Relationships
St Martin-in-the-Fields has some significant connections. It is the parish church of residents of St James’s and Buckingham Palace. And, through the Admiralty Buildings, the church of the Lord High Admiral and the Royal Navy.
Yet St Martin’s has formed a broad and rich community, thanks in large part to its approach of keeping an open door and providing a warm welcome. It became the adopted church of the Pearly Kings and Queens in the 1940s after their home church in South London was destroyed in the Blitz. In the post war years, St Martin-in-the-Fields was a familiar name internationally, thanks to BBC broadcasts.
Many migrants from Commonwealth countries made the church their first port of call on their arrival. Revd Austen Williams ensured they encountered a welcoming space, declaring it the parish church of the Commonwealth. He said, St Martin’s was no longer only ‘our church’, but ‘the church of Africans, West Indians and Asians’.
This culture of welcome resulted in St Martin’s forming strong connections with charities that it supported in their fledging years. The Big Issue, Amnesty International, Shelter and Liberty all trace their origins from St Martin’s