A community reshaping itself to be fit for God's purpose.
Thursday, March 26, 2020
Parish Life During the Shutdown
It feels to me that even with parish meetings and events shut down we are as busy as ever. Many of you have commented favorably on the Sunday podcast of Sung Morning Prayer for the last two Sundays. So you can hear that the musicians and I have been hard at work.

As I spoke about last week, practice - while not necessarily leading to perfection - does enable a steady improvement as we learn the tricks of virtual liturgy. It's been a lot of fun and I am so appreciative of the support Gabe Alfieri and our choir section leaders of the St Martin's Chapel Consort are giving to ensure that the flow of our worship life, aided by an astonishing quality of music, will continue.

David Brookhart and our part-time sexton Ian Tulingen have been managing the techy side of the recording process. Ian has been operating what in the old days would have been called the sound booth. Now through Mac's Garageband program he has successfully turned the nave altar into a sound desk where he expertly mixes and modulates the sound. For Maundy Thursday and Easter Day we will take the bold step into the world of video recording - a more complex process.

Most of us will be listening in on phones or computers. A tip I learned to enhance the listening quality is to plug in a set of good quality headphones. Headphones avoid the reverberation associated with small and poor quality speakers.

In this edition of E-News you can find descriptions of our Helping Hands and Healing Prayer initiatives. In fact it's wonderful to see so many of you stepping up to ensure that none of us need feel isolated or unsupported during this period of physical distancing. The Presiding Bishop has asked all clergy to use the term physical rather than social distancing. I agree that this is a better and more accurate description of what we are endeavoring to do.

During the shutdown, our Outreach ministry continues. This week 50 pairs of underwear and 50 pairs of socks along with toiletries were delivered to Harrington Hall, the state's largest men's shelter. The shelter was out of hand wash and disinfectant so the Cloak managed to also deliver disinfectant sprays, bleach, and rubber gloves, collected from various sources, for which as you will imagine the Director of Harrington Hall was especially grateful. This is a tough time for the homeless and those living in the shelters with the closure of many public amenities. The food pantry continues to collect items to support the feeding programs and your generosity here is welcomed. I know that the knitting ministry is working overtime on producing shawls for those who need them.

Mothers Morning Out continues as a Monday to Friday virtual classroom, so although Moms are having to keep their kids at home, Polly is able to keep the activity program going, even doing virtual cooking with the kids. The daily AA and weekly Al-Anon meetings have reluctantly gone over to Zoom.

From time to time I post the weekly Meditation Hour reminder on the E-news list. So this week you will have received an invite for virtual meditation via Zoom . Meditation is one of those big scary words for many. However, given the state of things this might be the right time to give it a go. You can find information on our website about meditation as a practice here with helpful hints on how to practice here .

Here are some recommendations for how to use online resources to support your spiritual and emotional well-being during this period of uncertainty and fear:

A Morning at the Office, Forward Movement's Episcopal Morning Prayer. You can also find daily updated morning, midday, evening and night prayer here in simple text format. Remember, saying one of the four daily offices found in the Book of Common Prayer is like a lamp plugging into the electrical power source - a way to link into the Church's world-wide cycle of public prayer.

Mission St Clare is an online daily office program and phone app.

E-Common Prayer is a phone and tablet app which gives access to the online BCP and daily lectionary readings.

You can join the weekly Meditation Hour via Zoom here .

And don’t forget to tune in to the St Martin’s Sunday worship podcast which can also be accessed from here. Since Sunday we have had 472 views on the website and Facebook pages - a good increase in our worship exposure through online media.
 
I won’t see you in church this Sunday but I hope to connect with you online.
 
Mark+
A timely message from our Senior Warden
Our work, our outreach, our faith must overcome the world!

To help us overcome I have a simple ask: just keep doing what you’ve been doing to support St. Martin’s. If you give electronically, push that button. If you put a check or an envelope in the plate, take a minute to put it in an envelope and send it to St. Martin’s or contact your bank about setting up an electronic check payment. You can also use the paypal button on the website. If you put cash in the plate, put in in a jar labeled to support your Christian Community. Bring it or send it when you can.

