Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
I hope and pray that you are well. St. Martin's has entered into a period of near-constant motion. Truly, something is happening here nearly every day, and something big happens almost every weekend. This weekend we will celebrate Trunk-or-Treat; the following week will be All Saints, when we will celebrate multiple baptisms; then St. Martin's Day with our Bishop's visit and our annual pig roast, followed the next week by Diocesan Convention. That's just the schedule through Thanksgiving, and it doesn't include weekday activities, classes, and mission projects.
In some ways, this means the office is a hive of near-constant planning and movement so we can do each weekend and every worship service to the best of our ability. It's a blessing to be busy! For St. Martin's, busyness is a sign of our growth. That said, we need your help amid the busyness. We need volunteers, and we love your participation! Trunk-or-Treat needs cars; Safe Space Dinners need meals; your help helps us remain good stewards of this place and its ministry. If you have time, please consider being part of the ministry. I promise it is fun, and you get more out of it than you put in.
Also, on behalf of the church, I have several stewardship requests. First, review your current pledge. I know that as we ended the quarter, I found myself a bit behind. I am making a gift today to catch up. I didn't intend to be behind; my life has simply felt as busy as the life of the church. Things fell unintentionally off my plate. It's better to check now than to check in December and have to make everything up in one fell swoop. Every gift helps! Secondly, if you haven't pledged for 2027 yet, please consider making your pledge now. Our goal is full participation. If every adult who comes to worship makes a pledge and honors it, we will be in outstanding shape for the future. Again, it's about participation.
Shari, in her address to the parish last Sunday, said something that resonated with me. She said, "It's hard to get someone to pledge to something that they get for free anyway." I feel this challenge because, as a priest and director of a non-profit, it is a large part of my day-to-day reality. That said, I look at my own pledge as a gift. It is a gift first back to God, then to all of you, and then to someone out there who has yet to come to church. The person who has yet to know the loving presence of Jesus in their life, and the authentic community they can find in our worship, our study, our mission, and our play. When you participate in the ministry of giving here, you are doing the same thing. You are giving to God, to the person sitting next to you, behind you, or in front of you, and to the person who may one day fill an empty seat, someone who needs to be at the table, whether they have found it or not.
Peace,
Mitch