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St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church * Omaha, Nebraska

FEBRUARY 2021

Greetings,

February—the shortest month of the year---and often the coldest. February brings Valentine’s Day but also brings us the beginning of Lent this year—which somehow seems “meet and right” for the times.

Lent refers to the forty days before Easter. Lent is a solemn religious observance that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends approximately six weeks later at Easter. Lent is a time of preparation for the believer which focuses on fasting, prayer, repentance, and almsgiving.

Many of us feel like most of 2020 was already a penitential season due to the pandemic and we are more than ready for the end of it. But we cannot rush things when we are so close to getting to the end of this very long tunnel. We are still in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic and we are still unable to gather together in person. What’s more, we don’t really know how long it will be before we can fully reopen. But keep the faith my friends. We will continue to gather online and occasionally in person, and we will get through this.

We are currently planning to have a Shrove Tuesday Drive-Thru Pancake Supper on Tuesday, February 16th at 5 pm-7pm. We will begin our Lenten journey with the imposition of ashes on Wednesday, February 17th with Drive through imposition of ashes, a noon service and a 6:30 pm service. We will also attempt to have an in person Lenten Book Study. Faithfully,

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St. Mart’s News and Announcements

Prayer Requests * Prayer Chain

• Pray for all victims of COVID-19 and their families • Pray for all students, teachers, and parents, especially Cathie Hughes, Emma Mincer and Emily Gomez. Pray for all who live in isolation, loneliness, or fear and those who suffer from depression.

• Pray for all who have lost employment and who struggle to pay their bills. • Pray for all health care providers, relieve their stress and anxiety.

• Pray for all scientists who are working tirelessly to discover new vaccines and treatments.

• Pray for all leaders who are working to provide needed supplies and information for their constituents.

Pray for all those in sickness, loneliness, and any other adversity.

• Pray for the repose of the souls of all who have died. Pray for all who mourn.

Pray for all public servants in this country who have been under attack by insurgents. • We offer thanksgiving for all the joys of life and those celebrating birthdays this month,

especially Audrey Hughes, Jim Martin, and Emily Gomez.

• Pray for the church—especially for our St. Martin of Tours, that we may gather together again soon.

All this we ask in the name of Jesus Christ our Savior.

CANDLEMAS – NOTE THE TIME!

Candlemas is a Christian holiday that celebrates three occasions according to Christian belief: the presentation of the child Jesus; Jesus’ first entry into the temple; and the Virgin Mary’s purification. At St. Martin’s we will celebrate Candlemas on Sunday, January 31st at 10:00 AM. The Blessings of Throats will

also be offered.

This Eucharist will be offered online and in person by reservation. Please notify Mother Kim if you wish to attend. We will follow CDC guidelines.

VESTRY MEETING

The first meeting of the 2021 Vestry will be held on Sunday, February 14th at

11:00 AM in person. New members will be introduced, and outgoing members will be recognized. We will follow CDC guidelines.

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SHROVE TUESDAY DRIVE THRU PANCAKE SUPPER

Our annual Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Supper will be held on Tuesday, February 16th at 5 PM in the parking lot. The cost is $10 Adult, $5

Child, and $25 Family. Cash or Checks only.

Call 402-733-8815 to order or just pull up in the parking lot.

ASH WEDNESDAY

ASHES-ON-THE-GO- Mother Kim and Deacon Mark will be available on February 17th from 10 AM till 11:30 AM in the parking

lot to impose ashes.

NOON - An in-person service will be offered at noon—reservations required.

OPEN FOR PRAYER- We will also be available from 4:30 Pm-6:00 PM in the parking lot.

EVENING - An in-person service will also be held at 6:30 PM

Reservations are required. We will follow CDC guidelines.

LENTEN PROGRAM/BOOK STUDY

St. Martin’s will offer a Lenten Book Study beginning Sunday, February 21st at 11 AM in the basement. The book we will read is “A House

Divided, Engaging the Issues through the Politics of Compassion”. The meetings will also be held on

• February 21 • February 28

• March 7

• March 21

Reservations are required

. Either send email to info@stmartinoftoursomaha.org or respond to Outlook Invitation. Ann will send invitations out weekly.

SADIE MURPHY MEMORIAL FUND

A fund has been established to honor and memorialize our beloved pets that have passed. It is named after Sadie Murphy, a wonderful dog and friend. A plaque has been installed in the Chapel. People can donate toward the purchase and engraving of a nameplate in memory of their pet(s). The minimum donation for each nameplate is $40. Please see Mother Kim or Ann Chambers for more details. Order form available on the Web site: https://stmartinoftoursomaha.org or ask Ann stmartinoftoursomaha@gmail.com

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DIACONAL INTERN

Rebecca Smith comes from St. Augustine of Canterbury in Elkhorn, NE. Rebecca is a postulant at Bishop Kemper School of Ministry in Topeka, KS. She is starting her final semester there and has been sent by Bishop Barker to perform a semester of field service work starting in January. Rebecca is a practicing attorney in her secular life. In her spare time Rebecca enjoys being a doting grandparent of 9, works in prison ministry, is a member of ECW and DOK and enjoys reading. She is very excited to be spending time with us at St. Martin of Tours. Please join me in welcoming Rebecca to St. Martin’s. The Litany below was written by Rebecca.

CORONA VIRUS LITANY Submitted by Rebecca Smith, Diaconal Intern Thank you, Lord for taking care of your children.

O God, our rock in times of trial, thank you for being with us all as we face the difficulties that the coronavirus has brought.

We feel your presence and are comforted.

You are there with those who are disappointed at not having the joyful celebrations of weddings, family gatherings, graduations and

of life at birth and death. You provide joy to us in other ways, if we just pay attention.

God, hear our Prayer.

