Church Life/If you are joining us in the building please bring a face covering with you (unless exempt) and follow the social distancing measures outlined as your enter. Please see later for an update following 19 July. We will continue to live-stream services online. For live-stream services please use our Facebook page or St Martin’s Digital.
Church Opening Daily/The church is open daily 9am-5pm (apart from Tuesdays for recordings, open from 12pm on Wednesdays). We are looking forward to opening more and more throughout the summer. You are welcome to join us for Morning Prayer on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays.
Online Worship/We invite everyone to join with us in lighting a candle at the start of our worship to symbolise the presence of the Holy Spirit in each home, as well as in church.
Pilgrimage from St Martin’s to Canterbury/August 2021 The annual Connection at St Martin’s pilgrimage is back with a virtual pilgrimage through August and a one-day group walk on Monday 30 August from Charing (Kent) to Canterbury Cathedral. The pilgrimage is a major fundraising event for the Connection to support its work, and also a spiritual journey for all. Registration closes 30 July. For full details and to sign up, please visit the website or contact Eugene (eugene.ling@cstm.org.uk).
Prayers of Healing/weekly after the 10am Eucharist from September. Team training is on Friday 16 September 7pm on Zoom for new and existing team members.
Fortnightly Children’s Church returns mid-September when they will be meeting weekly on Sundays in the Ho Ming Wah Centre 12-12.45pm. For children aged 4-12. For more information email sally.hitchiner@smitf.org.
Baptism and Confirmation/Sunday 26 September Anyone wanting to be confirmed or baptised at St Martin’s, please get in contact ASAP with ellie.waterhouse@smitf.org.
Zoom Coffee is taking a summer break until September. It has been a joy to gather our online congregation together over the last 16 months on zoom but hosts and consumers will value the screen break too! Thanks to all for your love and fellowship. Enjoy the sunshine. We look forward to getting together again soon.
Join a Team? Our Wednesday and Sunday services depend on teams who facilitate our online and in-the-building worship. Would you like to be a steward either in our church building or from your home? Full training and support given with flexible dates. For more information email Ellie: ellie.waterhouse@smitf.org.
Save the Date 1-6 November! To coincide with the international conference on the environment, COP26, St Martin’s will be having a cross-site festival of events to inform and inspire us all about our part to play in engaging with the environment.
Ellie Waterhouse (Worship Coordinator) will be leaving the church operations team to fulfil her long-standing ambition of becoming a police officer. We are hugely grateful for all she has contributed to the church this year. If you’d like to write in her card it will be available in the vergers’ vestry.
Changes in place from Monday 19 July
In line with the possibility of decreased social distancing we will be making the following changes. These will be under constant review so please check here for updates.
We will ask people to continue to wear face coverings indoors unless exempt.
We encourage people to be mindful that some of those around them may wish to carry on maintaining social distancing while seated. We will maintain the one-way system for receiving Communion.
Congregational hymn singing returns – singing will be possible through face coverings.
We will continue to provide hand sanitiser on entry and before Communion for those who wish to use it.
We will continue to only offer wafers but not wine during the Eucharist.
We continue to stay in our places and share the Peace in non-physical ways.
