St. Martin of Tours Episcopal Church

04/22/2026

World Earth Day

I wrote a prayer for World Earth Day. Other prayers and resources follow it. -- The Rev. Mary Perrin

Creator God, as we celebrate World Earth Day, we focus on the amazing gift of planet earth. We are in awe of its beauty and of how it was perfectly created to sustain life of all kinds. We confess the damages done to the environment by humans, and we mourn the loss of whole species of plants and animals that are no longer here because of our poor decisions. Forgive us, we pray, and help us strive to be mindful of how and when our actions are detrimental to other life forms. Inspire and strengthen us to always be mindful of, and faithful to, best practices of stewardship, justice, and sustainable living. Give us wisdom and caring hearts to protect the planet, heal its wounds, and care for all living creatures. Accept our gratitude and embrace us as we begin again to be good stewards of all you have given us. Amen.

Earth Day Prayer for Joy and Renewal
by Deserie Jamieson

Creator of all life, we thank You for the beauty of the skies, the whisper of the trees, and the song of the rivers. On this Earth Day, fill our hearts with gratitude and joy for the gift of this planet. Help us walk gently upon the soil, protect the creatures who share our home, and cherish the air, water, and land as sacred blessings. May our actions today plant seeds of hope for tomorrow, so that generations to come may inherit a world full of life, peace, and harmony Amen.

From the The Anglican Church of Australia

Each April 22 we celebrate Earth Day. We thank God for God’s beautiful creation. May we commit to being the good stewards God calls us to be. May we be aware of our carelessness and our wastefulness. May we commit to the changes that need to be made. Let us pray.
Holy God, earth and air and water are your creation, and every living thing belongs to you: have mercy on us as climate change confronts us. Give us the will and the courage to simplify the way we live, to reduce the energy we use, to share the resources you provide, and to bear the cost of change. Forgive our past mistakes and send us your Spirit, with wisdom in present controversies and vision for the future to which you call us in Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

From Canada:
Check out the top ten things we all can do here:

People, communities, cities, businesses, schools and other organizations are taking action to help fight climate change.

01/30/2026

I admire this woman — and the many people who today are speaking with their mouths and bodies to protest injustices.
Mary+

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CNp2H3ZR5/?mibextid=wwXIfr

The stench hit you before you even saw the street.
It was a thick, suffocating cocktail of rotting horse manure, decaying vegetables, and dead dogs.
It was Chicago, 1895. The 19th Ward.

The pavement was buried under eighteen inches of sludge.
Rats the size of cats scurried openly in the daylight, biting the children playing in the filth.

A woman stood on the corner, her boots sinking into the muck.
She wasn't a street sweeper.
She was a wealthy, educated, upper-class lady named Jane Addams.

She was staring down a garbage truck driver who was trying to sneak away without finishing his route.

He yelled at her. He threatened her.
He told her to go back to her parlor and do some needlepoint.
Jane didn't flinch.

She pulled out a notebook. She wrote down his license number. She wrote down the time.

She wasn't just a concerned citizen.
She was the newly appointed Garbage Inspector of the 19th Ward.
And she was about to go to war with the most powerful political machine in Chicago.

Jane Addams was never supposed to be the "Garbage Lady."
She was born into privilege. Her father was a friend of Abraham Lincoln.

She was raised to be a decoration—a delicate, spinal-curved intellectual who would marry well and discuss art.

But Jane was miserable.
She spent her twenties in a fog of depression, traveling Europe, looking at beautiful paintings while feeling absolutely useless.
She called it the "Snare of Preparation."

She was endlessly preparing for a life she didn't want to live.
Then, she saw something in London.
She saw educated people living among the poor, not just tossing coins at them from a carriage.

It sparked a fire in her brain.
She returned to Chicago and did the unthinkable.
She took her inheritance and bought a dilapidated mansion in the middle of the worst slum in the city.

She named it Hull House.
Her friends were horrified.
"You'll catch a disease," they said. "You'll be robbed."
Jane didn't care. She moved in.

She quickly realized that teaching art and reading Shakespeare wasn't enough when the babies next door were dying of typhoid.
The problem wasn't a lack of culture.
The problem was the garbage.

The landlords refused to provide bins. The city contractors took the money and never picked up the trash.
The filth was breeding disease that was wiping out the immigrant families she had come to love.

So, Jane went to the City Council.
She brought data. She brought maps. She brought the death records.

The men in the room laughed at her.
They were owned by Johnny Powers, the corrupt Alderman of the 19th Ward.

Powers was the "King of the Ward." He bought votes with turkeys at Christmas and paid for funerals when the poor died of the very diseases his negligence caused.

He thought Jane was a "silly spinster."
He offered her a bribe to shut up.
Jane didn't take the money.

Instead, she applied for the job of Garbage Inspector.
It was the only paid political position a woman was allowed to hold in Chicago at the time.

