Ministry Plan for St. Martin’s
(Revised December, 2015)
Journey. Live. Love.
St. Martin’s is a place to learn, to grow and to know and share grace. It is a part of the Body of Christ in
the world and rich in kindness, community, music, formation and prayer. We serve others
compassionately in so many ways; we offer reverent worship with a posture of ease and invitation. We
desire to be formed—children, youth and adults—into the image of Christ. Following is a road map
(open to amendment) of the next two years and the shape of our ministry as a parish and people.
Worship and Major Festal Event--2016:
We will continue to gather weekly on Sundays and Thursdays, offering outstanding music, engaging
liturgy, relevant homilies, 2nd Sunday helpers, and fellowship. The year will include many special
Sundays involving our congregation in many ways as well as guests. Here is what we are planning (so
far!) for the coming year:
January 3rd—Epiphany Celebration with chalk blessing
January 31st—Candlemas service at 10 am Sunday worship
February 9th —Shrove Tuesday pancake supper with Knox Presbyterian
February 10th—Ash Wednesday service with Knox Presbyterian
During Lent a dramatic Gospel reading?
March 20th—Palm Sunday with Sung Eucharist
March 24th—Maundy Thursday
March 25th—Good Friday
March 27th—Easter Sunday
TBD—Worship in the World in April and a community event in April/May
May 1st—Bluegrass Music Service
May 8th—Special gift to our mother’s at worship (some other special activity in worship?)
May 15th—Pentecost with Sung Eucharist
June 5th—Blessing of the Wheels
June 19th—last Sunday of Sunday School with graduation and celebration! Community lunch (build your
own sub) to follow in special honour of Dads.
June 26th—Worship in the World at Grow Calgary—no 10 am worship at the Academy
July 3rd —Stampede Pancake Brunch to follow worship.
August 28th—Worship and Parish Picnic at Bowness Park
September 11th—Homecoming Sunday (Sung Eucharist) with Ice Cream Sundaes
October 1st—Blessing of the Animals at the Cathedral Church of the Redeemer (to confirm)
October 9th—Harvest Festival/Thanksgiving—collection of food, prayers of thanksgiving weaving with
paper strips
October 23rd—Blessing of the ICross dolls
November 6th —All Saints’ Sunday with reading of the names of our dearly departed, invite people to
bring pictures of the loved ones and/or a picture of their favourite saint(s)
November 13th—Remembrance Day and Patronal Feast with Sung Eucharist
November 20th —Christ the King with lunch social to follow
November 27th—First Sunday of Advent
December 17th –Worship in the World at Children’s Hospital, 1:30 pm, Holiday Sing-along and bringing of
comfort shawls/squares to leave (to confirm—send request in June to ACH)
December 18th—Carol Sing along at the end of worship
December 24th—Christmas Eve services, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. at Calgary Academy
December 25th—Morning Prayer (no Communion) at 10 am at Calgary Academy; Parish Christmas
Dinner with Knox, special invitation to international students and first responders
January 1st —Lessons & Carols Service
January 8th--Epiphany Sunday—chalk blessing
During the course of the year, other events will arise (baptisms, possible African-themed service, etc.).
It is likely that we will offer some dramatic Gospel readings again at some point, small group Bible study
in lieu of sermon, and Q&A sermons.
Community Outreach and In-reach:
St. Martin’s Cloak is the name under which all these ministries fall. A cloak enfolds us and embraces us.
It protects and covers us. In a way, it is a gathering image and how we hope to gather into God’s love all
those in any need or trouble.
Our Community Outreach and Development Coordinator, Laura Wieler, and our community continue its
their work. Current programs/areas of involvement include:
o ESL Café at Strathcona Community Centre
o Cooking with Friends in partnership with Knox Presbyterian Church
o Giggles for Tots (on hiatus until future notice)
o Sandwiches monthly for the Mustard Seed in conjunction with the youth
o Coldest Night of the Year, both Laura and Natasha are part of the organizing committee and we
field a team each year in the walk itself
o Continued connection to the City’s Poverty Reduction Plan now under the leadership of Vibrant
Communities Calgary
o Laura is involved in the Westside Interagency group that meets to share ideas and resources
Other programs continue as well, including:
o Monthly commitment to the Calgary Interfaith Food Bank
o Bundle Bags for CUPS
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ICross Dolls
Community garden on our land
Monthly worship services at Wentworth Manor and Signal Pointe
Our worship in the world Sundays are outreach focused
Relay for Life Team led by Laurie McIntosh
Refugee Resettlement Project with St. Laurence, Good Shepherd and Knox—a new ministry of
our parish
In-reach—caring for the needs within in the community:
o Our pastoral care team that connects with people going through a hard time or simply in need
of a compassionate, listening ear
o Our prayer circle lifts up a variety of prayer requests on a weekly basis
o We have one (and soon to be two) members licensed to take to Communion to those in care
facilities or hospitals
o Members make prayer shawls and squares to share within the community and beyond
Community Building Committee:
We will continue to offer opportunities to get together for fun and fellowship:
o Community lunches after worship on June 19th, July 3rd, and November 20th
o Shrove Tuesday pancake supper
o Christmas Day Dinner with Knox Presbyterian
o Parish picnic and worship service on August 28th
o Other events tbd (another end of life? Patronal party? Other events?)
