November 15-21 with St. Martin's
Here is a link to the Bulletin for Sunday's Zoom Service. The lyrics to the hymns are on the last pages of the Bulletin.
SUNDAY - Coffee Hour 10:15 -Abbreviated Liturgy 10:30
Join the Zoom Meeting - https://us02web.zoom.us/j/408114126
Worshipping with St. Martin's is a good way to start your week with God and one another, and you can do it from ANYWHERE!
SHIP's 31st
Thanksgiving Dinner
SHIP's Thanksgiving Dinner will be held on Thursday, November 26th from 12 - 2 p.m. as a to-go meal.
They are in need of the following items:
Turkey Gravy in Jars
Stove Top Stuffing Mix
5 Spiral Hams
Turkeys
Chicken stock for stuffing
5 boxes of Instant Mashed Potatoes
Canned Yams
Potato Chips & Pretzels
100 lbs. potatoes
Brown Sugar
Please call 908-393-9545 to find out which items are most needed.
Also, they are in need of people to cook the turkeys and hams. If you are able to cook one of the donated turkeys/hams, please call Tom's number above.
Lastly, they have an "Adopt-A-Family" program for Thanksgiving. If you would like to adopt a family for $40, please send a check made out to SHIP at 87 East High Street, Somerville, NJ. 08876.

SHIP has provided over 35,000 meals during the pandemic. Thanks to all who have served.
Keeper of the Light
There is a light at St. Martin's that never goes out. We call it the "Sanctuary Light". It reminds us of the presence of Christ who is with us always. During this time when we are not able to be in our building, members of the parish have been taking turns caring for the light in their own home and then passing it on to another member for the next week, until we can all be together again in the church building. If you would like to be the "Keeper of the Light" for a week, email Philip with the subject "Candle" at philip.muniz@gmail.com.
Eagle Scout Project
by Aidan Haddad
My project is to improve the picnic area by the playground by installing a paver patio. This will make the area aesthetically more pleasing as well as easier to take care of. I started last week cleaning up the area, but will need help purchasing the pavers. If 40 people donated $20 each, I could reach my goal.

Please consider donating to my project by using the GoFundMe button below:
Stewardship
We celebrated Consecration Sunday last Sunday. We had a wonderful video montage of all the accomplishments of St. Martins. However, we are still well behind in pledges to date. Since the church is not physically open, plate offerings are not happening. In years past we could count on a certain amount for the budget coming into the church through plate offerings. This has not been happening. Please, please consider making a pledge this year to help us better create a budget and keep St. Martins a viable resource to the community. Currently we have a little over $121,000 in committed pledges from about half of our congregation. If you misplaced your pledge card you can contact Kelly Slye at: kelly@slye.us or go to the church website and make your pledge online.
Adult Fellowship

Advent: A Time of Waiting in The Time of COVID
You are invited to take part
in a four-session Advent series on Wednesdays at 7:30 starting December 2nd in conjunction with St. John's

How does Advent, the first season of the church year, cause us to reexamine our desires as we prepare to welcome Christ, the Desire of Nations? The series focuses on that question, with the theme of Advent Ethics. We will meet virtually on Wednesdays from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sessions includes prayer, a scripture reading, reflection, study questions and sharing.

Schedule
Dec. 2: Redeeming Time: Being pushed back to Christ and to the Eucharist
Dec. 9: What Are We Waiting For? Examining how Isaiah’s oracles are employed in Advent liturgies to interpret Jesus’ birth, ministry and suffering
Dec. 16: The Three Advents: Looking at Bernard of Clairvaux’s account of Christ’s “threefold coming”
Dec. 23: Advent of the Heart: Focusing on the Prison Mediations of Alfred Delp, SJ

Zoom link will be coming soon!
EMAIL ALISON at randyali@aol.com if you have anything to put in this newsletter.
Outreach
Outreach’s Sunday coat and adult clothing drive was a huge success. Nearly 100 bags of adult clothing and coats were collected for Cathedral Square Senior Citizen’s Housing and 6 bags of new and practically brand new children’s coats were collected for FISH. The Committee would like to thank Kathy Shanklin for making the arrangements with Cathedral Square and for her numerous trips between the church and home and home and the Senior Center. She went above and beyond. Thanks also go to Diane Miller for arranging with her employer, Van Heusen, for their donation of new coats and men’s clothing. The donations filled her car.
 
About 80% of the donations came from the local community and we give thanks to Christine Kellam for posting our coat drive on the Nextdoor website. We would also like to thank Kelly Slye and Alison Jandak for helping to collect the donations and for delivering them to Kathy’s house. Their vehicles were packed with bags. And finally, thanks to the parishioners of St. Martin’s who made donations, spread the word about the collection and cheered us on. It was a rewarding Sunday afternoon.
Update on Fr. Laws
As mentioned last week during service, Fr. Laws and his family will not move into the rectory until the end of the year.

We would like to provide Fr. Laws with a "Best of Bridgewater" list upon his arrival. If you have a favorite business that you can recommend, please fill out the survey using this link:

St. Martin’s Episcopal Church
1350 Washington Valley Road,
Bridgewater, NJ 08807
www.stmartinsnj.org

Call Us: 908-526-1350