St. Martin’s News for the Week of Sunday, 06/21/2026
From the Rector
Dear Ones,
I am so happy to announce that we have a new curate who will be joining our staff in July! Maggie Rutherford recently graduated from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale with a Master of Divinity degree and a Certificate in Anglican Studies. Those of us who had an opportunity to meet with her last month found her delightful, bright, and deeply insightful about the work of the Church. You can read a bit more about Maggie below. Over the next few weeks we’ll be making plans to welcome her to St. Martin’s and to Davis—please let me know if you’d like to be part of a welcome crew!
As a reminder, a curate is a newly ordained priest who serves a parish under the guidance of the rector, usually for a set amount of time. The curacy program established by the Diocese last year has a unique structure, in that we are partnering with another congregation in the Diocese, St. Luke’s in Galt. Maggie will work 3/4 time with us and 1/4 time with St. Luke’s. Half of her salary is paid for by the Diocese, and we share costs with St. Luke’s for the remainder. This is a three-year program, and we are in the first cohort of churches to try this new way of doing things.
Please mark your calendars: On Saturday, July 18 at 11:00am, Maggie will be ordained to the transitional diaconate at Trinity Cathedral. It would be great to have a big turnout from St. Martin’s for the occasion. The next day, Maggie and I will both serve at St. Luke’s in Galt. Her first Sunday with us will be Sunday, July 26. I know we’ll want to do something special after church to welcome her!
I know you will join me in praying for Maggie as she transitions from the East Coast and gets settled in Davis, and in praying for both her new churches, that we will grow in bonds of friendship and strengthen our connections to the Diocese through this shared ministry.
Blessings,
Pamela+
An Introduction to Maggie
Maggie Rutherford grew up in the Bay Area attending Christ Episcopal Church, Alameda and was very involved in both parish and diocesan life. She completed her bachelor’s degree in psychology and women’s studies at Chico State before joining the year round staff at St. Dorothy’s Rest, filling a wide range of roles. St. Dorothy’s was the perfect place for Maggie to begin her formal discernment process as it was where she first felt a call to ordained ministry while working as a camp counselor. In 2022 Maggie joined the staff of Galilee Episcopal Camp in Lake Tahoe as their Program Director. In the fall of 2023, Maggie then traveled east to begin seminary at Berkeley Divinity School at Yale where she has just graduated with a Master of Divinity and a Certificate in Anglican Studies. In her free time Maggie loves to read, knit, spend quality time with friends, play with her cats, and research new restaurants to try with her fiancé Christopher. Maggie is very excited to join both St. Martin’s and St. Luke’s and begin getting to know each of you!
A Prayer for Juneteenth
O God of radiance, fascinating in your kaleidoscopic diversity, help us to love ourselves as we mirror your image to the world. As we grow tired of this struggle, Lord, and we feel alone in our weariness, strengthen us when we grow faint of heart. Give us a memory for the victories of our ancestors: help us to remember a time when our forebears faced immeasurable pain with the sure knowledge that you were with them. Remind us that we are truly never alone. When we grow faint, gird us with your strength; when we doubt, fill us with confidence that the beauty of our skin, ebony, mahogany, lemon, ivory and taupe is but a mere reflection of the richness of your glory. Help us to understand the gifts we bring into this broken world: the love of color and variety. This we ask in the name of Jesus, who touched all and loved all. Amen. (Kaleidoscope Prayer from the Sacred Ground Curriculum) The Church Office will be closed on Monday, June 22 in observance of Juneteenth.
This Sunday! Adult Forum after 10am Service – Bible Study on Abraham and Sarah
Join Diane Bamforth and others after the 10am service on June 21 for a time of learning and reflection. Our lectionary this summer includes several weeks of selections from the Book of Genesis that focus on Abraham, Sarah, and those who came after them; don’t miss this chance to ponder these ancient stories anew! Meet in Room 6/7.
The Music Notes, written by our choir director, Suzanne Jubenville, will return in September. If you want to join the Summer Choir, they practice at 9:15am on Sunday mornings in the church during July and August.
Next Sunday, June 28! Graduation Sermon at Both Services and Donation Opportunity
We are delighted to welcome James Hochbruekner to deliver a graduation sermon on Sunday, June 28. James graduated last week with degrees in Ecology and Philosophy and has been an active parishioner at St. Martin’s and the peer minister at the Belfry. He leaves August 16 for a service year in Argentina through the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America (ELCA)’s Young Adults in Global Mission (YAGM) program. There, he and other young adults will partner with the Iglesia Evangélica Luterana Unida to do work ranging from afterschool programs to human rights initiatives. If you would like to follow James’ journey through a newsletter or donate to his cause, please click the appropriate links!
One 10am Service in July
It’s summer! During the month of July, we’ll have ONE service at 10am (Rite II Eucharist). We’ll all worship together on July 5, 12, 19, and 26! We’ll return to our schedule of two Sunday services on August 2.
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