o
Christian Formation:
Sunday School: Our Sunday School is using a new curriculum as of fall 2014 and so far it has been very
well received both by the children and teachers alike.
Youth: Our youth program is still in a time of transition. OneBody is now led by Katie Haigh and a new
youth ministry at St. Peter’s with youth coming from St. Martin’s and St. Peter’s. St. Laurence and Good
Shepherd are still associated with the program but currently do not have youth attending. As Katie
finishes her teaching degree we will be looking to hire a new person to take on her role and transition in
to the post.
Confirmation: Our youth are taking part with Christ Church in confirmation, starting in September of
2015. They will be confirmed at Christ Church in April, 2016.
Evening Bible Study: Hosted at the homes of participants, this is a lay-led Bible study that meets the
first Tuesday of the month. Open to all! The Study of the Book of Acts continues.
Women’s Sacred Circle: on hiatus
Women’s retreat: Currently, one is not planned but this is something that hopefully can occur in 2016
as our last two have been well received.
Mid-week Bible Study: A Bible-study follows our Thursday morning Communion Service each week,
September to early June at Knox Presbyterian Church.
In addition to these elements our Christian Formation Program has this broad outline for the next two
years:
2016
Lent 2016—
Animate Faith
Tuesdays, February 2 - March 15
Are you looking a meaningful way to explore and deepen your faith? Then please join us for our
Lenten series, Animate Faith.
Animate Faith is a seven-session series that creatively explores central topics of Christianity. Each
session includes a video featuring a leading voice from the Christian faith, group discussion and
personal reflection. Speakers include Brian McLaren Lillian Daniel, Shane Hipps and Nadia BolWeber.
Sessions will be held on Tuesdays, from 1:30 - 3:00 p.m. with the Rev. Anna Greenwood-Lee and
from 7:30 - 9:00 p.m. with the Rev. Carolyn Herold.
To register, email rector@stlaurence.ca or by calling the St. Laurence church office at 403-2496184. Please bring $20.00 cash or cheque (made out to St. Laurence) on February 2nd to cover
the cost of personal journal for the course.
Here's a link to more information of this series:
(http://wearesparkhouse.org/adults/animate/faith/)
Summer 2016 Book Study: Jesus Then, Jesus Now, by Greg Jenks. (A special invitation to be given to
adult children of members; location at a pub or coffee shop?) Summary: This collection of essays draws
together some of my thoughts about Jesus of Nazareth. I hope that it will offer glimpses of Jesus then
and Jesus now that are both fresh and interesting. It is not my goal to persuade you to agree with my
perspective on Jesus, but I do hope that you will find that the book provokes you to think more deeply
about what you know about Jesus, how you know that, and what difference it makes to the way that
you choose to live your own life. Writing this book has certainly helped me to do all three.
If there is a specific audience in my mind as I prepare this manuscript for publication, it is comprised of
those people whose parents or grandparents were Christians but who now find no reason to take Jesus
seriously. I hope these essays manage to express something of the significance of Jesus to me while
offering them fresh glimpses of a religious tradition that may yet be worth exploring.
Fall 2016—Indigenous Spirituality: an-in-Residence program with Casey Eagle Speaker, October 14-16
or 21-23. Watch for more details to come.
Other Items:
Newcomers Ministry: This ministry continues to welcome those new to our community and we look to
have a wine and cheese welcome event this fall, 2015.
As always, all these ministries, including the various roles at Sunday worship, are open to new faces!
Please simply contact Natasha to learn more and see where your gifts best fit our community.
From time to time, members offer to lead a book study or class on a topic of interest. Such offers are
always welcome and the rector and staff will do their best to facilitate them! If you have an idea, please
share it with the Wardens, Vestry and/or Rector so we can make it happen.