Monthly Ministry Focus

When you contribute to the Operating Fund of St. Martin's, you are contributing to many different ongoing ministries of our church. Each month at St. Martin's we lift up a specific area of our church to highlight how your contributions help keep the ministries of St. Martin's alive.

Check back soon ...

As any property owner knows, maintenance presents an ongoing financial challenge, and it is no different with our church building and grounds. We strive to maintain the property so that neglect does not result in increased costs. Safety and security are always factors in a public space. Then there are the unexpected events--weather and stray cars to name two--that require attention.

These are the larger building projects we are managing at St. Martin's:

• Exterior Painting--Complete exterior painting. Painting in the front of the church and the Umlauf renovation were completed in 2007.
  
• New Church Signage--Update signage with new logo. The previous sign was run over by a car in 2005.
  
• New Telephone System--For greater security and to help communication throughout the building, we are adding lines in all classrooms. With the old system, we were unable to add new phone lines. Additionally, we are adding a better voice mail/messaging system.
  
• Railings--For safety and to comply with the ADA, we are adding a railing at the 15th St steps and in the south transept.
  
• Hail Damage--Repair The recent storm necessitates these repairs: coils on all rooftop HVAC units to be replaced or repaired; damaged cooler tower fill to be replaced; roof damage (assessment on replacing or repairing to be determined); stained glass damage above Umlauf sculpture to be repaired or replaced; downed trees and limbs removed. The deductible on the hail damage repairs is $5K, with insurance covering the balance.

Just as we care for our neighbors and the wider community, we strive to care and support our members and those inside St. Martin's walls. Caring Ministries reinforce the message of the Gospel--we are all precious, lovable and valuable to God. Your contribution to the Operating Fund provides the crucial financial support for the Caring Ministries of St. Martin's. Thank you for contributing to the Operating Fund on a regular basis and helping to care for one another at St. Martin's.

• Stephen Ministers support those who are hurting through one-on-one caring and confidential relationships. Stephen Ministry helps meet the needs of individuals who are hospitalized, terminally ill, bereaved, in a job crisis, disabled, homebound, lonely, in spiritual crisis, or just looking for a caring, Christian friend.
  
• Home Communion volunteers take the sacrament to members who are unable to attend worship.
  
• Caring Visitors maintain a personal church connection with our homebound members through regular scheduled visits and phone calls.
  
• Hospital Visitors call on members who are hospitalized.

Christian Caregiving

• Our 31 active Stephen Ministers care for other members of St. Martin's in need.
  
• Every other year, a class of 6 new Stephen Ministers receives 50 hours of training.
  
• We send a member to Stephen Leader Training about once every two years.
  
• Our 45 home communion & caring visitors call on our 57 shut-ins once a month--bringing communion to most.
  
• For communion, we use our 15 home communion sets that are filled with wafers and wine.
  
• Our 7 hospital visitors cover all of Austin's major hospitals and visit 3 hospitalized members a month.
  
• Members who have lost loved ones receive a series of 4 grief books over the course of one year.

...so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually we are members one of another. --Romans 12:5

From Anita: My blessings as a Stephen Minister include praying the Lord's Prayer with my care receiver (sometimes their last hearing); reading to them from the Bible; hearing them say to me:

• you bring St. Martin's to me!
  
• It means so much to me to know that St. Martin's hasn't forgotten me.
  
• Please, don't forget to come back; it means so much to me.

From Flo & Mac: We have enjoyed our role as Caregivers. However, I think that we have also benefited greatly as we have become great friends with those we have called on and vice versa.

From Laura: I look forward to taking communion to my three ladies. They are an inspiration and joy to me, and we have become good friends.

From Esther: Having communion brought to me at home helps very much since it is very difficult for me to attend church and come to the communion rail. It is my very good fortune to have received someone as wonderful and sincere as my visitor to give me communion and make me feel very much as if the Lord has spoken to me.

Mission support is the portion of the St. Martin's Operating Fund that we share with our synod and the churchwide organization. These dollars support the whole church and ELCA ministries beyond St. Martin's. Thank You for contributing to the Operating Fund on a regular basis and saying YES to God's work in the world.

