This Saturday Heathwood Hall will host the SC Cross Country Championships. Our kids and several others from our parish will compete. For our family, it is an exciting day. My parents will be in town and some close friends will be coming to cheer.

Before all of that, Denise and I have some work to do. Once upon a time, we volunteered to paint the starting line and starting boxes for a home cross country meet and the job has been ours ever since. Now I am not one to brag (yes I am) but I feel the need to say we paint the straightest, most uniform, starting line that the kids will see all season. When the kids start the race tomorrow it will look like they are racing on a college course, or at the least a course deserving of a state championship. It has become a point of pride that some may think silly, but we as a couple care about that line and put effort into it. The starting boxes will be exactly four feet wide, and exactly the same. What began as a "one-off" volunteering experience has morphed. With each race that we do, we try to make it better.

I hope and pray that you are well. I have many thank yous to offer. First, thank you to everyone who has helped with disaster relief. Folks from St. Martin's have helped to clear 17 trees. That's a lot for volunteers! Thank you!

I want to thank everyone for their prayers for my family in Florida. Your text messages and emails both yesterday and today have filled my heart. Let us continue to pray for the many who continue to be affected by these terrible storms. I ask for your special intentions for Jose Cotto from our parish. Jose is serving others through his role in the US Army while living in a home with no power in North Augusta.

Greetings from Greenwood, SC. I'm with a team of volunteers from St. Martin's and St. John's helping with hurricane cleanup at the Church of the Resurrection. On Monday we have another opportunity to help in Simpsonville, SC at Holy Cross Episcopal Church. I am happy to be able to lend a hand and if you can volunteer, please join the Disaster Relief Ministry Team in the St. Martin's App. I will do my best to keep that page updated.

I hope and pray you are well, safe, and dry. Please take a moment today and say a prayer for all of those who have been and are currently being affected by Hurricane Helene.

Holy wow, we have a huge weekend here at St. Martin's! Please know I am deeply thankful for all of the volunteers who will help to make it happen. On Sunday, we celebrate the kick-off to our stewardship season, Jazz Mass at 10:30 AM, and our SayLove band will be playing at the 5 PM Eucharist.

I have sometimes nicknamed this upcoming Sunday, "Children's Sunday." In our gospel reading Jesus, filled with compassion, picks up a child, places it amid the disciples, and then invites the adults to experience the kingdom of God as the child does. In the words of the Godly Play lessons that we teach, "I wonder..."

I hope and pray that you are well. Soon, you will be getting letters and mailings announcing the start of our 2025 stewardship campaign. For those of you who do not know, St. Martin's is entirely funded by your tithes and offerings. Unlike many parishes, our endowment isn't used to pay operational expenses, all of it is earmarked for mission and ministry.

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.

I hope and pray that you are well. For parents, teachers, and students, I hope that your school year started off smoothly. Some families crave the daily routine of the school year, others need to adjust to it. 

One change that Denise and I have made this year is waking up a bit earlier. We have been waking up together around 5 AM and we have been starting our day with a 3 to 4-mile walk. At first, I have to say it was pretty hard. However, I have found myself adjusting rather quickly. This morning, after a late-night cross-country meet that had Lydia and I eating dinner close to 10 PM, I told Denise that I was going to take the morning off.

I hope and pray that you are well. I have spent a good deal of time praying about today's service for Marie Askins. As you all know, Marie was the last living founding member of our parish. She taught Sunday School for years and was known for her beautiful butterfly pins, birthday phone calls, and notes. I remember my first Marie Askins birthday phone call and sadly I will always remember my last.

I hope and pray that you are well! I also hope and pray that the students and teachers in your life are also doing well. Your children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews all need your prayers, encouragement, and support. Give them a call. Send them a note or a present. Build them up.

Today Caitlyn and I had the opportunity to be a part of blessing the new chapel at Heathwood Hall. We also went outside and for the first time in my ministry, I participated in blessing a new altar. From St. Paul's by-the-Lake and St. David's in Chicago, to Trinity Episcopal Parish in Waterloo, Iowa, to Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans, to here, every altar I have ever served at has been older than me. I have never seen a new one be blessed...it was special. It has also caused me to reflect.

I hope and pray that you and your loved ones are well, and for the purposes of this e-Messenger, dry! 

Disaster relief ministry is often a ministry of hurry up and wait. We have spoken to the Diocese of South Carolina (Charleston) and an email went out last night to clergy around our diocese (the Diocese of Upper South Carolina). Hopefully, we will soon have a good idea of what relief efforts are needed. If you are a member of the parish and you need help, let the church know.

There’s an old proverb that says, “The same boiling water that softens the potato hardens the egg.“ They also say diamonds are formed under pressure, but bread rises when it rests. We need pressure to form beauty, and we need rest to rise. There are times and seasons in the communal life of our church when there is a great deal of pressure, a great many things going on, a great deal to care for. Sometimes those are followed by times of quiet. Times in which we intentionally take a breath. 

This Sunday, in the Episcopal Church, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the ordination of women. It's an important celebration being marked in all sorts of ways. At Fort Jackson, Women Army Chaplains from around the country have gathered for a time of continuing education, fellowship, and celebration.

Elizabeth Holmes Dixon died the morning of July 15, 2024, in her home, attended by family, after a difficult and continued decline. The end to her infirmities and release into a far, far better place were infinitely more important than the six days until her 93rd birthday.

A Memorial Service will be held at St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church on Thursday, July 25, 2024, at 11:00 AM. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Our mother loved flowers, but she asked that any memorials be made to St. Martin’s-in-the-Fields Episcopal Church or to the Electric Minds Foundation, dedicated to galvanizing support and channeling resources towards pediatric neurology research.

As part of my work, I sometimes consult with churches who want to improve the health of their community. We examine together, often with the vestry or a small group, a myriad of metrics to help them think about ways their church can grow, not just numerically, but also spiritually. Usually, these consulting projects have a familiar pattern to them.

There are times when life at St. Martin's feels very much like life in a small town. At nearly 1,000 members, the small town metaphor is not that far of a stretch! This last week was one of those times. This week our community celebrated a new birth, mourned death, and hosted happy children for Vacation Bible School. This Sunday I am talking with a young couple soon to be married, and at the same time, we will begin setting up for next week's funeral receptions. It seems like a lot because quite frankly it is.

I hope and pray this e-Messenger finds you well. I also hope that you all have a safe and fun 4th of July with family and friends. Next week we will host our Camp Firelight Vacation Bible School! The following Sunday, July 14th, we will have a special children's sermon given by our youth minister. We still need volunteers for VBS, and there is still room if you would like to sign someone up.