Sunday 29 October, The Last Sunday after Trinity

Today/Crèche at St Martin’s. For the 0-4 age group, with trained childcare leaders, takes place in the Austen Williams Room every Sunday. Please ask a steward to show you where to go.

Today/Children’s Programme. C-Club has returned after its half term break, and will meet 11:30am-12noon in the Dick Sheppard Chapel.

Today/Prayers for Healing with anointing and laying on of hands are offered by our healing team following the 10am service each Sunday in the sanctuary.

Today/Over coffee in St Martin’s Hall Sam Wells will be signing copies of his new book, Incarnational Ministry: Being with the Church (Norwich: Canterbury 2017). The book explores what it means to be with God, oneself, creation and one another, as well as being with the dying, the troubled, and the afflicted.

Today/SENEthiopia have their usual cake and craft stall after today’s 10am service. They are one of the international projects St Martin’s International Committee support. They will be pleased to answer your questions about their project supporting children with special educational needs.

Today/The booklet Celebrating Women’s Ministry at St Martin-in-the-Fields a project from the Archive team, in memory of Manuela Sykes, is available from the stewards today. Suggested donation £1.

Today/Meeting of artists & craftspeoples’ group, 12noon, Tutu Room. Meeting to plan further artistic contributions to the St Martin’s community.

This week/Choral Evensong on Monday 30 October will be sung by St Martin’s Voices as our Choral Scholars provide the music for Evensong at St Paul’s Cathedral at 5.00pm.

This week/Club Wednesday 1 November. Begins with Choral Eucharist at 1.00pm in the church followed by lunch at 6 St Martin’s Place. The talk for this month will be “Can Prison be Restorative” and will be given by John Plummer who is Coordinator of Prison’s Mission for Churches Together in Westminster and has spent many years of his life working for prison reform. All welcome.

This week/Bread for the World, Wednesday 1 November, 6.30pm. Everyone is welcome at our informal Eucharist, a service with prayer, music, word and reflection, followed by food and fellowship. This week we reflect on Vocation, our calling to serve God the world, and the new Two Cities Vocations Group to be hosted at Bread for the World.

All Saints / All Souls, Sunday 5 November; All Saints at 10am and All Souls sung Eucharist 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.

Theology Group, Sundays 5, 26 November and 10 December, 12.00-1.00pm, 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.

Autumn Lecture Series 2017: Reformation, continues Mondays, 7.00-8.30pm: 6 Nov Reforming Attitudes to Islam: Mona Siddiqui, Joshua Ralston; 13 Nov Reforming Attitudes to Scripture: Ben Quash. All lectures free and open to all. Flyers are available at the back of the church and at www.smitf.org.

Sound of St Martin’s. Thurs 9 November 7.30pm. A special performance of Walton’s Façade and Jim Parker’s Banana Blush (a setting of poems by John Betjeman) narrated by Zeb Soanes, BBC newsreader, with Carole Boyd, who plays Lynda Snell in ‘The Archers’. Tickets £25, £22, £18, £13, £9. Quote BANANA for 25% discount. For tickets visit www.smitf.org or telephone 020 7766 1100.

Sunday 12 November, 5pm. ‘Thirty Enterprising Years’ is the theme for celebrating our patronal festival this year. The service starts at 5pm and is followed by the unveiling of the plaque for Canon Geoffrey Brown at 6pm and party in the Crypt until 9pm. The lantern installation, that many people across St Martin’s have taken part in, will be in situ in the lightwell and there will be the opportunity to view this during the evening. All are welcome. £5 tickets available from the Vergers, Parish Office and Bronwyn Sanders.

Meditation Group, Tuesday 14 November, 6.30pm in the Dick Sheppard Chapel. The meditation group meets on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays of the month. All welcome.

Next Archers Thursday 23 November 2017. Begins with Eucharist at 7.00pm in the Austen Williams Room at 6 St Martin’s Place, followed by a deliciously warming supper. Our theme for conversation will be ‘Thanksgiving’. Please inform Ruth Hutchinson, 020 8801 9520, or Michael Moran, mtj_moran@yahoo.co.uk / 078 1026 1686, if you would like to join us.

Ministry at St Martin’s. There are a number of ways in which people share in ministry at St Martin’s, including stewarding, reading, serving, offering hospitality after the 10am Sunday service, taking part in the Wednesday night Bread For the World evenings. Please reflect on the ways in which you would like to be involved and contact katherine.hedderly@smitf.org 020 7766 1102, Associate Vicar for Ministry, if you would like to be put in touch with those who lead in each area.

SMAP 2018. Work is beginning to put together the St Martin’s Action Plan for 2018. This is the way we envisage and prioritise and make ourselves accountable for what we’re planning to do over the next few years, not just as a congregation but as a business, a fundraising trust, and, in partnership, through our homeless outreach. If you have a project for which you believe you can get wide congregational support and which you would like the PCC and the SMITFL Board to consider including in the 2018 plan, please speak to the vicar or churchwardens.

This week/Connection with Choral Classics, Thursday 2 November, 6.00-10.30pm. An inspiring and entertaining evening including a talk about homelessness at the Connection, a meal in the Cafe in the Crypt, and a concert in St Martin’s. All-inclusive tickets: £40. Proceeds to the Friends of the Connection. More details and to book online, go to www.friendsoftheconnection.org.uk/events or email friends@cstm.org.uk or ring 020 7766 5522.

‘Creations’ at St Stephen Walbrook, an exhibition of sculptures by Alexander de Cadenet. Weekdays, until 3 November.

Discover & Explore: Rome, London & Christianity, 1.10pm, Mondays, St Stephen Walbrook. Discover & explore services with the Choral Scholars of St Martin’s explore their theme through music, prayers, readings and reflections. 6, 13, 20, and 27 November.

Christmas Volunteers. We are now fast approaching the 2017 BBC Radio 4 Christmas Appeal with St Martin-in-the-Fields. This year the Appeal will be broadcast on Sunday 3 December and we would love to have some help receiving phone calls at the call centre. Throughout December, we would also welcome help opening post, processing donations and sending thank you cards. If you can spare a few hours to help us this year please sign up via www.smitfc.org/volunteer2017. Thank you!

Date for your diary: Advent Procession St Paul’s Cathedral, Saturday 2 December, 6.00pm. Parishes from around the diocese are invited for this moving and uplifting service in which the Cathedral Choir moves throughout the building singing music which reflects the Advent themes of light and hope, together with readings from scripture and literature and some of the best-loved of the Advent hymns. There are a limited number of tickets, please contact Helena.tarrant@smitf.org 020 7766 1100 if you wish to attend.

Art Talk: Chinese Textiles, 6.30pm, Monday 15 January 2018, St Martin’s Hall. Talk by Jacqueline Simcox on Silks From Imperial China: Ming and Qing dynasty costumes and textiles 1368-1911. Free tickets from https://www.eventbrite.com/e/lecture-chinese-textiles-tickets-38247649750. The first in an occasional series of art talks focusing on aspects of Chinese Art and organised with the Chinese Speaking Congregations of St Martin’s. Jacqueline Simcox, who has written numerous articles on Chinese textiles, will talk about some of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) textiles and some of the imperial costumes and festivals and show how they changed when the Machu from the north took over the country from 1644-1911 (Qing dynasty).

The Parish Pipeline email goes out once a week with stories and information from around St Martin’s. Subscribe on www.smitf.org or by emailing sam.whyte@smitf.org.