God's work. Our hands.
When we work together as the ELCA, we are doing God's work in ways that no individual, or any of the more than 10,000 congregations or 65 synods can do alone. Share your time, talents, and possessions generously and pray that God will inspire others. Here are some of the ways the ELCA uses our mission support dollars:

• 25 new congregations started in 2006.
  
• 172 congregations under development.
  
• 150 existing congregations intentionally focused on outreach, for which funds or services are being provided by the churchwide budget.
  
• 264 missionaries in 48 countries.
  
• Support ministry and projects in over 90 countries.
  
• Social ministry organizations serving 1 out of 50 people in the United States and the Caribbean every year.
  
• Eight seminaries.
  
• 8 colleges and universities.
  
• 185 campus ministries.
  
• 1500 Lutheran Early Childhood Education Centers, includes birth to age 5.
  
• 300 Lutheran Elementary Schools, K-8.
  
• 14 Lutheran High Schools.
  
• 145 Camps and Retreat Centers.
  
• Health and pension benefits for retired clergy, missionaries, and lay church workers.
  
• Long-term community development.
  
• Advocacy with the United Nations, federal and state governments, and corporate development. Lutheran World Federation,
  
• World Council of Churches, and National Council of Churches in Christ.

And much more.

From Bishop Mark S. Hanson: "Thank you for supporting the mission and ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Through your giving, you are saying YES to God's work in the world.

The mission support dollars that you share with the synod and worldwide organization make vital ministry and mission possible. Mission support provides the staff, networks, and relationships that enable the ELCA to carry out God's work in this country and throughout the world.

Even in difficult times, we remember the abundance God has so shared freely with us. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8).

There's more than enough good work to be done--people to feed, homes to be built, faith to be nurtured, and lives to be transformed. And God has entrusted this work to our hands--our human hands. What a gift, and what an opportunity!"

Ann Howard describes Lutheran Campus Ministry: "Campus Ministry was my home away from home. We could study there late at night and when we got hungry, go cook in the kitchen or just raid the fridge! I remember Wednesday night Bible studies, followed by popcorn and prayer. And no matter how late I was out on Saturday night, I rarely missed worship on Sunday."

Cheryl Walenta describes her missionary experience in Japan: "At the front of the congregation, I see the pastor holding up a loaf of bread, then a cup of wine. ... Everywhere else in Japan, I am a foreigner. ... In my helpless state, I can only graciously accept what is given to me. At the communion table, I humbly accept the invitation, the gifts of bread and wine, and the fellowship with my Japanese brothers and sisters in Christ. All the labels and language barriers are laid aside, and I am free to be who I really am: a child of God, celebrating the feast of victory, where ALL are welcome, redeemed, and made whole."

Content adapted from the ELCA 2007 Annual Report of the Congregation

Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs. --Jesus speaking in Mark 10:14

St. Martin's has a long history of intentionally welcoming children and their families--beginning before the child is born and continuing a lifetime. Your contribution to the Operating Fund supports Children and Family Ministry at St. Martin's.

What is your earliest memory?
Who guided and shaped your faith?
Why do you believe what you believe?

These questions most likely take you back to your childhood. Many of our youngest members are living out these questions right now.

It takes all of us.

• Sunday School attendance this year has reached 100 children; half that number are present each week.
  
• 23 adults are prepared to staff the 12 Sunday School weekly mentor positions.
  
• 2 adults prepare and work "behind the scenes" during the Sunday School hour.
  
• 20 children have participated in JAM, plus the dedicated parent volunteers and staff that accompany the children.
  
• Dedicated nursery staff and volunteers care for our youngest children.
  
• Families are welcomed to the Baptismal font and covenant through preparatory classes.
  
• Children and families are welcomed to God's great big table through First Communion classes.
  
• With volunteer help, the SMLS Kindergarten class attends Godly Play "Tuesday School".
  
• With volunteer help, children have activity bags for worship each Sunday.
  
• VBS reaches out to new children, as well as the child in all of us.
  