I’m not asking you to do more than what you’ve already told us you can do. We have a balanced budget. If your support continues at our current level, we can, and we will maintain and even grow our mission - and thank you!

Many of you may be wondering about how the economic woes will impact the capital campaign plans. Rest assured that our planning proceeds with a strong planning team chaired by Mary Gray now in place. In next week's E-News, we will take an opportunity to further outline our unfolding vision.

David

Worshipping during COVID-19 Pandemic
The phrase ' flatten the curve' is an appropriate response to the current anxieties around the novel Coronavirus. It means to take active steps to lessen the opportunities for infection spread. Presently we have no reported cases of infection but out of an abundance of caution, and after consultation, I have decided to take the following measures (details are posted on our website here):

  • The church will remain closed for Sunday Worship until further notice.
  • Mid-week Eucharist is cancelled until further notice.
  • Morning prayer Tuesday through Thursday will still be said in the chapel at 9:00 am.
  • Meditation Hour on Thursdays will be held via Zoom. Join here
  • Holy Week and Easter services will be podcast on the following dates:
  • Palm Sunday, April 5, 10:00 am
  • Maundy Thursday, April 9, 7:00 pm
  • Good Friday, April 10, 7:00 pm
  • The Great Vigil of Easter, Saturday, April 11, 7:00 pm
  • Choral Eucharist Easter Sunday, April 12, 10:00 am

Mark+
Helping Hands
In this time of isolation, you may be finding yourself in need of assistance. Please know that the community of St Martin’s Church is here to lend a helping hand. If you are in need of grocery delivery, prayers, or simply a phone call to hear a human voice, or if you know of someone who does, please let us know and we will do our very best to assist. If you can offer any assistance, please let us know that also.
For information or help, please email Cathy Bodner or call her at 401 272-6610.
Our isolation may be physical, but it does not need to be social . We are here for each other.
The Thrifty Goose Thrift Store
The Thrifty Goose will be closed temporarily due to Covid-19. At this time we are unable to take donations. Please watch the St. Martin's website and our Facebook page for updates.
Healing Prayers
Even though we are not able to meet together at church, it doesn't mean we need to be secluded from one another. The Healing Prayers team is committed to continuing in ministry to those of you who would like prayers at this time.
Healing Prayers, a tradition during our church services, can be accessed by email or cell phone at this time when we are all trying to be safe from the Covid-19 virus. Please email Jeana Whittredge or call 413-313-3033, or email Rev. Linda Griggs or call 513-315-3975. They will contact a Healing Prayers member who will contact you directly. Please give Linda or Jeana your name, best phone number and best time to call you back. We will continue in this form until we are able to meet at St Martin’s again. The Holy Spirit is holding us all.
Weekly Prayer List

  • Those with the virus or in quarantine

  • Those affected by the economic fallout from the virus

  • Those who have birthdays this week: Sarosh Fenn, Lisa Ballou, Sarah DiSandro, Linna Kite, Spenser Bartsch, Cathy Bodner, Deborah Knowles

  • Those commended to us: Angela, Eidan, Debbie, Melissa, Chris, Donna, Jeremiah, Largie, Scarlett, Prana, Cindy, Lisa, Joe, Virginia, Don, Chrissy, Justin, Eliza, Gail, Don, Mimi, Adele, Elaine, Lisa, Annette, David, Douglas, Sue, Jean, Carla, Rose, Carol, Isabel Gail, Roger, Jerry, Jackson, Shari, Aldo, Madelaine, Patrick, Oliver, Pam, Theresa, Paula, Shirley, David, Ursula, Michael, Sam, Sheila, Morgan, Murielle, Charlie, Lynn, Truls, Jill, Christine, Katie, Beth, Rosalyn, Uriah, Laura, Vernon, Marjorie, Linda, Alan, Tom, Adam, Cheryl, Chris, Martha, Jean, Timmons, Isabel, Alicja, Neal, Patrick, Jennifer, Cynthia, Mark, Robin, Lora, Mariette, Isabella, Justa, Sarah, Harry, Ada, Denny, Marvin, Cathie, and Geoff.
St. Martin's Church | 50 Orchard Ave | Providence, RI |02906
(401) 751-2141