Our 2026 Annual Giving Campaign: Celebrate!
Friends in Christ,
You are getting this letter because you know St. Martin’s to be a special place. It’s the culture of the place, yes. But that’s not all. It might be the preaching, or the service to our neighbors. But that’s not all. It might be excellent music or an appreciation of the full spectrum of humanity at St. Martin’s. But that’s not all, either.
Most visitors to our church come up to me or Justi and report with wide eyes, “the Spirit is active here!” That’s what it is. The Spirit is active here. We aren’t in control of this, this is not a programmatic choice. It is a consolation from God. A gift.
We don’t need to “sell” St. Martin’s to you because you know what we are as a parish. We are a parish whose culture was established early, and is drawn straight from the story of St. Martin himself. Martin was centered on Jesus Christ and his guarantee to find him in those whom society tries to erase (Matt. 25). We are a parish with a social conscience, but we also know that we worship God in the beauty of holiness, so we sing well. This is a distinctive feature of St. Martin’s: the entire parish sings. I could go on about what makes this place special but I don’t need to “sell” you St. Martin’s.
We are an active parish, and, the truth is, we sometimes move from one event to the next, and life is so rich here that we could be forgiven for just moving on to the next wonderful gift and not stopping to acknowledge that something special just happened.
We are making a change. Justi and I, and our new deacon, Valerie, are intentionally entering into a season of deep listening to the parish about how it is that God is calling us deeper into the Triune Life. What kind of community is God calling us to be, and how shall we meet? That’s the question at the heart of your clergy’s prayers.
You may have noticed that when Bishop Sam visited last year we had him bless everything in sight. That’s part of how we are going to generate this culture of pause and acknowledgement. You may have also noticed that we are doing a lot of commissioning of ministers; we want to celebrate ministry! You see where this is going.
Here’s a partial list of things to celebrate at St. Martin’s over the last couple of years, gathered from a small cross-section of the parish. All of these are samples of the Holy Spirit showing up here. Some are hilariously obvious, some are subtle, some are born of joy and some in searing pain. This is just the tip of the iceberg of what God has been doing with us:
Ian Chambers baptized and confirmed! We have a sub-plot of children being the impulse to their family’s church-attendance. We are having lots of baptisms.
Almost eerie tales from our Junior Warden about the just-right information coming his way, allowing for the better care of our building.
Our Creative Engagement ministry is our part of restoring the Church as a source of new, baptized, culture. Equally important is the connection to the wider Charlotte art scene with a community that proclaims the Resurrection.
This summer’s potlucks that drew so many of our homeless neighbors in for nourishment in two kinds.
A nation-wide search that brought us our new choir master and organist: Joe Master!
Combining services for the summer allows us to meet each other better.
Our Catechesis of the Good Shepherd program at St. Martin's is thriving. We consistently have over 30 children attending each Sunday morning and families who value this program because they make an effort to be here each week. In a culture where church no longer is supported by the larger culture, it's inspiring to see the families of St. Martin's commitment to this method of children's Christian formation. Here, children name times when they experience God's love:with their parents, when they are tucked into bed at night, when they pray.
The joy of intergenerational relationships for mutual learning.
Praying the Great Litany when tensions in our country and the world overwhelmed us; bringing us together as a congregation on our knees, before God.
Church members bend over backward to provide good food and companionship to families and loved ones of parishioners after funerals.
St. Martin's priests being with parishioners at the big moments of life, both happy and tragic.
St. Martin's choir and other musicians diligently and beautifully helped us celebrate feast days with music that draws us into God.
Our Split Cloak Pantry continues to be filled by our parishioners and feeds our neighbors.
Any number of volunteers that make St. Martin’s hum.
Luke Ausbeck’s enthusiasm for reciting the offertory sentence.
Countless little graces for living together in sometimes infirm bodies.
Magnus Monson preaching on Trinity Sunday!
Incredible response to the request for funds to give our Memorial Garden some needed refreshment.
Our exploration of the violent racial history of Charlotte and the present-day fallout, continues and is yielding interesting fruit.
Our first annual Advent Event was a great success: Lessons and Carols, potluck and fellowship while we made candles for Advent, and the blessing of the Nativity.
A Place at the Table last year, a time to gather as a parish for fun, food, and fellowship. We enjoyed family activities and music in the courtyard (provided by our partners at the Charlotte Folk Society), a delicious catered bbq meal, and time to be together welcoming those who are new to our community.
We gave Budd a good goodbye after decades of service.
Last year we hosted Room in the Inn on both Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. A poignant experience for all involved. We have so many testimonies to authentic connection through RITI. Being-with is our starting and ending point.
I know you have a list of your own, and I’d bet that your list overlaps a little with mine. But I also know that your list would contain items about St. Martin’s that are uniquely yours, and that is so good. I think that faithfulness and celebration in gratitude for God are essentially the same thing. God asks us for faithfulness, not perfection; and gratitude is the fast track to faithfulness.
A faithful response will be different for everyone; though I will add that giving until one feels a little giddy is usually the sweet spot. Giving until giddy is a common experience for sacrificial givers of all budgets. The fruit of our faithfulness to God will be our thriving, no matter what our budget is. That said, how the entire parish participates in
materially supporting the entire church has always been, and will always be, a key indicator for our thriving.
Thank you for your time and prayerful response. Come Holy Spirit!
Rev. Joshua Bowron
WHY SHOULD I PLEDGE?
Pledging is a spiritual exercise that lets us reflect on the gifts God has given us. In a more practical sense, it's how we keep the church and all of its programs running.
DO I NEED TO PLEDGE IF I GIVE IN THE PLATE?
Giving money in the plate is wonderful and helps support St. Martin's and the work that we do to with our neighbors on a daily and weekly basis. However, pledged gifts allow us to plan for the future, build our budget, and to take steps forward in our growth.
How do I pledge?
The online form to record your pledge for 2026 is below, but also keep an eye on your mailbox and in the services over the next few weeks for AGC 2026 pledge cards and materials!
The 2026 St. Martin’s Pledge Form
If you have questions about the status of your 2025 pledge, how best to make a 2026 pledge, other ways to give to St. Martin’s, setting up automatic payments from your bank, or about accessing/updating the financial information in your Realm account, please contact Jane Thompson via email at jane@stmclt.org.