• Staff and volunteers spend hours of preparation for Children's Celebrations at Easter and Christmas.
  
• MANY adults have made materials, painted walls, changed light bulbs, and prayed for this ministry.

OWLS
The word OWLS reminds us of all the parts needed to guide us in the best direction for children's ministry.
Outreach: seeking out unique opportunities for children to serve the greater community.
Worship: seeking out meaningful ways for children to be present with God and community in worship.
Learning: seeking out faith formation that will equip and challenge children to live in their Baptismal covenant.
Social: seeking out opportunities for children to form friendships (of all ages) in this community.

The birth of Jesus is described as the WORD was born as wordless child. Here are some thoughts from those caring adults who have found their voice and advocated for the youngest ones among us:

We must help the child to act for himself, will for himself, think for himself; this is the art of those who aspire to serve the spirit. --Maria Montessori

If a child is to keep his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share it, rediscovering with him the joy, excitement and mystery of the world we live in. --Rachel Carson

I threw my cup away when I saw a child drinking from his hands at the trough. --Diogenes, 5th century

Thank You for contributing to the Operating Fund on a regular basis so our work with children and their families can continue and grow.

Soli Deo Gloria--Glory to God Alone
Like produce at the grocery store and gas at the pump, we expect worship to be available when we come to church on Sunday morning. It's easy for us to take worship for granted. Actually, many staff and volunteer hours go into preparing for a meaningful worship service.

It takes an Altar Guild to prepare communion; a Flower Guild to arrange flowers; someone must schedule Eucharistic ministers, assisting ministers, lectors, and acolytes; a different bulletin for each service must be created, proofed, edited and printed; robes and linens are washed weekly; and music must be chosen and rehearsed. These are only a few of the things that make Sunday morning worship possible.

Each of us have favorite hymns and styles of worship. We are challenged every week to meld all of these individual preferences into a unified and meaningful experience that speaks of God's grace to all. Sometimes the sermon speaks to our heart. Sometimes it is a hymn or song. Other times the Eucharist is especially meaningful.

Each year, we use 20,632 wafers; 9 cases of wine; and 4 liters of oil for the candles. Your financial support provides the earthly elements. God provides the promises. Our praying, singing and offerings are how we give thanks to God.

Thank you for contributing to the Operating Fund and volunteering on a regular basis to support our worship. Through your generosity, St. Martin's can continue to sustain a Meaningful and Wonderful Worship Life.

Read what members have to say about why worship at St. Martin's inspires them:

• "Worship allows me to set aside everything else in my life and focus on God. Music is the best way I have found so far to feel the Presence of the Spirit."
  
• "St. Martin's has helped light the path of my spiritual journey."
  
• "St. Martin's offers such rich worship experiences, and varied ones."
  
• Gary: "Worship at St. Martin's is always a wonderful experience. Whether it is the Message, the Music, the People or all three help me align myself with what is important in our hectic world."
  
• Dana: "I do not 'go to church,' but I do go worship our Savior. Doing so in community with others, facilitates in me to live a more consistent, but ever-maturing life through Him. I am what I'm not yet."
  
• Jim: "Worship at St. Martin's always reminds me that family is a far greater gathering than you would imagine."

The youth of St. Martin's are not the church of tomorrow, but the church of today. Thanks to your support of the Operating Fund, St. Martin's provides a strong and active Youth Ministry. On Sundays, senior high youth serve as ushers and greeters as well as assisting ministers in worship, and junior high youth from the confirmation class faithfully robe up every week to serve as acolytes. St. Martin's has a history of raising up young people who participate in church activities, synod events, and become leaders with camping ministry.

29 junior high youth are enrolled as students in the confirmation class, assisted by six faithful adults who meet with them in small groups every week. Adults lead this group weekly in Sunday School lessons. These youth also attend confirmation camp led by Cross Trails Ministry every summer at Camp Chrysalis.

30 senior high youth have been active in youth programs in the past year, attending weekly Sunday School and raising money for last summer's mission trip to New York City. Every spring for the past ten years, the senior high youth have hosted a dinner theater and silent auction to raise money for their summer trips. This year, a group of 20 young people and their adult sponsors will travel to Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp in Colorado for a week of encountering God in nature as they hike, challenge themselves on a high-ropes course, and spend time whitewater rafting.

