Christian Formation Hour – Adult Forum
10.45-11.450 Sunday mornings. The Adult Forum is designed to complement the worship experience or to stand on its own as a separate entry point into the St Martin Community. People new to the Episcopal Church, who may not yet feel ready for our full worship experience are welcome to drop in for coffee and the Adult Forum only.
- Sunday, October 14th: Living our Baptismal Covenant: Why Safe Church Matters by Tina Pickering, Canon for Ministry Development, Episcopal Church of New Hampshire.
Tina Pickering has served as Canon for Ministry Development in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire since January, 2018. Previously, Tina served as Executive to the Bishop, joining the staff at Diocesan House in 2014. Tina’s main role is to expand and deepen lay and ordained ministries by providing formation opportunities, working with the Commission on Ministry, overseeing the Safe Church program, and supporting the Bishop’s vision for the ministry of all the baptized. Tina also supports congregational development efforts such as vestry retreats and mutual ministry reviews in a team approach with other members of the diocesan staff. Tina previously held positions as Director of Alumni Relations at St. Paul’s School, Executive Director of the New Hampshire Bar Foundation, and Development Director at Emmanuel Gospel Center in Boston. She has an undergraduate degree in education from Wheelock College and a Master of Arts in Religion from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Tina and her husband Matt have a blended family of six teenagers/young adults and they live in Concord, NH in an 1875 New Englander that they are constantly renovating.
Other programs
- The Essentials of Christianity -Episcopal 101
This is an introduction to Christianity within the traditions of the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church is a church of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the USA. The Churches of the Anglican Communion comprise the second largest single Christian tradition after Roman Catholicism. Along with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, the Episcopal Church stands in the tradition of Historic or Catholic and Apostolic Christianity as it has been transmitted within the Anglican Tradition originating in the experience of English Christianity. EP 101 explores Christian Essentials in the following areas:
- Who is God, who is Jesus, what is the Holy Trinity, what does it mean to be human made in the image of God? It also includes the meaning and purpose of baptism and the historic Creeds.
- The Bible, including its historical and literary structure and its interpretation.
- The nature of Anglican Tradition and the Episcopal Church.
- The Book of Common Prayer as the foundation for worship, prayer, and other spiritual practices.
- Gratitude, generosity, and service.
Week 1 Who or what is God?
Week 2. Who is Jesus?
Week 3. God, Jesus, and the Church.
Week 4 The History and Structure of the Bible.
Week 5 The Anglican approach to the interpretation of Scripture.
Week 6 The nature of Spiritual Practice.
- Lent 2016 – on spiritual practice
Intentional Groups
are groups that meet usually once a month to explore the experience of soul-faring using the practice of Lectio Divina (divine reading) and other spiritual practice and reflection tools. Intentional Community Groups are a setting for the training of spiritual facilitators, supporting the development of spiritual capacity within the community.
- Gander: a male spirituality group using Lectio Divina for men to explore the spiritual journey in one another’s company, meeting monthly on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. For details contact The Rector
- Women’s Spirituality Group: uses a variety of spiritual practices and reflections to build an experience for women to accompany one another on the spiritual journey, meeting monthly, For details please contact The Rector
- Seekers: a group of 20-30 somethings that meets on the 3rd Sunday of the month between 4-6pm for Lectio Divina. For details please contact The Rector
- Bible Box is an open Bible discussion group between the 8:30 and 9:15am Eucharists.
- Lay Pastoral Care Group meets monthly to review pastoral care visits. For further information contact Linda+
- Adult Formation offerings will vary throughout the year, and take place in the Christian Formation Hour between 10 and 11.30am on Sunday mornings. Stay tuned to St. Martin’s E-News for additional opportunities for faith formation.
Desktop links and mobile apps for the Book of Common Prayer, Daily Prayer, the Lectionary, and the Bible
The Online Book of Common Prayer
Electronic Common Prayer – although this app costs around $10 it contains the calendar, weekday and Sunday lectionary and full electronic version of the BCP – highly recommended!
The Daily Office of Morning and Evening Prayer from the Book of Common Prayer
Contemporary form of the Daily Office: Seven Sacred Pauses Contemporary, user-friendly and informative organization of the hours of daily prayer
Lectionary link Link to the Three Year Sunday Lectionary readings
Online Bible Online Bible app with hundreds of translations to suit your temperament
The Bible Challenge reading the Bible over the course of a year with daily reading guide and meditation reflection, questions on the text