Philanthropy, Outreach, Ministries

The Cloak: The Cloak  provides clothing, footwear, and toiletry items for homeless shelters in Providence, as well as pet supplies to the RISPCA. You can donate funds or goods directly to the Cloak, which currently needs: small and medium men’s jeans, work pants, hoodies, sweaters, as well as old bedding and towels, cage liners, and new dog and cat food. Donations for people and pets can be brought to the church during services or whenever the office is open. The Cloak is a symbol of St. Martin, who divided his cloak with a poor man.

Epiphany Soup Kitchen: Operated out of S. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, ESK offers free meals to those in need on Saturdays. You can learn more about their work and volunteer opportunities here.

Food Pantries: Non-perishable food items for Better Lives RI (formally PICA) and Camp Street Ministries are collected at the back of the church during services, and whenever the office is open.

Our Hearts Are Open: An Advent project collecting Christmas presents for children in DCYF care.

Episcopal Charities: An umbrella organisation of the Diocese of Rhode Island supporting multiple charities across the State. St Martin’s is among the top three contributing parishes to EC.

St. Martin’s empowers and encourages our members to be active in the community. Some examples of our members’ support of wider community initiatives are:

• American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem
• Dorcas International
• Amos House
• Open Doors RI
• RI Philharmonic

Hospitality: This committee runs our weekly coffee hour, prepares the Great Hall for special celebrations, and assists other ministries with their generous contribution of time and attention to detail.

20s/30s: Our young-er adults gather regularly to socialize, learn together, and get involved in other ministries as a team. They have assisted in the past with the DCYF Advent project, led occasional prayer services, an held bagel brunches in the Stearns Room. They also gather for paint nights, karaoke, cocktail parties, and even a recent field trip to La Salette.

Meditation: St. Martin’s is so blessed to have a rotation of experienced meditation facilitators from a variety of backgrounds and approaches. Meditation typically meets on Thursday evenings at 5:30pm, but please get on the mailing list to get the official schedule, as well as email reminders and cancellation notices.

Bible Study: Whatever your thoughts about Bible study, prepare to be surprised. Joshua Maria Garcia is our resident Bible scholar, and their deep and dynamic classes present a holistic approach to scripture combining linguistic and historical insight, critical theory, traditional commentaries, and reader response. Joshua holds a Masters in Jewish Studies from Hebrew College and is a rising student at the School of Theology at Sewanee. You can learn more about their current offerings on their website here. Please note that parishioners at St. Martin’s always have free access to Joshua’s classes, with a coupon code provided in the weekly enews.

Women’s Spirituality Group: WSG meets once a month and is open to St Martin’s members and all women in the local community to explore themes particular to women and women’s spirituality. Please contact Susan Allen to get on the mailing list.

Gander (St. Martin’s Men’s Community): Gander members meet to eat, grow, and serve. Gander includes a monthly themed lunch group, small book and Op-Ed discussion groups, and service planning projects. Gander is also open to men in the wider community who would like to find space for cultivating friendship and spirituality in solidarity with other men. Contact Mark+ for futher information.

Knitting Ministry: This ministry creates beautiful healing shawls which are distributed to those facing health challenges. Each shawl is given with a label attached saying who knitted the shawl and assuring the recipient of the healing prayers incorporated into its very fibers. The members of this ministry gain considerable benefit from their fellowship as they work together. For further information contact Natasha Lofgren.