Rector Search Updates

Please RSVP for the Parish Profile Meetings

To help us plan for these meetings, please let us know if you will be able to attend:

Parish History Event (Sunday, May 3rd): Yes, I plan to attend.

Congregational Conversation (Sunday, May 17th): Yes, I plan to attend.

Information About the Parish Profile Meetings

Thursday, April 9, 2026

As we say farewell to Fr. Mark and prepare to search for a new Rector, we want to hear from you. Who are we as a congregation and who do we aspire to be? The profile prepared for our search process will be guided by the responses to these questions.

On Sunday, May 3rd, and Sunday, May 17th, the Rev. Canon Dena Cleaver-Bartholomew will lead meetings after the 10:00 am services to help us articulate responses to these and other questions. Participation at these meetings is important so that each of us can hear what others have to say.

To help us plan for these meetings, please let us know if you will be able to attend:

Parish History Event (Sunday, May 3rd): Yes, I plan to attend.

Congregational Conversation (Sunday, May 17th): Yes, I plan to attend.

Lunch will be provided and the meetings will last approximately two hours after they begin. Childcare will be available. We look forward to seeing you there.

Elizabeth Welshman (Sr. Warden)

Hugh Gorman (Jr. Warden)

Honor Mark+

By Donating to the Organ Fund

For 12 years, The Rev. Mark R. Sutherland has guided St. Martin’s Church. As he prepares to begin a well-earned retirement, we invite you to join us in honoring him with a gift to the Organ Fund. Please give generously, and help us send him off with a gift worthy of his service.

You can donate in a variety of ways including check and cash – make sure the donation is labeled with your name and that it is for the Organ Fund. You can also give online by clicking here. You can also make a pledge and pay over the next two years.

The cost of the new organ will be $350,000. The quiet phase has already raised $250,000. We would like to raise the balance of $100,000 (gifts or pledges) by Mark’s last day on April 26.

Announcement Letter from Mark+

December 12, 2025

Dear friends,

On Sunday, I announced to the congregation my intention to retire at the end of April 2026, having previously informed the Bishop, the Vestry, and the staff of my intention.

The Episcopal Church has a mandatory retirement age of 72 years for clergy in a full-time, pensionable post. This means that my mandatory retirement date would be March 18, 2027. I want to explain the chief factor behind bringing this forward by a year.

In addition to personal considerations, the chief consideration guiding my decision to go earlier has been the realization that if I wait, Linda+ and I will retire at the same time, something I consider highly undesirable for the parish. By going next year, Linda+ has agreed to serve as the interim for 12 months from April 2026. This is a generous offer that will provide important continuity and stability during the interregnum – the period of the search for the next rector.

My announcement of a firm retirement date now means that The Rev. Canon Dena Cleaver-Bartholomew, the Canon to the Ordinary, will begin the period of consultation with parish leaders to explain the process to be followed in searching for the next rector. This process begins with the selection of a small working group to write a parish profile. This team, after parish-wide consultation, will produce a profile document that will serve as the informational blueprint for the Parish’s key priorities, hopes, and expectations for the next rector, along with useful information for prospective candidates. Alongside this process, a discernment team will also be appointed to be responsible for vetting and interviewing prospective candidates.

Serving as your rector for these past 11 years has been my crowning professional joy in a long and varied 36-year ministry. I am sure there will be many occasions for me to speak at greater length about this. Before I depart, I have identified the organ appeal as the last significant goal I wish to achieve. However, my overriding responsibility will be to ensure that, together, we continue to grow as a community ever more fit for the purpose to which God continues to call us.

Yours most sincerely,

The Reverend Mark R. Sutherland

Rector

Rector Search Updates

Please RSVP for the Parish Profile Meetings

Information About the Parish Profile Meetings

Thursday, April 9, 2026

Honor Mark+

By Donating to the Organ Fund

Announcement Letter from Mark+

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