St. Martin's holds an annual training session for its adult volunteers who work with youth, and the church is committed to providing a safe, affirming place for young people.

Listen to what they're saying...
Drew (17 years old): "I have become much more involved with the church because of the fellowship I have with the youth here at St. Martin's. I feel that I have a much stronger relationship with God."

Elisa (15 years old): "I started going to St. Martin's the day after I was born. ... Ministry at St. Martin's is like butter on toast--they go together. The fact that the youth get a voice, and that St. Martin's, as a whole, listens...it's amazing. ... This church is the reason I want to go into youth ministry, as a job in the future. St. Martin's helps youth define what faith is."

Ben (18 years old): "[The youth program has] given me friends with similar beliefs who are all good examples to follow. ... I feel like I have a better understanding of the world and have a mission to spread kindness and goodness."

Rick (Confirmation Guide for 5 years in a row): "Being a confirmation guide started when I saw the energy and spirit that was going into the youth program at St. Martin's. My wife Barbara and I were always impressed with any church that invested in the youth of the congregation. A church with an active and prosperous youth program and youth ministry is a church that will be sustained and grow. There is a certain unique life that young people bring to a congregation. A life that is like no other within the organization--refreshing, uplifting, filled with spirit and joy. Because of all this, I decided that one way to help sustain that youthful life in our church was to get involved with it. I have watched many young people strengthen their faith through confirmation. Best of all, I have gotten so very much from the kids to help me strengthen my faith. It's been a wonderful experience."

When you contribute to St. Martin's Operating Fund, almost half is directed towards the Support Services Department, "the grime behind the glamour." Specifically, this department provides for the maintenance of our physical building, consisting of 68,000 square feet and almost two city blocks of property. In addition, the department supports other costs such as publicity, office supplies, property insurance and postage.

Thank you for supporting the Operating Fund on a regular basis. Through your generosity, St. Martin's physical building and basic functions can continue. Here are a few facts to show what it takes to fund a portion of the St. Martin's Operating Budget:

• The average monthly utility cost for the Church is $6,744.


• The Church generates 10 bags of garbage each day; the School generates another 30 bags a day.


• The Church and School use 3,280 rolls of toilet paper in one year.


• Our dedicated janitorial staff go through 25 buffer pads and wear down 4 brooms in one year.


• In 2007, 444 air filters were replaced for 13 air handler units and 6 roof top units. All of the labor for this maintenance task was performed by our volunteer Mop and Hammer Group. Mop and Hammer also changes all of the light bulbs in the building as well as performing general maintenance help and decorating for seasonal services.

Your continuing gifts not only provide our congregation with a marvelous building for St. Martin's Church and School activities, but also much-needed meeting space for local non-profits. The Austin Children's Shelter uses St. Martin's office space on a regular basis. Read what Christina Cooper, Director of Volunteer Services at Austin Children's Shelter has to say:

"We are so thankful for St. Martin's and their kindness to accommodate us for our trainings here at the Austin Children's Shelter.

Our organization operates out of two homes in which the children in our are actually reside. We have offices squeezed in both the homes. In addition, we have a small administrative office which we are rapidly outgrowing as well. Recently, the small training "spot" (not room) we had to facilitate our trainings was taken out to open up more room for offices. It was quite difficult already to hold staff and volunteer trainings before this occurred, but now it's not possible at all.

St. Martin's has been more than gracious to reserve us a room every time we've needed it. We are fairly close to St. Martin's, which makes it quite accommodating for all of our attendees. I cannot even begin to express our gratitude for the hospitality of St. Martin's. These trainings are extremely important and a requirement of the State. Without St. Martin's, we could not operate our facility."

Christina Cooper, Director of Volunteer Services

Starting January 19, 2008, St. Martin's will support the German-Texan Heritage Society (GTHS) by providing two training spaces each Saturday to accommodate German language instruction for children. The GTHS is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the German heritage in Texas.