Crèche at St Martin’s. We have ended our agreement with the workers providing crèche provision for the Sunday 10am Parish Eucharist. Thank you for bearing with us in welcoming our youngest congregation members into our Parish Eucharist until we have re-recruited in the New Year.
Today/Thinking Differently About God. We welcome Ann Memmott, author of Church of England guidelines on welcoming autistic people, as our visiting preacher. This service is part of our weekend on neurodiversity, faith & church, in partnership with Inclusive Church. BSL interpretation is available and parts of the liturgy have been written by our Disability Advisory Group, under the guidance of Sam Wells.
Next Sunday our Parish Eucharist will be our annual Healing Service.
Today/Children’s C-Club Programme, 11.30am, Dick Sheppard Chapel. Join us to learn some more about today’s readings and colour with your friends.
Today/Prayers for Healing with anointing and laying on of hands are offered by our prayer team at the 10.00am service each Sunday morning at the front of the church near the altar.
Today/Welcome Course. If you are new to St Martin’s over the past 12 months and would like to find out what we are about and have a chance to make some friends who are also new, you are very welcome to join a five-week Welcome Course run by the clergy from 13 October to 10 November between 12-1.30pm following the Sunday Parish Eucharist. If you have registered, please follow instructions given at 12pm during coffee following the service today.
Today/Junior Theology begins today with Francesco Aresco at 11.30am in the Benenson Room.
Today/Something Worth Sharing. This weekend sees the launch of our new booklet on disability and church. Based on our 2018 conference, the booklet includes ideas to create change in churches. It features our own Disability Advisory Group, theological reflection from Sam Wells and an introduction by the Bishop of London. The booklet is part of our commitment to share learning and resources more widely. A copy will be brought to the altar as part of the offertory. Copies are available after the service in the Lightwell. Donations to support this work are welcome.
Today/Thinking Differently/2pm-4.30pm, St Martin’s Hall. Exploring ideas through the creative arts. Includes an introduction to Contemplative Photography, a special screening of ‘Touretteshero: Me, My Mouth and I’; exploring neurodiversity in the visual arts via Samuel Beckett’s play, Not I. Jess Thom (aka Touretteshero) – an actor, performer and pioneering practitioner in creating accessible venues – will help us explore what the arts have to teach the church about diversity, acceptance and belonging.
This Week/Autumn Lecture Series 2019: The Quality of Mercy in Music/Tuesday 15 October, 7pm. Our speakers are Revd Lucy Winkett and Bob Chilcott, with St Martin’s Voices. To ensure a place please book a ticket at stmartininthefields.eventbrite.com. Don’t forget to sign up quickly, as tickets are going fast.
Theology Reading Group/Wednesday 27 November, 8-9.30pm. We will be meeting in the Desmond Tutu Room to read Resident Aliens, by Stanley Hauerwas and William H. Willimon. Copies are available at the Shop at St Martin’s for £16.99 (Abingdon Press; 1st Edition 1989).
This Week/Bread for the World, Wednesday 16 October, 6.30pm. Everyone is welcome at our informal Eucharist, a service with prayer, music, word and reflection, on the theme of Prisons’ Week, followed by food and fellowship.
Richard Carter is away in The Solomon Islands until 31 October leading the retreat and seminar on mission for the Melanesian Brotherhood Conference and election of their new leaders. Please keep him and the Church of Melanesia in your prayers.
Global Neighbours: Pray for SENEthiopia and SENTrigra working to empower children with special education needs in Ethiopia. Together with our Ethiopian neighbours we pray that all God’s children are given the opportunities and resources to reach their full potential.
Theology Group/Sunday 27 October, 12-1pm, Austen Williams Room. There will be an opportunity to reflect theologically on issues of the day and questions of forever with Revd Dr Sam Wells. All are welcome. Future dates: 17 Nov, 8 Dec.
Great Sacred Choral Classics/ Mondays 21 and 28 October, 6.30pm. Join Revd Dr Sam Wells and choral groups from St Martin’s as they explore great choral works in words and music over this exciting new series: 21 October on The Bible in an Hour with St Martin’s Voices, and 28 October’s I Was Glad with the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields. Free admission.
Coming Up/All Saints & All Souls, Sunday 3 November; All Saints at 10am and All Souls Requiem at 5.00pm. At these services we will be remembering all those who have died in the last year who have been members of St Martin’s or connected with our church. If there is someone you would like to be remembered please give their name to Harriet Merz by emailing harriet.merz@smitf.org or via the vergers by 25 October.
JPIC Meeting. The next meeting of the Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation group will take place on Tuesday 29 October from 7-8.30pm in the Desmond Tutu Room. All interested in current issues of Social Justice and how we might respond as a community are welcome.
The changing monthly display by St Martin’s artists’ and craftspeople’s group in the Foyer of the Crypt for October is by Alice Bree. Each month a different member of the group or artists linked to it will show examples of their work, so do look regularly to see the changing display.
Christmas Gala Evening/Wednesday 4 December. The evening will see a glittering revival of Vaughan Williams The First Nowell. This nativity was written specially for St Martin’s in 1958 and will be followed by a Christmas party with celebrity entertainment and a silent auction. All money raised on this spectacular evening will help St Martin’s continue its work. Please buy your tickets now here: https://www.stmartin-in-the-fields.org/support-us/gala/book-tickets/
