Special Recognition Profiles
The backbone of everything we do at St. Martin’s has always consisted of the dedication of lay parishioners to the ministry of Christ in the Church and beyond. We want to take a moment to thank a few parishioners for their continued commitment over the past several years. Be sure to check back on this page regularly, as we plan to add more recognition pieces as time progresses!
Robert Fuller-Lynch
2021 marks Robert’s 10 year anniversary of being involved in our parish’s youth group ministry (TYGMOS – This Youth Group Meets On Sundays…or during COVID: This Youth Group Meets Online Sometimes). Robert has a passion for youth to be authentically themselves and to have a space where they can ask hard and meaningful questions about their faith. This is an important part of the growing up process, especially around issues of faith, but Robert also receives a lot from the youth as well. In his own words, “you can tell that the youth really are passionate about building a better world…and you can tell issues of our faith really matter to them… the youth are not jaded and that helps me stay energized and not get jaded myself.”
Robert joined St. Martin’s in 2008 when he came to Davis for graduate school. One of his favorite memories of St. Martin’s is from two weeks after he joined the parish, he was asked to be an acolyte. Being an acolyte had been a vital part of Robert’s own faith formation at St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Kailua, Hawaii. And thus it was a welcome invitation that helped him find his place at St. Martin’s. And over the years our parish has continued to invite Robert into leadership roles. He remembers fondly the year he was nominated from the floor at an Annual Meeting to be a convention delegate…which led to the Rector asking him to join the next year’s Vestry.
But the youth, and TYGMOS, have throughout the years been Robert’s anchor at the church. He fondly remembers supporting the youth as they came up with and pursed the idea of flowering the bronze cross for Easter…now a relished St. Martin’s tradition. And he has been deeply touched by getting to be a part of so many youth’s faith and growing up journeys. He has seen reclusive or unruly 7th graders grow over the years, and ultimately become college graduates who are on a mission to build God’s Kingdom in the world. Watching and participating in Christ’s work in the lives of these youth has been a tremendous gift to Robert, and engaging in this ministry has deepened his own walk with Christ in all areas of his life.
Diane Bamforth
Diane has served in children’s ministries for over 20 years. When Diane first encountered Godly Play, she fell in love with it. Godly Play stood in stark contrast to her own childhood Christian formation. As opposed to memorizing rote answers about articles of faith, Godly Play encourages children to develop their own personal spirituality by exploring the stories of the Bible in a community using our imaginations. Over the 20 years of doing this ministry, Diane has not only seen children grow into their Christian faith, she has also experienced Godly Play as deepening her own faith. Getting to learn the stories of our faith by heart and explore them with imagination and through the eyes and minds of children has helped her hear the Spirit speaking new and profound truths through these stories. When she was interviewed for this post, she articulated a deep sense of God’s call on her life…God calls us to ministries that not only serve others but also in serving others serve ourselves.
Diane came to St. Martin’s in 1999 when she and her husband Charlie, and two of their children, moved to Davis from England. In many ways it was a hard move for them, but the Anglican traditions that St. Martin’s participates in was a great comfort to Diane. Having familiar liturgy and worship helped her to feel connected to her past and to her extended family back in England. Over the years though, Diane’s love of St. Martin’s grew well beyond the bounds of worship. She finds the whole campus to be a place of prayer and worship of God. She delights in our campus labyrinth, and remembers fondly meeting with her Crusillo group on the benches under the redwood trees. She has also been active in many parts of the parish’s life including Stephen Ministry, Caring Ministries, EFM, and most recently during the pandemic our St. Martin’s Messengers to help those for whom computers and the internet pose an overwhelming barrier, stay connected to our church community.
Over her many years at St. Martin’s, Diane has had the gift of watching dear friends like Ernie Lewis and Lucinda Ashby be ordained as priests. But some of her most precious memories of St. Martin’s are seeing young adults, who she remembers guiding in the Godly Play classroom, distributing communion. In those moments, she was witnessing the fruit of her own ministry in the lives of these young adults. Diane’s work of serving Christ in all persons has also extended well beyond the walls of St. Martin’s. She has served Christ in the larger Davis community by working with Citizens Who Care in a variety of capacities throughout the years, tending to the needs and cares of the elderly in our community, particularly those with dementia. Diane is a great saint of the church of St. Martin’s, who has truly revealed in her life what it means to live out our common baptismal covenant.
Stan Forbes
Stan recently donated the solar panels that brought St. Martin’s net zero energy project to a successful completion. Asked why he chose this particular gift he explained that from his perspective “global warming is the only issue.” A member since 1979, he was attracted to the parish because of its culture of tithing. He quoted founding rector Bill Burrill: “If you want to know someone’s values, look at their checkbook.” He has found a home in a community he describes as “intellectual believers,” people who are willing to walk the walk. He is proud that St. Martin’s is one of only three churches in the nation to have achieved net zero energy.
Asked about his favorite memories of St. Martin’s he mentioned his own confirmation, a Christmas service from the 90s when the church was packed, the year that he served as senior warden in charge of the parish after Burrill’s departure, and a wonderful service with an orchestra and sung mass conducted by Margaret Neu. His own giving was inspired by gifts that helped build St. Martin’s: Dorothy Blackmore’s gift to help purchase the organ, Bob and Bella Pfeil’s gift of the wooden pews, Leonard Homann’s gift to the music program. Another story is recounted by Shipley Walters in The Church of St. Martin: The First Forty Years (1993): “In the fall of 1980 John Goshert’s condition worsened, and he was forced to retire from his job as a sales engineer. [John was married to Mary Goshert, the first woman to serve as a priest at St. Martin’s.] He did get some pleasure out of retirement. One of John’s hobbies was his Model A Ford, which he had begun restoring before his illness. After his retirement, several of the parishioners, including Pierre Neu and Stan Forbes, finished the job of restoration for John. One of the proud moments of John’s life was when he sat in his beautifully restored car in front of the church during St. Martin’s Second Annual Festival of Talents on May 10, 1981.” (52) Stan confessed that he knew nothing about cars but could follow John’s instructions.
About current rector Pamela Dolan he writes that she embodies faith as he envsioned it: faith and works.
Forbes is a former Davis City Council member and school board trustee, a third-generation almond grower, and owner of Avid Books in Sacramento. He also served as chair of the California Citizens Redistricting Commission that draws congressional and state district lines for California; this influential and award-winning project is serving as a model for states trying to reform gerrymandering. Forbes is a quintessential “big ideas guy,” with an instinct to move quickly (“ready fire aim”), sometimes a challenge in institutions that move slowly. He hopes that his gift will inspire every congregation in the diocese to become carbon neutral, and for the movement to expand nationally.