I am amazed! Firstly, I was bowled over by the spirit of our Easter services - so full of energy and joy. I was touched also by the willingness of people to try something new. On Maundy Thursday many more people participated in the Foot Washing ceremony, and likewise on Good Friday, more participated in the Veneration of the Cross. Secondly, I am bowled over by the sudden eruption of springtime. As I write, in a matter of a couple of days the trees outside my office window have burst into budding blossom. The coincidence of Easter, the long awaited spring and the return of our restored St Martin window makes this a very joyful time of year. Click here to see the great pictures David Brookhart captured for us. For my Easter message click here .
The church year goes quickly and summer fast approaches. In Phoenix, I thought it was striking enough, but in Rhode Island the term EXODUS brings real meaning to the experience of church life during the summer. As I look towards May and June, I note that there are still a couple of things we want to accomplish.
On May 17th, we are hosting a brunch following the 10am service at which Bryan Schmeling and Jon Skov, two advisors from Thrivent Financial will be talking to us about
planning now to give later - a key phrase used by the Rhode Island Foundation for financial planning. I really hope we can attract a good number of folk to this presentation and brunch from 11.30 to 1pm. Over the coming weeks, the members of the Vestry will be phoning around to explain our expectations for this event.
We urgently need to restart our conversation around Planned Giving in order to fulfill our calling to be long-term stewards of St Martin's. Thrivent, a Lutheran Christian financial organization has been chosen by the Diocese to facilitate the creation of our Diocesan Credit Union, and we are inviting them to help educate many of us, young as well as those of more mature years about the many flexible options of ensuring St Martin's has a place in your longer term estate planning. The resources and advice of the Rhode Island Foundation are also now available to us to further support the development of our Planned Giving strategy.
With Easter in our immediate rear view mirror, it's time to have our promised conversation about the placement of the altar. I spoke about this a number of times in the fall and we are now ready to proceed with surveying opinions about what to do. Everyone will receive a survey questionnaire in either electronic or hard copy format designed to allow you to express your views about how our liturgical space should be designed. There will be a link to architectural sketches of options accessed through our website. We hope to have all the survey information back no later than the second week of June so that it can be collated over the summer.
Looking forward to seeing you in Church this Eastertide!
Mark+
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