This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well! This Sunday, after the 10:30 AM service we will be hosting a potluck. Bring a dish to share, but also know that if you don't, you are welcome to come anyway. At St. Martin's there is always plenty of food.

Gathering and breaking bread together is part of what makes a house of worship into a church community. Sitting, talking, and laughing with friends is how we form the relational bonds that sustain us in times of trial and need. In many ways, the bonds of friendship that happen in a church are as important, if not more important than any program or project. In fact, often, it is the bonds of friendship or friends working or learning together that make our most successful programs what they are.

On this note, I want to encourage you at the potluck to sign up for, or at least learn about, our foyer groups. Foyer groups are informal dinner clubs that happen throughout the parish. Each year membership in each group changes, as groups get shuffled, so each year offers a new experience and new friendships. The groups meet once a month for dinner or sometimes brunch after church, and enjoy each others' company. Each person in the group volunteers to host a gathering. If you do not live in a home where you can host people, do not worry, you can use a room at the church, or partner with someone else in your group. The gatherings are typically potluck style, so the expense of the gathering is kept down. The point of these gatherings is simply to build community within our community.

The Christian walk is not a journey to be made on one's own. It's done in groups. From the initial 12, to the early house churches, Christians have long gathered not just to worship, but to play as well. Foyer groups are one of those places.

In Christ,

Mitch