You are there with those of us quarantined at home, when we want to be saying words of comfort to those who are far from us. You take our words and whisper them to our loved ones for us.

God, hear our Prayer.

You are there, holding the hand of the sick or dying when their family cannot be with them.

God, hear our Prayer.

You are there protecting and guiding all on the front lines of medical care, vaccine

development, police and firefighters and those in the supply chain to provide us food from farmers to truckers to grocery store workers.

God, hear our Prayer.

You are with our clergy who are doing your work under stressful circumstances and providing them with your words of comfort and caring to share with us.

God, hear our Prayer.

Let us never forget that wherever we are, you are there also with us, every step of the way. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

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Scriptures of the Month

February 7 – Epiphany 5

• Isaiah 40:21-31 – The Lord does not faint or grow weary; without equal. • 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 – Paul becomes all things to all people for the gospel. • Mark 1:29-39 – Healing and casting out demons; Jesus retreats to pray.

February 14 – Last Sunday after Epiphany

• 2 Kings 2:1-12 – Elijah ascends with chariot and horses of fire

• 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 – We preach Christ, who has shone his light in our hearts • Mark 9:2-9 – The Transfiguration; “this is my Son, listen to him.”

February 17 – Ash Wednesday

• Joel 2:1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12 – Blow the trumpet; sanctify a fast; return to the Lord. • 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 – Be reconciled to God.

• Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 – Do not practice piety before others; treasure in heaven

February 21 – Lent 1

• Genesis 9:8-17 – God makes a covenant with Noah not to destroy through water. • 1 Peter 3:18-22 – Baptism was prefigured God saving Noah out of the waters. • Mark 1:9-15 – Jesus is baptized by John in the waters of the Jordan.

February 28 – Lent 2

• Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 – God makes a covenant with Abraham. • Romans 4:13-25 – Abraham was saved by faith in God’s promise. • Mark 8:31-38 – “Take up your cross and follow me.”

From the Calendar

Saint Brigid of Kildare is one of Ireland's patron saints, along with St. Patrick and St. Columba. Irish biography makes her an early Irish Christian nun, abbess, and foundress of several monasteries of nuns, including that of Kildare in Ireland, which was famous and was revered.

She is the patron saint ofbabies; blacksmiths; boatmen; cattle; chicken farmers; children whose parents are not married; dairymaids; dairy workers; fugitives; infants; Ireland; Leinster, Ireland; mariners; midwives; milk maids; newborn babies; nuns; poets; poultry farmers; poultry raisers; printing presses; sailors; scholars; travelers; and watermen.

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Cornelius was a Roman centurion who is considered by Christians to be the first Gentile to convert to the faith, as related in Acts of the Apostles. The baptism of Cornelius is an important event in the history of the early Christian church.

Absalom Jones was an African American abolitionist and clergyman in Philadelphia. Disappointed at the racial discrimination he experienced in a local Methodist church, he founded the Free African Society with Richard Allen in 1787, a mutual aid society for African Americans in the city. In 1794 Jones founded the first black Episcopal congregation, and in 1802, he was the first African American to be ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the United States

Martin Luther was a reformer who taught that salvation and, consequently, eternal life

are not earned by good deeds but are received only as the free gift of God's grace through the believer's faith in Jesus Christ as redeemer from sin. His theology challenged the authority and office of the pope by teaching that the Bible is the only source of divinely revealed knowledge, and by considering all baptized Christians to be a holy priesthood.

Frederick Douglass was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became a national leader of the abolitionist movement in Massachusetts and New York, becoming famous for his oratory and incisive antislavery writings.

Almighty God, we bless your Name for the witness of Frederick Douglass, whose impassioned and reasonable speech moved the hearts of people to a deeper obedience to Christ: Strengthen us also to speak on behalf of those in captivity and tribulation, continuing in the way of Jesus Christ our Liberator, who with you and the Holy Spirit dwells in glory everlasting. Amen.

Polycarp of Smyrna is regarded as one of three chief Apostolic Fathers, along with Clement of Rome and Ignatius of Antioch. Polycarp occupies an important place in the history of the early Christian Church. He is among the earliest Christians whose writings survived. Jerome wrote that Polycarp was a "disciple of the apostle John and by him ordained presbyter of Smyrna". He was an elder of an important congregation that was a large contributor to the founding of the Christian Church. He is patron against earache

and dysentery.

Nothing is known about the life of St. Matthias the Apostle except the one mention of him in the Book of Acts. After the Ascension of Christ and the death of Judas, when some followers of Jesus met in the Upper Room, Peter asked the group to (Acts 1:12-26).

Almighty God, who in the place of Judas chose your faithful servant Matthias to be numbered among the Twelve: Grant that your Church, being delivered from false apostles, may always be guided and governed by faithful and true pastors; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

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Prayers and Liturgies for theCovid-19Pandemic

https://episcopalchurch.org/files/prayers_and_liturgies_for_the_covid-19_pandemic.pdf

Please check out the above resource.

A Note from Ann - In case you wonder where I come up with all the extra things I put in the newsletters I rely on the Episcopal

Church web site athttps://episcopalchurch.org/

St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church

• The Rt. Rev. J. Scott Barker, Diocesan Bishop of Nebraska

• Rev. Kim Roberts, Rector bkeroberts@msn.com • Rev. Mark Kowalski, Deacon

kowalskimjk@gmail.com

• Ann Chambers, Parish Administrator, Music Director achambers1954@gmail.com

• Conner Mowery, Cantor, Musician and IT Assistant • Cathie Hughes, Sunday School Director

• David Rose, Adult Religious Formation • Jim Murphy, Senior Murphy

• Steve Mincer, Junior Warden • Beth Mincer, Treasurer

• Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays from 9 am until Noon • Web site – https://stmartinoftoursomaha.org

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