all the way to let God in Christ come in." The Rev. Sharline Fulton will lead an introduction to this prayer form that allows one to discover God in contemplative silence. Part of Wellspring at St. Martin's "Listening Lessons" ongoing series on ways to open ourselves ever deeper to the voice and presence of God in our lives.
Registration Required.
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Connect 8's
Introducing CONNECT 8's - regularly scheduled dinner groups of 8 people that rotate each time so you meet more and more members of St. Martin's. Dinner groups will be hosted in the homes of participants and will be easy to organize. Dinners will be scheduled the first Sunday of the month from March through May.
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Men for Others
Saturday, Jan. 28th at 7:30 a.m. in the Houston Room
The topic for this gathering is to reflect on our current civic situation of division and unrest. How do we deal with feelings of hurt, rejection, and discord individually and as a church community? What skills of listening and courageous conversation are available to us? Please join us for what should be a good discussion.
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2017 Guatemala Trip
Es el tiempo a pensar en Guatemala...el viaje de 2017
Sunday, January 29th: 12:30 p.m. Library
We are planning a 2-week trip in late June. This is an opportunity for youth, families, and adults to journey to our partner parishes and share ministry, faith, and fellowship. If you can't make the meeting
, please contact Rev. Anne Thatcher and she will fill in the details for you:
[email protected]
;
215-547-7466 x105
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The Muppet Movie Sing-Along!
Saturday, February 4th at 5:00 p.m. in the Parish Hall
Brighten your February by movin' right along to the Rainbow Connection. Can you picture that? Come all lovers and dreamers, and frogs.
Costumes and puppets welcome; popcorn will be available. No registration required.
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Saturday, Feb. 11, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Cost: $15;
please bring a beverage or dessert to share
The holiday season is over, is it finally time to relax? How about a fireside dinner and conversation with other parents while your children enjoy supervised play? Sounds like a date!
We'll organize food and care for your children in one room, while you enjoy a meal and fellowship in another room. We'll make sure everyone is home for bedtime!
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Jubilee School is a Green School again for 2017
Once again, Jubilee School, one of our Community Engagement Partners, had its project selected for funding by the Green Schools project. We can help them reach their goal by donating our recycling points to them. If you are already registered and have a sticker on your recycling bin, just go to www.recyclebank.com and find finalist projects and scroll down to find Jubilee School to donate your points. If you are not registered, go to recyclebank.com and follow the easy steps to register, then donate as you amass points. Jubilee's goal is $2,500 to be used to improve the backyard area where the new mobile classrooms for pre-school have made re-landscaping and moving of vegetable gardens necessary. In addition, if you are interested in teaching the Pre-K-3 grade gardening skills, join Howard Goldstein, Donna Hecker, Sue MacQueen, and Susan MacBride to discuss plans for this spring. We need a few good gardeners, or good teachers, or both! Sunday, Jan. 29 at 12:30pm. Call Susan MacBride for more information, 215-487-2314.
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We had a wonderful morning of working at the ruins on Monday, January 16, 2017, in celebration of the Martin Luther King Day of Service. Thirty seven parishioners, tree tenders and local community members joined to cut down invasive plants and vines to reclaim this local part of Fairmount Park on Emlen Street. We know that by removing tons of invasive plant material from this park area will allow more people to hike through this area, and in the long term, allow native plants to sprout and hopefully re-establish themselves.
This effort was started in 2014 by parishioner Greg Williams who has recently moved away. This will be a happy, on-going project, and we look forward to your help in the coming months as we work on taming our Buttercup cottage landscape!
Mother Bethel AME Church was the first AME Church in the U.S. There, 200 years ago, 3,000 free black men stood against plans to send free African Americans "back" to Africa. On the anniversary of that meeting, Jan. 16, a determined crowd of three thousand including 15 from St. Martin's gathered outside Mother Bethel to declare allegiance to the human right of just and equal treatment for all...
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Safe Haven Training: 100 Days of Faithful Resistance
POWER has staged a series of trainings called "100 days of Faithful Resistance" to sharpen our skills to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. Trainings will include teachings on becoming a sanctuary community (Feb. 6), new political climate for education in our state (Feb. 28), using social media (Mar. 15), Black Work Matters (April 6), and grassroots fundraising to build the social justice movement (TBD). Please come to the next training - Safe Haven and Sanctuary Training. It will be 6:00 - 8:00 p.m. on Feb. 6 at Living Water UCC, 6250 Loretto Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19111. We should car pool as only street parking is available.
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Please consider giving Sunday flowers in thanksgiving or memorial. All Sundays in February and March are available. Please contact Connie Haggard at [email protected] or by calling the church for more information.
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The Needlepoint Guild is back!
Many thanks to the hardy group of parishioners who gathered on
November 12th
to thoroughly clean under the pews and vacuum all of the kneelers. This maintenance is ongoing, and Howard Goldstein, as the new head of the Needlepoint Guild, welcomes and encourages anyone interested in volunteering. He can be reached at
[email protected]
.
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Are you interested in priority seating for The Rapture? Did you major in Snow Removal Arts at Northwestern University (like Jarrett)? Do you have to perform community service for TP'ing a local Methodist minister's parsonage (like Anne)? Do you have an energetic child who needs service hours for school? If you answered "YES" to any of these questions, or you simply would like to demonstrate your shoveling prowess, please join the
St. Martin's Snow Angels
. We will take volunteers of all ages and gifts, whether you can shovel, steer a snowblower, or spread ice melt. Email Jarrett at [email protected] and pray for snow.
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Help us meet our participation goal and make your 2017 pledge!
We consider our
participation goal
as equal in importance to our
financial goal
.
We clearly asked every person who considers St. Martin's to be their church to make a pledge as an expectation of membership. 265 member households responded affirmatively.
We need 28 more households to meet our participation goal of 300 pledging units.
Pledge Envelopes Available for Pickup
If you requested giving envelopes on your 2017 pledge, please stop by the Parish House lobby to pick them up. If you are no longer interested in using giving envelopes, perhaps because you have transitioned to automated online giving, please be sure to let Natalee know so that your number may be reassigned to someone else. We have a few open numbers but want to be sure we can provide them to anyone else who newly requests them. Thank you!
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Members in the News
If you catch another member in the news, pass along word so we can share!
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Weekday Worship:
Morning Prayer:
Weekdays at 7:30 a.m.
Morning Meditation:
Weekdays at 8:15 a.m.
Mid-Week Eucharist:
Wednesdays at 12:15 p.m.
Compline:
2nd and 4th Wednesdays at 7 p.m. after SUPPER at St. Martin's
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Quick Info & Links
Our Mission
Welcome all seekers;
Worship God in liturgy, music, and prayer;
Equip all baptized persons for ministry;
Engage as agents of Christ's love in the world.
Our Core Values
Learning leads to God;
In giving and receiving care we encounter Christ;
Life in the Holy Spirit is beautiful.
Our Aspirational Values
Community engagement and social justice;
Unconditional welcome and inclusion;
A community that calls forth the gifts of its entire people;
Becoming a racism-free and diverse community that reflects the city where we worship.
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Field Notes is the weekly parish e-newsletter for the Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields in the Chestnut Hill neighborhood of Philadelphia. Read about our events, programs, and other opportunities.
To submit news or articles, please send typed blurbs (75 words or less!) to Natalee Hill, Associate for Communications & Administration at
[email protected]
by Tuesday. Feedback is always welcome!
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Church of St. Martin-in-the-Fields |
StMartinEC.org
| 215.247.7466
8000 St. Martin's Lane | Philadelphia | PA | 19118
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