St. Martin's Episcopal Church
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OUR MISSION
To bring by the power of the Holy Spirit as many people as possible to know, love, and serve God as revealed through Jesus Christ; and to be transformed into spiritually renewed disciples of Jesus who know, love and serve one another and the world.
HISTORY
Since its founding in 1952, St. Martin’s Episcopal Church has grown to become the largest Episcopal Church in North America with nearly 9,000 members. The Parish celebrates worship at six Sunday and three Wednesday services in both traditional and contemporary liturgical styles that provide an opportunity to give thanks and praise to God in the Anglican evangelical and orthodox tradition. The Church offers a wide range of Christian Education programs for the entire family, as well as numerous Outreach and Missions opportunities, and a variety of programs and events for adults, youth and children.
OUTREACH MINISTRIES
The mission of outreach at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church is to model the love of Christ by helping the underserved, the disadvantaged, and others broken by life’s circumstances. While providing immediate needs such as food, clothing and shelter, outreach volunteers also offer service, emotional and spiritual support. Funding is targeted toward Christian programs in the greater Houston area, particularly those with opportunities for our volunteers to build relationships through hands-on involvement.
WORLD MISSIONS
Mission is about the building up of relationships for the Kingdom of God. The World Missions Committee invites you to consider how you will be involved in building these mutually transformative and long-lasting relationships focused on friendship, faith sharing, knowledge, experiences, resources and prayer. All of these offerings reflect a deep commitment in long-term ministry that will afford our communities many years to together “proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.” All mission teams are selected through an application process.
Worship times
Spoken service with sermon
Family service with hymns, anthems and full Choir; feast days and other special events may affect the 9:00 a.m. worship schedule.
Family-friendly contemporary worship
Traditional service with hymns, anthems and full Choir
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The Altar, Holy Eucharist, Old Church
Contemporary worship for all ages
Traditional service with hymns, Choir and organist; casual attire
Chapel
Chapel
Chapel
Volunteer opportunities
St. Martin’s Outreach and World Missions offer a variety of both on and off campus opportunities to serve the Houston and World community. Our approach is holistic, seeking a deep and encompassing relationship with the organizations and ministries we partner with. As a part of Outreach, we partner with local non-profit organizations and ministries to provide direct volunteer service within the organizations’ existing programs. Our primary areas of focus are mentoring of adults and children; providing meals; coordinating and distributing donations; and participating in seasonal projects. World Missions plans and coordinates mission trips as well as supports parishioners as they go on mission trips with World Mission partners. Outreach also provides grant funding to a number of organizations who meet the guidelines and are approved by the St. Martin’s Outreach Grant Discernment Committee, made up of over 40 active parishioners.
Ministries
Mentoring
Open Door Mission Mentoring Program
Open Door Mission provides shelter, food, clothing and encouragement for homeless, addicted and disabled men. The Mission is in need of mentors for the residents in the DoorWay Recovery and Educational and Job Training Programs. An invaluable part of defeating chronic homelessness is for our men to find strong Christian mentors to help them find their way. St. Martin’s currently has 16 Open Door Mission mentors.
reVision Houston
reVision works to transform the lives of at-risk and gang-affected youth by connecting them to positive adult role models, building a new community around strong, affirming peer groups, and preparing the youth for promising futures through education and jobs. reVision pairs adult mentors with youth, many of whom are incarcerated at the time mentors meet them. These volunteer mentors offer friendship and encouragement to youth during a difficult period of their lives, and commit to helping them move towards a more positive future. A positive peer group meets each week. St. Martin’s currently has 23 reVision mentors.
Yellowstone Academy Mentoring Program
Yellowstone Academy mentors help children understand, through clear teaching and affectionate sharing, that reading enriches their lives. Volunteers also help with the Yellowstone Scouting program. St. Martin’s currently has 31 Yellowstone Academy mentors. Change a child’s life forever!
World Mission
Mission to Cochabamba, Bolivia
This is a deeply relational mission to work and play alongside the children of the family- centered Amistad Mission orphanage. The highlight for all attendees will be facilitating the annual Olympic Games for children from Amistad and neighboring orphanages. The trip also will include an overnight visit to the mountain village of Arimasi.
Mission to El Salvador
St. Martin's partners with Go Be Love International to send a team to El Salvador to serve in a variety of ways. Part of the week will be spent building a home for a family in need, and the other party will be spent in several different government-run orphanages in and around San Salvador.
Mission to Uganda
A team from St. Martin's will travel to Uganda to serve with Sixty Feet in Kampala, Uganda to serve those children imprisoned and bring them hope and help. The team will also serve with several ministries in Jinja, Uganda including Sole Hope. Sole Hope is working to combat the jigger problem by holding medical clinics and providing education and jobs for Ugandans. There are also opportunities to serve with Heal Ministries and at Amani Baby Cottage.
Missions through St. Martin’s World Mission Partners:
Faith in Practice
Faith In Practice, FIP, is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian organization that seeks to improve the physical, spiritual, and economic conditions of the poor in Guatemala through short-term surgical, medical and dental mission trips and health-related educational programs. St. Martin’s World Missions supports the mission of Faith in Practice and encourages parishioners who are interested to volunteer for a week long FIP mission.