She got the badge.
She woke up at 6:00 AM every single day.
She followed the garbage wagons.
She climbed into the dumps.

She harassed the landlords until they built proper bins.
She took the corrupt contractors to court.
Johnny Powers was furious.
He realized this wasn't a hobby. It was a coup.

He tried to turn the neighborhood against her.
He told the immigrants that Jane was trying to inspect their homes because she hated their way of life.

He tried to get her fired.
But Jane had a secret weapon: The Women.
The women of the 19th Ward couldn't vote. They had no power.
But they knew who was saving their children.

Jane organized them.
They became her army of sanitation monitors. They reported every missed pickup, every dead rat, every overflowed bin.

Within a year, the death rate in the 19th Ward dropped.
The sludge disappeared.
She proved that hygiene was political.
Jane Addams went on to do things that fill textbooks.

She helped found the NAACP.
She fought for child labor laws.
She won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

But as she stood on that podium in Oslo, recognized as a global saint of peace, her foundation remained in the mud of Chicago.
She is often remembered as a gentle, motherly figure.

That is a lie.
She was a brawler.

She took on the patriarchy, the political machine, and the FBI (who later called her the "Most Dangerous Woman in America" because of her pacifism).

She taught us that you cannot fix society from an ivory tower.
You cannot help people if you think you are better than them.
You have to live with them. You have to learn from them.

And sometimes, if you want to save the world, you have to be willing to wake up at dawn and stare down a garbage truck.
True leadership isn't about being on a pedestal. It's about being in the alley.

01/26/2026

January 26, 2026

Candlelight Vigil Tonight at 7:00 pm

We encourage your presence in Bronson Park tonight as we stand with the people of Minneapolis. Please spread the word and bring your friends and family to this peaceful gathering of Kalamazoo citizens and neighbors.

10/17/2025

10/15/2025

04/11/2025

A Message about this year's Crop Walk
by our Youth Directors
Greta S. & Jennifer W.

The 2025 Kalamazoo Crop Walk is Sunday, April 27 (the Sunday after Easter). St. Martin's youth and adults will meet at Bronson Park for activities at 1:00pm; the walk starts at 2:00pm.
Please consider walking and/or sponsoring the St. Martin’s team for the walk. You can sign up and/or give electronically by clicking here. You can also sign up and donate through St. Martin's; simply write "Crop Walk" on the memo line of your check.

A portion (25%) of the money raised will go directly to Kalamazoo Loaves & Fishes. The remainder will go to CWS (Church World Service, the organization that sponsors Crop Walks around the globe to support families that struggle with food insecurity).
If you have questions, you are welcome to contact Jennifer W. or Greta S.

Thanks!

Mary+

02/17/2025

In 1804, Absalom Jones became the first African American to be ordained a priest in The Episcopal Church. His witness to the way of Jesus included efforts to abolish slavery and to lift up all those cast down. He understood that education is the key to empowerment. We honor Absalom Jones by supporting our HBCUs, which prepare the talented leaders who will continue the work of building a more just and humane society.

Support this important ministry here: https://iam.ec/absalomjonesfund

11/28/2024

St. Martin’s Thanksgiving Prayer

We gratefully thank you, O God, for it is you, the Holy One, who is our Lord (and the Lord of all creation) for all eternity. You are the rock of our lives; you are our shield. You are our salvation from generation to generation. We thank you and praise you –

for your magnificent creation, in which we are truly blessed to live
for our lives, which are committed to serve you

for our souls that are entrusted to your eternal care

for your miracles that are with us every day

for your wonders and favors in every season

and for your unconditional acceptance and love that are with us every second of every evening, morning, and afternoon.

You, gracious God, are the generous and merciful One, for your compassions are never exhausted, and your kindnesses are never ended. Always we will put our hope in you.

On this day set aside especially for gratitude, we praise you, we bless you, we give thanks to you, and we love you, O Lord our God. Amen!

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Based on the Modim Anachnu Lach, the Jewish Thanksgiving Prayer, and revised by The Rev. Mary Perrin

03/02/2024

What an amazing project our youth worked on and presented to the congregation in recognition of Black History Month. It was FANTASTIC. The created an amazing display of information, books, quotes, artwork done by them, and even made and served food. As we walked around, they told us more things and answered our questions. Impressive! Educational! Amazing! Thank you to all who were involved. We were and are blessed!

01/25/2024

The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop (not only in The Episcopal Church but also in all of Christendom!) was interviewed by Ted Koppel this past Sunday on "CBS Sunday Morning." Here is the link to the video of this interview; it is just over 12 minutes long. This is one of the many reasons I'm an Episcopalian.

In 2003 he became the first openly gay bishop in all of Christendom, when the Episcopal Church consecrated Gene Robinson the 9th bishop of New Hampshire. Dea...