Offerings for Easter Flowers

Offerings for Easter Flowers

Would you like to make an offering for Easter Lilies? This is a wonderful way to make the church look festive for Easter Sunday and to make a dedication in thanksgiving or in memory of someone. A $10 donation is suggested. The deadline for receiving dedications in order to be printed in the Easter bulletin is 9 am on Wednesday, March 27.

Donations can be made a couple of ways:

  • When you are at church, you can fill out an “Offerings for Easter Flowers” form and enclose payment of cash or check (memo line: Easter flowers). White envelopes are with the donation forms in the back of the church to keep your dedication and payment together. Drop your envelope in the offering plate, place it in Anika Rinker’s office mailbox, or mail to: St. Martin-in-the-Fields, PO Box 1149, Keller, TX 76244
  • Fill out the online form below. You can pay online or choose the cash/check option and submit your payment that way. 
Tuesday Book Group

Tuesday Book Group

We are not the center of the story. And this year, we’re going to read books that help us practice humility, confront our blind spots, and live as faithful Christians in a divided world.

We will gather via Zoom on Tuesdays at  7 pm to discuss these books, talk about how we can flourish as followers of Jesus, and how we’re called beyond division and hatred into a life of love. Please register below to get the Zoom link.

Here’s the books we’ll start with:

September: Learning Humility by Richard Foster

October: Jesus and the Powers by NT Wright and Michael Bird

November: The Good News of Church Politics by Ross Kane

Eagle Scout Project – Little Free Library

Eagle Scout Project – Little Free Library

Carson Crays from Troop 937 is working on a Lending Library for St. Martin’s!

 

Carson’s Plan:

The name of my Eagle Project is St. Martin’s Little Free Library. My Eagle Project will be the building of a Little Free Library to place near the edge on the church property, and then stocking this library with donated children’s books from the community and scouts from my troop. The project will include a stand alone library box on a post that will be staked into the ground. The library box will feature two shelves and a plexiglass door to allow visitors to see the current contents of the library. The box will also feature a sloped roof and weather seals to ensure rain and moisture does not enter and ruin the books inside. The box will be mounted to a wooden post and anchored into the ground. The project will also include a scout led book drive to help fill the library. Along with St. Martins, I will lead my scout troop in hosting a book drive and allow scouts and community members to donate their unneeded children’s books. These donated children’s books will initially stock the library and allow the community to immediately appreciate the library. Finally, I will help St. Martin’s register the box with Little Free Library, making it easy for the community to find the library and officially placing it on the Little Free Library map.

Benefits:

St. Martin’s has many outreach programs within the community, including our Boy Scout Troop. They also have a strong children’s outreach program, and with this project I plan to strengthen their children’s outreach initiatives. St. Martin’s already holds Vacation Bible School, summer camps, and year-long Sunday programs for community youth. The box will expand on their children’s initiatives and bring families from around the community to St. Martin by expanding book access to those who otherwise could have trouble obtaining books for their children. Keeping the library outside and open 24/7/365 allows anyone to access the these books anytime, and help further a community of young literate learners.

The St. Martin’s Little Free Library project will build upon existing and growing list of outdoor ammenities, including the Labrynth, and provide a not only welcoming, but safe space for everyone to gather and meet others in the community. Additionally, the project will allow the community to discover St. Martin’s and the amazing programs. St. Martin could host events around the library including book clubs, group reading sessions, and more.

“My project ultimately aims to provide another way for St. Martin-in-the-Fields to enhance the Keller, Southlake, and surrounding community through outreach initiatives, creating a community filled with connection and knowledge”.

Next Steps:

St. Martin’s will hold a book drive at our Annual Meeting on Jan. 29 at 9:30 and on Sunday, February 5 – Scout Sunday. All kinds of books are welcome for any age, Children, Teens, Adults, Religious. Carson will speak at the 9:30 service on Jan. 29, and attendees will have the opportunity to meet him and hear more about his project!

You can contribute!

Use the form below to donate money online. Choose “Eagle Project” from the drop down menu.

Meet Saint Martin

Meet Saint Martin

Saint Martin grew up in what is now northern Italy in the early 300s. When he was only 10 years old, he went to church against his parents’ wishes.