Go Be Love International
Go Be Love's mission includes caring for families and communities, orphan prevention, and missionary care. They partner with ministries and missionaries in the US and abroad, and send short-term teams to support their efforts and meet needs on the field.
On –campus Support of Missions
Prayer Partners
World Missions Blog – http://faithn2practice.wordpress.com
Aging Health and Wellbeing
Amazing Place Turkey Trot
Amazing Place provides a safe, spiritual and nurturing program for older adults with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s or similar dementia while offering respite, education, and support to their caregivers and families. St. Martin’s hosts a Thanksgiving party each year for the clients.
The Gathering
The Gathering serves Church members and others in our community who suffer with memory loss. The program provides a safe and loving environment filled with creative and stimulating activities allowing their caregivers respite from the day-to-day care and often difficult support required.
Shelter and Housing
The Beacon Day Center
The Beacon is a day shelter in downtown Houston that provides the homeless with a meal, laundry services, shower facilities and assistance.
Church in the Field
Church in the Field ministers to the homeless in downtown Houston by serving a meal, serving as prayer partners and providing praise music for the worship service once a month. Check our Events page for upcoming ministry days. St. Martin’s is celebrating 5 years in ministry with Church in the Field.
Lord of the Streets Episcopal Church Breakfast
Lord of the Streets (LOTS) ministers to individuals living in the Houston area who are homeless and disadvantaged, or in transition. St. Martin’s cooks and serves breakfast, and gathers clothing donations.
Westside Homeless Partnership Dinners
This program is designed to empower families with children to achieve financial self-sufficiency and permanent housing through personal effort, education and growth. Volunteers serve dinners to these families.
Community Service Centers
Christian Community Service Center
Christian Community Service Center (CCSC) assists the poor, hungry, disabled and otherwise needy, and provides a back-to-school and Christmas program for low-income children. They also offer emergency assistance for needy families, job training, and school vision screening. Church volunteers organize and distribute food and clothing at emergency services, and hold a food drive in September.
Seafarers’ Centers Christmas Boxes
These centers serve seafarers visiting the Port of Houston by providing a safe and welcoming recreational and spiritual environment on land for those who have chosen the sea as their livelihood. St. Martin’s volunteers assemble and wrap Christmas boxes for this ministry.
Food Services
Bo’s Place Holiday Dinners
Bo’s Place is a non-profit, free-of-charge bereavement center offering multiple grief support services for children, families, and adults in their grief journey, and provides education and resources for those who assist people in grief.
St. Martin’s Houston Food Bank/San Mateo Episcopal Church Food and Vision Fairs
St. Martin’s coordinates quarterly food distribution to hundreds of families in the underserved San Mateo community located in southwest Houston. St. Martin’s volunteers also lead Vision Fairs at San Mateo.
Kids’ Meals
Kids’ Meals provides and distributes nutritious lunches to hungry preschool children throughout Houston. For more information, visit kidsmealshouston.org. Men of St. Martin’s also hosts a Kids’ Meal program the fourth Tuesday of the month.
Lord of the Streets Episcopal Church Breakfast
Lord of the Streets (LOTS) ministers to individuals living in the Houston area who are homeless and disadvantaged, or in transition. St. Martin’s cooks and serves breakfast, and gathers clothing donations.
Westside Homeless Partnership Dinners
This program is designed to empower families with children to achieve financial self-sufficiency and permanent housing through personal effort, education and growth. Volunteers serve dinners to these families.
Children and Youth
Child Advocates
This organization advocates for abused and neglected children through the court, and child protective and educational systems to make certain these children are living in safe, permanent homes and receiving rehabilitative services. Volunteers decorate and fill Christmas stockings.
DePelchin Children’s Center’s Angel Tree Christmas Gift Program
This center is committed to meeting the needs of children as one of the largest providers of mental health, foster care and adoption services in Texas. St. Martin’s Angel Tree project provides Christmas gifts for these children.
Kids’ Meals
Kids’ Meals provides and distributes nutritious lunches to hungry preschool children throughout Houston. For more information, visit kidsmealshouston.org. Men of St. Martin’s also hosts a Kids’ Meal program the fourth Tuesday of the month.
reVision Houston
reVision works to transform the lives of at-risk and gang-affected youth by connecting them to positive adult role models, building a new community around strong, affirming peer groups, and preparing the youth for promising futures through education and jobs. reVision pairs adult mentors with youth, many of whom are incarcerated at the time mentors meet them. These volunteer mentors offer friendship and encouragement to youth during a difficult period of their lives, and commit to helping them move towards a more positive future. A positive peer group meets each week. St. Martin’s currently has 23 reVision mentors.
Grants and Funding
The mission of outreach at St. Martin’s Episcopal Church is to model the love of Christ by helping the underserved, the disadvantaged, and others broken by life’s circumstances. While providing immediate needs such as food, clothing and shelter, outreach volunteers also offer service, emotional and spiritual support. Funding is targeted toward Christian programs in the greater Houston area, particularly those with opportunities for our volunteers to build relationships through hands-on involvement.
717 Sage Rd
Houston, TX 77056-2199
United States
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