Below you can find a message from the Rev. Pamela. These are sent out every Friday in our newsletter and updated here.

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Message from the Rev. Pamela from May 3, 2024:

Dear Ones,

At last weekend’s Fearless Faith Revival, St. Martin’s was amply represented by parishioners and clergy, from the Fearless Feast on Friday night to the closing worship service on Saturday evening. It was so good to see familiar faces there and to meet many new people, including the Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers and the Rt. Rev. Daniel Gutierrez, both of whom offered us powerful words of encouragement and inspiration.

A true highlight for me was having two of our parishioners’ testimonials shown on the big screens that were set up for the worship service. Lynn Zender, a long-time parishioner, spoke eloquently about the Families Together Project and how life-changing that was for many of the participants. Joe Bender, a UC Davis student and parishioner, gave a moving account of how the Belfry gave him his first experience of being part of a Christian community, and how from there he became involved at St. Martin’s. I must admit to a few happy tears as I listened, surrounded by people from around the Diocese and the wider church, to how much good work God is doing in and through our parish.

Two themes I heard running through both of their testimonials were courage and belonging. Under any circumstances, it takes courage to join a new church—but if it’s your first church, the necessary courage is exponentially bigger. It took courage for the Vestry to approve and support the Families Together project, something we had never done before and that in many ways we had to make up as we went along. The result, though, was that our community was made stronger, more connected, and more reflective of God’s kingdom, because new people were experiencing the sense of belonging that God desires for all of us.

The importance of recognizing our belonging to one another, and to Jesus, was a recurring theme in Anthony Amato’s wonderful sermon last Sunday, too. Belonging is what we are after when we say we abide in God’s love and offer that love to others. And, as Anthony said, love takes courage.

My friends, where have you seen acts of courage recently? When have you felt that deep sense of belonging, and that awareness of God’s love? I see and feel these things in our parish all the time, and I hope you do, too.

See you Sunday!

Blessings,

Pamela+