At age 15 he had to join the military, at his father’s behest, and so he became a Roman soldier. He served in the cavalry in Gaul (modern day France), meaning he had an army-issued horse. That’s why we most often see him depicted on horseback, and that’s how his most famous saint story happened. When he was riding into a city with his unit, he saw an impoverished beggar at the gate who was cold. Without hesitating, he took his sword and cut his army-issued cloak in half so the man could have a blanket to keep warm. Later that night, he had a dream that Jesus was wrapped in the cloak and said to him, “Martin! Martin, who isn’t even baptized yet, clothed me with this robe!”

Martin had been going to church but wasn’t even baptized yet, and he still behaved in a Christ-like way. When we awoke, the cloak was mysteriously restored to its full size.

A few years later he was baptized, and as he continued to go to church and study he decided he needed to leave the military. It hurt his soul to have to go to war. He continued to help care for and love his fellow soldiers as an unarmed chaplain until he was discharged.

After the war, he went away to an island to rest and recover. While he was resting, he started a monastery and kept studying the Christian faith. After several years of mental healing, he started to travel around Italy preaching and ministering to many Christians.

Because he was a good and trustworthy minister, people made him the Bishop of Tours in 371. He had been drawn to Tours by a ruse — he was urged to come to minister to someone sick — but instead was brought to the church, where he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated bishop.

Legend has it that he was so unwilling to be made bishop that he hid in a barn full of geese, but their cackling gave him away to the crowd. As bishop, he planted many new churches and monasteries. He visited every single one of them every year, travelling to them by foot, donkey, or boat. This is something that our own bishops today still try to do.

Martin was also very dedicated to the freeing of prisoners. When authorities, even emperors, heard he was coming, they refused to see him because they knew he would request mercy for someone and they would be unable to refuse.

During Martin’s time as bishop, a Christian teacher named Priscillian, bishop of Avila in Spain, was accused of heresy. Some of Martin’s fellow bishops were happy to use imperial power to put Priscillian on trial and execute him. Martin objected vehemently. He thought Priscillian was wrong in his teaching, and that what he was teaching was harmful to people, but he also thought it was wrong to put him to death. His experience as a soldier made him care especially about prisoners and want mercy for everyone. He is remembered by many for his mercy during these conversations, and his strong moral conviction. He was an example to many.

We learn many things from Saint Martin’s example. We learn to be generous. We should not hesitate to help those who need our help. We must be the change we want to see in the world. If we believe in mercy, we should first be merciful ourselves. We learn that Christians are called to a high moral standard even when it puts us in opposition with what others think is justice. Christians are supposed to be just and merciful even beyond what society’s rules say. Our work in the Church is different from the work of the State. And we learn that it is important to retreat and pray, to retreat and learn, and to be brave enough to do what we think is right.

Grief Counseling Resources

Grief Counseling Resources

The St. Martin’s community wants to want to walk with you in times of crisis, illness, and grief. To discuss pastoral care needs, please contact the church office or Fr. Alan Bentrup.

You can also learn more about mental health and grief resources in our surrounding community at the following links:

For the death of a family member or friend:

griefshare.org

For other counseling needs:

mhmrtarrant.org/crisis-services

Funerals

Funerals

If you suffer a death in your family, please notify the parish office at 817-431-2396, or Fr. Alan at 713-553-3358.

The ministry and care of grieving families is a priority for the St. Martin’s community. We care about your family, are eager to offer comfort, and stand ready to help you understand God’s love.

All funerals at St. Martin’s follow the rich burial services found in The Book of Common Prayer, and our clergy will assist your family with the important details of memorial and burial, whether planning ahead or planning when a loved one dies unexpectedly.

Learn more about funerals in the Episcopal Church

The liturgy for the dead is an Easter liturgy. It finds all its meaning in the resurrection. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we too, shall be raised.

The liturgy, therefore, is characterized by joy, in the certainty that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, not height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

This joy, however, does not make human grief unchristian. The very love we have for each other in Christ brings deep sorrow when we are parted by death. Jesus himself wept at the grave of his friend. So, while we rejoice that one we love has entered into the nearer presence of our Lord, we sorrow in sympathy with those who mourn.

—Book of Common Prayer, pg. 507