Welcome To St. Martin’s

Christ Centered… Inclusive… Compassionate

For over fifty years, the people of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church have faithfully accepted the Holy Spirit’s call to follow Jesus as his disciples in the world. For us, this means centering our lives in Christ, following his teachings, and walking in the way of love. Christ offered himself in sacrificial love for the world, and we believe that we become more like Christ as we do the same.

The main avenue for our spiritual growth at St. Martin’s is our weekly celebration of the Holy Eucharist. This act is foundational to who we are as disciples of Jesus Christ. We believe that by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ is truly present in the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist. We also believe that when we receive Him by faith, the Holy Spirit transforms us to be the Body of Christ- the hands and feet of Jesus acting in love in the world.

Our Christ centered life is nurtured by the spirituality of the Anglican (Episcopal) Catholic Tradition. We are a sacramental and liturgical church. We believe that God uses the things of God’s good creation as conduits of grace for us: the water of baptism, the bread and wine of the altar, blessed oil, holy water, incense, burning candles, beautiful music and imagery- all assist our worship, lift our hearts to God, and help us to become more aware of God’s presence in our world.

Living a Christ centered life enables us to learn to see the world as Christ does. It frees us to see the dignity and worth of every human being, to love them as God loves them, and to embrace them as members of the family of God. Being a Christ centered community empowers us to be an inclusive community of faith. At St. Martin’s we strive to create a welcoming and safe space for all people, which is what it means to be catholic. In a society with increasing hostility towards women, transpeople, gays, lesbians, nonbinary people, and immigrants, we feel compelled by Christ’s love to create a safe space where we can support all people, embrace their belovedness, and celebrate the gifts they offer the world and the Body of Christ. We believe diversity is God’s gift to us, equality is God’s will for us, and inclusion is God’s call to us. Everyone belongs in God’s family, and everyone belongs here.

Living a Christ centered life also nurtures us to be compassionate. Like our patron,  St. Martin of Tours, who was moved with compassion to help a cold, homeless man by cutting his cloak in half and sharing it with the man so he could be warm, we seek to follow Christ’s compassionate love by helping the sick, the poor and needy in our own community. As a Jubilee Parish, we believe that God also calls us not only to help the poor and the needy, but to fight against the systems of oppression that create poverty in our world. We believe we are called to show compassion by speaking out against all forms of injustice and oppression – to work to create a peaceful and just society free from racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia, prejudice, violence, division and hatred.

If you are looking for a place of belonging in a Christ centered community where you are loved and accepted, challenged to grow in love, and offered a chance to share your gifts and talents in compassionate service, please join us for worship, or make an appointment with me to share your story, and to learn more about St. Martin’s Church.

Father Rob+