October will be dedicated to collecting children’s socks and underwear for FISH.
We will utilize the same rubber tub in the Narthex that was used for project Yellow Ribbon and the personal care products. Thank you for your generosity!
Saturday, October 16, 12-5 pm, Outdoors at St. Martin’s
This will be a day of fun for the whole community. There will be a magician, pumpkin decorating, crafters, music, food, children and adults (corn hole, bocce, can-jam, horseshoes) games, and face painting.
We are also looking for crafters and local bands who want to “show off their stuff.”
$10 per adult, kids under 16 are free! Tickets can be purchased at the door or in advance.
For questions contact Alison at randyali@aol.com.
The Adult Forum meets in the Lady Chapel at 9:30 am (between the 8:15 and 10:30 services) most Sundays.
Along with our usual Advent and Lenten studies, this year we will include two new discussion series: “St. Martin’s Voices on Spirituality” and “Spiritual Practices”. All are welcome.
Adult Forum Schedule for Fall 2021
Sundays 9:30 – 10:15 am, Lady Chapel St Martin’s Church
St. Martin’s Voices on Spirituality
September 19 Rob Vernon: The Spirituality of Gardening
September 26 Marilyn O’Reagan: The Spirituality of Silence
October 3 Br. Philip Muniz: Franciscan Spirituality
October 10 Len Cacciatore: The Spirituality of Advocacy
October 17 Jennifer Persson: The Spirituality of Healing through Reiki
October 24 Father Scott Russell: Diocese LGBT+ Awareness Task Force
Spiritual Practices
October 31 Praying with Icons (Visual Prayer)
November 7 Praying with Rosaries and Prayer Beads (Tactile Prayer)
November 14 Praying the Word: Lectio Divina (Audio/Verbal Prayer)
November 21 Praying in Color (Creative Prayer)
Advent Study (TBD)
Please join us for St. Martin’s Kick-Off Sunday, September 12th.
Kickoff Sunday offers us all a chance to reconnect and get involved in the formational offerings at St. Martin’s. We invite your whole family to join us to experience our loving approach to spiritual education.
Adult Forum – The Adult Forum meets in the Lady Chapel at 9:30 am (between the 8:15 and 10:30 services) most Sundays. Along with our usual Advent and Lenten studies, this year we will include two new discussion series: “The Voices of St Martins” and “Spiritual Practices”. All are welcome.
Youth Ministry (7th Grade – 12th Grade) – Youth group is back in person!! Saint Martin’s follows the Journey to Adulthood program with a progression through 3 stages: Rite 13, Journey to Adulthood (J2A) and Young Adults in Church (YAC). The Journey to Adulthood is a complete youth ministry program of spiritual formation for 6th-12th grades. Our goal is to provide our youth with a positive Christian Education experience that will help them build their own church community. Please join us kick-off Sunday where our youth groups can enjoy some fun team building activities outside! Rite 13 and J2A will plan to meet twice per month, alternating between our 10:30am Sunday service and our new 5:30pm Saturday service. The plan will be the following (dates may be adjusted as needed):
YAC plans to meet once per month.
Sunday School (Preschool – 6th Grade) – In person Sunday School returns to Saint Martin’s! Sunday School occurs during Saint Martin’s Sunday 10:30am service.
As a reminder, Saint Martin’s uses Catechesis of the Good Shepherd (CGS) for our children’s education and has 3 levels. CGS is an approach to religious education that is rooted in the Bible, the liturgy of the Church and the education principles of Maria Montessori. It really focuses on the joy in the relationship with God and the young child.
Children ages 3 through kindergarten and toilet trained will meet in the large conference room upstairs for our Level 1 atrium. Children in 1st through 3rd grades, our “Level 2” atrium, will meet in the large conference room upstairs. Children in 4th through 6th grades, our “Level 3” atrium, will meet in the small conference room upstairs.
Unlike prior years, the children will not be joining the main service for communion. Instead, children will have the option to receive communion during Sunday School and the children will be brought to their parent’s pew following the service. Per Diocesan guidelines, masks will be required and we will maintain a 3ft distance.
As we all know, the situation with the pandemic is always changing and Diocesan guidance could be updated. Please note that this year Saint Martin’s will also be having a “Come As You Are” Eucharist on Saturdays at 5:30 pm. For the times when you cannot make the 10:30am Sunday service, we invite you to worship in community with your family at the Saturday service.
We would love to see you at St. Martin’s!
Thursdays Sept. 22 – Nov. 10, 7pm – St. John’s, Somerville
St. Martin’s and St. John’s Somerville are cosponsoring a new course designed by the Episcopal Church to address the problem of racism in our society.
This course will involve reading selected works and watching short video clips from a diverse segment of people all talking about their experience of racism. We will also be engaged in honest, prayerful, and respectful discussions.
All are welcome, but you are asked to pre-register by sending Father Rob an email ( rectorstmartinsnj@gmail.com ) indicating you would like to join the class.
