Welcome to
Martini Lutheran Church!
Worship 11:00
Revised May 14, 2020: At 3 p.m. today Baltimore Mayor Jack Young continued the City’s Stay-at-Home order indefinitely.
This means that we continue with Streaming only each Sunday.
Please check our site often to see if we are opening for worship, as the City of Baltimore is re-evaluating their Stay-at-Home order each week. (Surrounding counties are acting with similar orders, but we are Baltimore City.) Click here for worship service live and archived)
Sunday School 9:45 (Sunday School to resume after virus restrictions are lifted. Even Governor Hogan’s Re-opening, Phase 1, has not lifted the safe social distancing of six feet anywhere in Maryland, so Sunday School cannot be meeting as yet…)
From Pastor Robertson
We at Martini Lutheran Church have been called to preach the Gospel of grace in the midst of a viral pandemic. We find ourselves met with understandable governmental limitations and new spiritual opportunities.
Our Church Council met, choosing a path, not of closing down, but of honoring our Civil Authorities as the message of a saving Christ emanates from our sanctuary across the internet. This is helpful to our families, and still it is a less than suitable substitute for church. It does occur in the context of a highly contagious disease, so we seek to exercise a responsibility to society, to one another, to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Our Church Council, meeting virtually May 7th, has appointed the Lay Ministers, along with Pastor and Congregational President George Bresnick, to set forth a plan of re-opening. (The continuing of the Stay-at-Home order of our Mayor allows us time to plan well.)
Such a plan will acknowledge that
1) Our membership is, on average, older than the general population, and older people have a greater risk of death from the virus. We also have many people who are eager to worship in person as soon as possible, indoors or out.
2) Certain church practices are designed to bring us close together, and may need to be modified for the immediate weeks or months.
3) We will purposely lag the state by as many as three to four weeks in certain ways. So if any re-opening parameters of the state result in significant increase in sickness, we are insulated.
For a little while longer, please plan to worship at home or with friends/family, via streaming. Check back to this page for updates. Click on YouTube button, at left, or click here. Enjoy Martini LIVE or by archive!
…From my Heart to You:
Friends, we are wanting so much to open, and to open as God’s stewards would do it.
– When we open, we will have a number of weeks with masks and social distancing. We hold each others’ health in our hands as long as the virus is round about us, and recognize that we may be carriers of COVID-19 without knowing it. Beloved ones at church don’t need a potentially deadly disease from us; none of us needs the sorrow of having been the one who, because of not doing basic things, may have given it to them.
– Regarding masks, sanitizer, and social distancing: I hope you have this Godly heart: Leave your Politics at the door. And remember that, out of concern for others, a Christian may choose not to use all of his/her God-given rights for the sake of someone with special need (1 Cor. 9:12… “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” A maskless or non-distancing member, carrying the virus to a weaker member “without meaning to,” fits this verse!) Instead, through the door, bring your wise head and loving heart, asking, “How shall I take care of my church family members whose health may not be good, or who are older and statistically far more vulnerable to die from this? Then wear your mask, sanitize your hands, and keep your social distance as a way of demonstrating your love to each person around you!
– Here’s what we hope for: As Maryland and Baltimore City re-open, if one of our worshiping loved ones does come down with the virus, I want them to be certain, “I couldn’t have gotten this at Martini. They were more caring about not passing the virus than anywhere else I’ve been!” Friend, this depends on you to the greatest extent.
Finally, this disease is a reminder that we are living the result of humankind’s fall into sin, and the death and destruction it brought since Eden. Let’s be sure to hear God’s call to humble ourselves before Him with a repentant heart for our own sinfulness and our sins, and look to His Son, Jesus Christ as, in fact, He is: The One sent to be the Redeemer, the Savior of the world — and of you in particular. Find out more by clicking on these links, and also listen in on our streaming worship services by clicking on the YouTube button in the left column of this page.
While we may find the present situation unnerving, our Lord came to earth for such a time as this. He will be our cleansing and sustaining power each day, and our motivator to serve others — and in all these He will prove Himself faithful.
Fear not, says the Lord, for I am with you;
Be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.
Now back to our regular front page…
Welcome to our website! We hope you’ll check us out. Click the buttons, above. Explore us and our links. Tell us what’s helpful. Get into God’s Word on Bible Gateway. Click on “Devotions,” above for daily time with the Lord in Scripture and prayer. Hone what you believe as you look into What We Believe (see links at right).
Enjoy Family – friendly links such as these games and activities.
Maybe you’d make us your home page, and enjoy the convenience of Daily Devotions Google Maps and Directions Baltimore Weather Bible Search, and more – all a click or two away! To find some hidden short cuts on our masthead, above, click here.
We want to invite you over to church for a Sunday morning or other worship service. You’ll like our free parking, our all-on-one-level architecture, and the beautiful surroundings of church when you’re at worship. You’ll experience good preaching and teaching for all ages. We preach Christ. Martini is determined that people will know the work of God in Christ: in the hearts of all who worship, in the neighborhoods surrounding us, and reaching to the far parts of the earth.
We’re glad you came to the Martini Lutheran Church website. Please come back some more!
Sincerely,
Pastor Elliott M. Robertson,
and the people of Martini Lutheran Church, Baltimore
