Sunday 17 December, The Third Sunday of Advent

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/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/Christmas Flowers. At the end of the 10am service today there will be a collection for the flowers to decorate the church for Christmas.

Today/Children’s Programme. C-Club will be returning to the Dick Sheppard Chapel, from 11:30am-12noon, where we will be creating Christingles.

Today/The Choir of St Martin’s has released a new Christmas CD, filled with choral favourites for Advent and Christmas, to raise funds for the continuing partnership between St Martin’s and St Mary’s Cathedral, Johannesburg. Christmas with the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields is available from choir members after today’s 10am service in St Martin’s Hall and thereafter in the Shop at St Martin’s.

Advent and Christmas Services. The full list of Advent & Christmas services is available in our whole site brochure and on our website. During Advent there will be no Evening Prayer, Monday Choral Evensong or Bread for the World. There will be no ticketing for capacity Christmas services: Nine Lessons and Carols, Community Carols and Parish Carols. Doors open 45 mins before the services start and as the church is often full we encourage you to arrive in plenty of time to be certain of a seat. We look forward to welcoming all of our visitors over this Advent and Christmas season.

Sacred Moments for Advent. Each day throughout Advent there will be a short reflection from the Revd Dr Sam Wells and guests, followed by a carol sung by one of our choirs. The series, in partnership with Premier Christian Radio, runs up to Christmas Eve, and will be broadcast on the Premier breakfast and lunchtime shows, as well as being released through St Martin’s Soundcloud (www.soundcloud.com/sacred_moments) and iTunes.

This week/Archers, Thursday 21 December. The Archers Christmas party will be held at the Union Jack Club starting at 7.00pm on 21 December. Everyone is welcome but only 25 people can be accommodated so it will be ‘first come, first served’. To book, for menu choices and cost contact Ruth Hutchinson, 020 8801 9520, or Michael Moran, mtj_moran@yahoo.co.uk / 077 7627 1064.

Christmas Day. Our 10.30am Eucharist will be a joint service with our English and Chinese speaking congregations.

Come and Sing: World’s Greatest Christmas Choruses, Saturday 30 December, 10.00am–1.00pm. Join Andrew Earis and members of St Martin’s Voices for a morning workshop on the World’s Greatest Christmas Choruses. Doors open at 10.00am. Short performance at 12.30pm, free for audience members. Tickets £12 available online www.smitf.org/event/come-sing-worlds-greatest-christmas-choruses/ on the phone 020 7766 1100 or at the Box Office.

The Meditation Group meets on the 2nd & 4th Tuesdays of the month but will be taking a break on Tuesday 26 December and will return in the new year.

Gate of the Year, Sunday 31 December, 3.30pm. A special service of readings, music and reflection as we stand at the threshold of the New Year. Led by Revd Dr Sam Wells with St Martin’s Voices.

Epiphany Carols, Sunday 7 January, 5.00pm. Join us for our evening celebrations featuring readings and music for this wonderful season of light, discovery, miracle and revelation. With reflections by Revd Katherine Hedderly and music by the Choir of St Martin-in-the-Fields.

The changing monthly display by the artists and craftspeoples group in the Foyer of the Crypt for December is by Helen Grey. Each month a different member of the group will show an example of their work, so do look regularly to see the changing display.

Partnership with St Stephen, Walbrook to Enter New Stage. Three years ago St Martin-in-the-Fields entered into a partnership with St Stephen, Walbrook. St Stephen’s was looking to renew its life at a time when it wasn’t in a position to pay a full-time parish priest, and St Martin’s was looking to develop the national movement that HeartEdge has become. The partnership had three dimensions. (1) Jonathan Evens was appointed half-time Priest-in-Charge at St Stephen’s, and Half-time Associate Vicar for Partnerships at St Martin’s. (2) An extensive music partnership has developed with St Martin’s Choral Scholars singing at the Discover and Explore series at St Stephen’s on Mondays and St Martin’s Voices singing at the Thursday Eucharist. (3) There has been administrative support from St Martin’s including the provision of payroll services. Since February 2015 a number of things have changed. At St Martin’s, HeartEdge is growing apace and taking more of Jonathan’s time. His involvement in art and disability initiatives has been fruitful and hugely welcomed. At St Stephen’s, the opening of the enormous Bloomberg building across the road from the church has increased the number of people working in the parish immeasurably. The St Stephen’s PCC has decided that this is the right time for them to pursue their own pattern of ordained ministry, separate from St Martin’s, at this three-year juncture rather than after the five-year period originally envisaged. They anticipate the music and administrative partnership will continue. This means Jonathan Evens will move from 1 January to being full-time at St Martin’s. Even though this change has real positives for St Martin’s, St Stephen’s PCC recognises it doesn’t accord with the original plan and have undertaken to leave the financial arrangements unchanged for the next two years. We will be glad therefore to be seeing more of Jonathan at St Martin’s and to be enjoying his greater involvement with HeartEdge as it grows and develops.

Art Talk: Chinese Textiles, Monday 15 January 2018, 6.30pm, St Martin’s Hall. Talk by Jacqueline Simcox on Silks From Imperial China. Free tickets from www.eventbrite.com. See Jonathan if you cannot access Eventbrite. 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.