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Sunday Morning Service
Each Sunday St. Martin’s holds a full service with communion. The descriptions below try to provide an impression of our worship, but we invite you to visit us yourself.
Coming to God as the People We Are
At St. Martin’s we celebrate God’s goodness and generosity. We come to the altar table for weekly communion as the flawed but loving people we are: believers who are respectful of the traditions of our faith while living in today’s world, shaped by our experience of it. We express ourselves in ways that are meaningful to us, through music, symbols, words and gestures that spring from Church tradition, from our life experience and from our culture.
Making a Joyful Noise
The Sunday Music Ministers at St. Martin’s lead congregational singing and offer ensemble and solo musical testimonies. Music is integrated in all aspects of our worship. Children are encouraged to participate and are welcome to be present throughout the service.
Preaching God’s Word so that We Can Hear It
Strong preaching is a long-standing tradition at St. Martin’s. St. Martin’s Vicar, the Rev. Christopher Griffin preaches most Sunday mornings, connecting Scripture lessons with the demands of living in this time and place. Father Griifin’s style is lively and memorable, rooted in his study of the faith and Scripture and informed by his extensive experience as a spiritual director. From time to time St. Martin’s welcomes guest preachers, both clergy and lay.
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Ministries
Good Ground
The Good Ground Institute exists to create space for marginal voices that are unheard in dominant stories. Through forums, workshops, arts programming and direct action, Good Ground provides a means for such voices to reflect, educate and create strategies for change.
Good Ground was initially created as the public ministry of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church. Its purpose, to empower through knowledge; to inform the public beyond the walls of the church, and most important to link voices, beliefs and activism. Good Ground embodied the mission of St. Martin’s, “Linking Spirituality and Social Transformation”.
It was established in 2001 and built community programming around substantive themes relevant to the social, economic and civic needs. In 2003 the theme was Lift Every Voice: Affirming Gay & Lesbian People in African American Churches. Supported by an Episcopal Charities and Community Service New Ministries Grant, Good Ground presented a series of five forums featuring nationally recognized scholars, theologians and activists at the church.
Subsequent projects have included the screening of the documentary Dreams Deferred: The Sakia Gunn Film Project and Q and A with director Chas Brack; a screening of At the Edge of Each Others Battles: The Vision of Audre Lorde, accompanied by a panel discussion and poetry slam featuring Audrey Lourde’s work; a workshop, Radical Transformation: The Intersection of Oppressions for the Chicago Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.
Additionally, Good Ground presented the music programs Blues and Jazz in the Sanctuary. St. Martin’s determined that the Good Ground Institute had the potential to increase its reach as stand alone organization, so in 2011 Good Ground incorporated as a non-profit origination. While the arts have always been a Good Ground component, the organization created the Saint Martin Repertory Theatre to utilize the talents of its artists cadre and add another avenue to lift up those marginal voices in our society.
5700 West Midway Park
Chicago, IL 60644
United States
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