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St. Martin's
Monthly Planner
Click here for our daily schedule of events, times and locations
Feb. 7
Council Installation
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Boy Scout Sunday
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Souper Bowl of Caring
Feb. 9
Saintly Seniors
Noon, Fellowship Hall
Feb. 14
Baptism Sunday
Feb. 17
Ash Wednesday
Feb. 20
WELCA Heritage Luncheon
Feb. 21
YouthLIVE
Silent & Live Auction, Lunch & Variety Show
9 am to 3 pm
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Adult Forum
"See Through the Scriptures" Class Begins
10 am, Fellowship Hall
Feb. 24
Lenten Vespers
& Meals Begin
6:30, Fellowship Hall
Feb. 27
Choir Retreat
Feb. 28
Balcones Community Orchestra Concert
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Save These Dates
Mar. 5-6
JAM Lenten Retreat
March 28
Palm Sunday
April 1
Maundy Thursday
April 2
Good Friday
April 3
Easter Vigil
April 4
Easter Sunday
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From Our Mailbox
Thanks & Praises
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Share your gifts
Serving God & others with our time, talent and treasure
Music & Fine Arts
Ministries
Community Service
Giving
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Benevolence Focus
Our February
Benevolence Focus is
Lutheran World Relief
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St. Martin's
Video Channel
Video from our community of faith
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Get St. Martin's News & Updates
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Feb. 7
Church Council
& School Board
Installation
St. Martin's will install new members of our 2010-11 Church Council and School Board during our morning worship on Feb. 7. Serving as new member of the Council: John Howard, President-Elect; Penny Davis, Secretary; and At-Large Members Gary Jaster, Eric Lewis, and Julie Ray. Serving as new members of the Preschool Board: Deb Johnson, Cathy Lobash, and Pat Miller.
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Feb. 9
Saintly Seniors
Our Saintly Seniors gather
for a luncheon and a presentation at noon on the second Tuesday of the month. On
Feb. 9, we'll hear from Dale Elmshaeuser, founding conductor of our Symphonic Winds, who will speak about all of the different behind-the-scenes aspects of recording the music CD, "Instrumental in God's Praise." RSVP for this event with Yolanda Alvarez, or call the church office at 476-6757.
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 Feb. 14
Baptism Sunday
Please let us know if you, your child or someone you know would like to take part in our community's Celebration of Baptism during the 11 am worship service on Feb. 14. For more information about baptism at St. Martin's, email Rev. June Wilkins or call the church office at 476-6757.
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Feb. 17
Ash Wednesday
The somber season of Lent starts with Ash Wednesday as we begin the journey to Holy Week. We remember the beginning of Jesus' time in the wilderness through our prayers and reflection. On Ash Wednesday, Feb. 17, all are invited to the altar to receive ashes at our noon and 6:30 pm services.
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Feb. 21:
YouthLIVE
Dinner Theater, Variety Show & Silent Auction
Support the youth of St. Martin's as they raise funds to pay for their 2010 summer mission trip to San Francisco. You can buy tickets to YouthLIVE -- which includes lunch, entertainment and a live and silent auction -- on Sunday mornings in the Lobby or online now. The cost is $8 for adults and $5 for children. Children 4 and younger are free. We need your donations and acts for the auction now! To donate an item, contact Youth and Family Minister Erika Rorer or pick up a donation form on the Youth bulletin board. The deadline for signing up to participate in the Variety Show is Feb. 7.
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Feb. 24
Join us for "Vespers &
Verses" on Wednesdays
during Lent
Our Lenten Wednesday Evening Series -- "Vespers & Verses" -- will focus on Taize worship with simple music, prayers, silence, and poetry readings to prepare our hearts and minds for Holy Week. Taize is a Christian community in France that is dedicated to group prayer and contemplative song. Our poetry readings will follow themes of hurt and hope found in the stories of Jesus' passion. Each Wednesday evening during Lent, we'll serve a simple meal from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Vespers will be from 6:30 to 7 pm.
Read on about the Taize community
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Feb. 24
Wednesday
Lenten Meals
Each Wednesday evening during Lent, various groups from St. Martin's congregation gather to serve a simple meal to the community from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. All are invited to come for this meal, which is a special time of fellowship. After the meal, stay for our Vespers service from 6:30 to 7 pm.
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Feb. 27
St. Martin's
Choir Retreat
Join us on Saturday, Feb. 27, from 9:30 am to 4 pm at church for our St. Martin's Choir Retreat. If you have considered joining St. Martin's Choir and would like to get a head start on learning the music, the retreat is an ideal opportunity for this. Join us for fun and fellowship as you get to know your fellow singers. The day consists of singing, vocal coaching, sectional rehearsals, laughter and lots of food! Included will be a session on "Yoga for Singers" led by Katy Apple, Executive Assistant to Craig Hella Johnson of Conspiraré. For more information, contact Thomas Pavlechko, our Cantor and Composer-In-Residence.
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Music @
St. Martin's
Feb. 28 Balcones Community
Orchestra
Balcones Community Orchestra, which is under the direction of Conductor Robert Radmer, returns to St. Martin's for a 4 pm concert on Sunday, Feb. 28. Admission is free, but donations are accepted. Among the program of chamber orchestra works, the one-hour concert will include the Dittersdorf "Concerto in E Major for Double Bass," featuring David Dawson of the Austin Symphony, as soloist. The group will also present the world premiere performance of Thomas Pavlechko's "Pastorale on Woodard," adapted for the Balcones Community Orchestra specifically for this concert.
Read on to learn more about Balcones Community Orchestra
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February
Stewardship
Focus
Dreams Can
Come True!
