This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well. In 1951, the First Sunday after the Epiphany, St. Martin's held its first worship service. We commemorate that first service this Sunday. Happy 74th Birthday, St. Martin's! I hope and pray you will join us for Sunday School and Worship. In Sunday School, author and church member Leigha Carson Woody will share poems from her new book "Surviving Child." In worship, we will sing some of the hymns from that first service and have copies of the bulletin available for folks to see. 

One of my deep personal theologies of ministry is that a parish priest is a church's caretaker. Like an organist who sits lovingly at the bench of an instrument that will never fully be theirs, a priest cares for a community, loves it, and does their best to leave it in a healthy place for the next person. I am well aware that I have been given a well-loved community to care for and that I stand on the shoulders of remarkable clergy, vestries, and members who have helped St. Martin's be the parish it is today. To all of them, I am deeply grateful.

St. Martin's enters our 75th year as a growing parish and one of the few churches in our diocese to return to pre-COVID numbers in worship. I suspect that part of the reason we grow is because we carry forward a legacy of outreach. St. Martin's has always been a place of service. In our very first bulletin, these words were printed: "EVERY MEMBER of St. Martin's-in-the-Fields is expected to be a worker for the spread of Christ's Kingdom and the building of St. Martin's parish life." Well, work they did. My friends, we celebrate 74 years of being partners in outreach, leaders in our community, and a voice of welcome to all people. I am grateful and excited to enter this new year with you.

In Christ,

Mitch