Long before Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon, long before Sputnik was launched into space, long before a rocket or prototype was developed -- before it was designed, even before someone drew a doodle of a rocket on a piece of paper -- someone had to dream that human beings could one day go into space. Every new thought, invention, project, program or building begins with someone's imagination. Every reality starts with a dream -- and with a plan, work, collaboration, and funds, dreams really can come true!
Last month, we spent time dreaming up new things for St. Martin's. Some of those dreams may not seem possible, but how possible did a moon landing seem just a few decades ago? Sometimes, the only thing standing in the way of our dreams is our own doubt. We sometimes stop in our tracks when get hung up on endless analysis and scrutiny of our dreams instead of acting on them.
Jesus promised that those who believed would do even greater works than he was able to do. With God's help and the work of the community, dreams that we never thought were possible can be a reality. We can see our congregation grow, both spiritually and numerically. We can make this church a place of openness, diversity, and welcome. We can reach out and help the people of Austin who need it most. With God's help, we can ensure that our children and our children's children will also have dreams for St. Martin's future -- and not just fond memories of St. Martin's past.
When we all work together, dreams can come true!
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Notes from across the congregation
Souper Bowl of Caring
When
you leave worship on Sunday Feb. 7, you'll find members of our Senior High
Youth Group in the Narthex collecting donations for Lutheran World
Relief. This effort is in conjunction with the national, youth-led
Souper Bowl of Caring, a grassroots effort that seeks to fight hunger
and poverty in communities across the country and world. Learn more here.
Boy Scout Sunday
Join us Feb. 7 for Boy Scout Sunday. Scouts are encouraged to wear their uniforms and be recognized during our worship. Girl Scout Sunday will be March 7.
Summer Camp with Cross Trails
Did you know summer camp is available for children as young as second grade? Summer camp registration has begun for Cross Trails' Camps Ebert, located in Harper, and Chrysalis, located in Kerrville. There are programs all summer long for children from elementary age up to high school. Learn more here.
Children's Sunday School Auction Baskets
Each Sunday School class is assembling baskets to donate to the YouthLIVE auction on Sunday, Feb. 21. Sign up to bring an item for the baskets at your Sunday morning registration table. Please bring your contributions in on or before Feb. 14. Contact Sharolyn Browning for more information.
Register for Confirmation Camp
Registration forms for summer Confirmation Camp are due Feb. 28 with a $100 deposit. Scholarships are available. Contact Erika Rorer, our Youth & Family Minister, for more information. Register for Confirmation Camp online here.
Lenten Retreat for JAM Children
Children in JAM (Jesus and Me), our group for third, fourth and fifth graders, will be March 5-6 at Camp Chrysalis in Kerrville. Registration deadline is Feb. 14. Contact Sharolyn Browning for more information. You may also download a registration form here.
Playtime in the Nursery
Babies, toddlers and parents are invited to play in the nursery on the
second Thursday and fourth Friday from 10 am to noon. For more information, contact Mindy Lado or
Sharolyn Browning, Child & Family Minister.
Adult Education at St. Martin's
Join the Adult Forum class on Sundays at 10 am in the Fellowship Hall for these events:
- Jan. 31-Feb. 14: Christian Imagery in Harry Potter, led by Ed Shirley, professor of Religious Studies at St. Edward's University. Our favorite St. Edward's professor will share an abbreviated version of his very popular university class here at St. Martin's. This is not to be missed!
- Feb. 21-Mar. 28: See Through the Scriptures, led by Harvey & Betsy Kitzman. Get a full Bible overview with the popular Crossways program. Books will be provided; please come with your NRSV Bibles.
February's Benevolence Focus: Lutheran World Relief
Affirming God's love for all people, LWR works with Lutherans and partners around the world to end poverty, injustice and human suffering. LWR helps fund ongoing relief and disaster relief. LWR is responding to the disaster in Haiti with emergency aid to provide food, shelter and water and also is committed to long-term recovery for the people of Haiti.
Chancel Flowers
Do you have a special event in 2010 that you'd like to commemorate with chancel flowers? Contact Nell Hielscher or call 243-0467 for details.
Genealogy Group begins at St. Martin's
A new genealogy group at St. Martin's will have its first meeting on Wednesday Feb. 10 at 6 pm in the Parlor. This first meeting will be an organizational gathering to determine the interests of the group. Please contact group leaders Judy Seymore or Jim Parkhurst for more information.
Church Attendance
Worship at St. Martin's averaged 303 in January.
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A Time of Transition
A Note from Rev. June Wilkins
Here at St. Martin's, we are in a time of transition. We are waiting for a senior pastor to be found and called, and to settle in to our community. This process in the Lutheran Church can be a long one. The temptation that we face when we're in a transition is to just sit on our hands, do nothing and just wait. To kind of bide our time and put our activities and decisions on hold and wait and see what happens. Then, even after the Senior Pastor comes, we sit and wait some more so that we can find out what the new person wants us to do. If we don't like it, then we figure we can sit and wait some more until something happens that we're more comfortable with. All of this add up to years of inactivity. A lot of sitting and waiting and doing nothing.
But the identity and actions of St. Martin's are not just up to any pastor either in the past, present or future. And if we sit and wait for some new pastor to come in like a knight in shining armor and save the church, we will never get anything done. And besides, Jesus Christ is our leader and guide. He's already saved us and our church.
St. Martin's is not just the responsibility of any one person - the church belongs to all of us. The people of God are the church. You have all the tools and ability to guide, lead and make this congregation all the things that we've hoped it would be. This is not a time that we need to wait. This is a time for us to take action, make decisions, start new projects, do new things.
Transitions are times of adjustment but they can also be times of great energy and change. Right now, the Holy Spirit is our guide and the one we need to listen to. What is the Spirit saying to our community now? Probably not "sit and wait" but "go and do."
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