St. Martin's Episcopal Church sits along King of Prussia Road in Radnor, Pennsylvania, a small Episcopal parish that has served the same corner of Delaware County since 1880. Its mission statement asks the congregation to "seek God and be Christ's Body in the World," and the parish adds that it is "a traditional church with creative energy." Members describe themselves as a community that takes its Baptismal promises to seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving neighbors as themselves, seriously. The parish seeks to serve others joyfully and include all in its worship and ministries. Roughly five acres of ground surround the church building, including a stream valley that the parish is restoring as a public greenspace, and that blend of historic worship and quiet environmental work has become one of its signatures.
A Parish Rooted in Radnor Since 1880
For nearly a century and a half, St. Martin's has been a steady presence in Radnor. The congregation dates its service in the community to 1880, and its property on King of Prussia Road has grown into the five-acre campus the parish uses today. The church belongs to the Episcopal Church and, through it, to the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is part of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, and the stream restoration work on the grounds is undertaken in partnership with the Diocese and several neighboring congregations.
Visitors new to the area are welcomed with a simple invitation: "Bless us with your presence so we may be a blessing to our neighborhood together." Long-standing parishioners are greeted warmly on their return. Families looking for a church home with a focus on children are pointed toward the parish's Formation page.
Sunday Worship and the Weekly Rhythm
The principal Sunday service gathers at 9:15 AM, with fellowship following the liturgy. The order of worship follows the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer, and the service is celebrated by a rotation of clergy who share the pulpit from Sunday to Sunday. Midweek, the parish gathers on Thursdays at 11:15 AM for Bible Discussion, followed by Noonday Prayer. The Thursday Bible Study classes resumed on September 10 of the current program year and continue through the seasons that follow. Visitors who arrive a few minutes before 9:15 on a Sunday will find the liturgy already underway; those who stay afterward are welcomed into the parish hall for coffee and conversation.
A Voice From Many Priests
St. Martin's is unusual in the breadth of clergy who share its Sunday pulpit. Recent recorded celebrations and sermons include The Rev. Andrew Kline, The Rev. Debora Brown, The Rev. Maggie Ainslie, and The Rev. Daniel Hinkle. Audio of each Sunday's Gospel and the morning's sermon is posted afterward on the parish's Gospels and Sermons page, with links to the appointed readings drawn from the Revised Common Lectionary and to recordings on YouTube. For those who cannot attend in person, the recorded sermons serve as a way to follow along with the parish's liturgical life.
Lifelong Formation: Learning Time and Adult Study
The parish uses the word formation rather than education, echoing the Episcopal Church's definition of "lifelong growth in the knowledge, service, and love of God as followers of Christ... informed by Scripture, Tradition, and Reason." The work of formation at St. Martin's is shaped by the Episcopal Church's Charter for Lifelong Christian Formation, and the parish's own Year-round Stewardship document frames that life around four pillars: Hospitality, Spirituality, Outreach, and Generosity.
On Sunday mornings, the children's program, called Learning Time, gathers the parish's youngest members during the program year; Pentecost Sunday marks the close of that school year. The curriculum uses a Midrash approach, an interpretive method rooted in Jewish tradition that opens up the biblical text through questions, stories, and imagination. Children are welcomed as full participants in the Eucharistic community in keeping with the parish's Baptismal Covenant.
Adult Formation aims to "deepen understanding of our Christian heritage, to nurture ourselves and our families, and to grow together to love our neighbors as ourselves." Programming is led by the Formation Director, members of the congregation, and outside guests, and includes Bible Discussions on Thursday mornings, retreats, a book group, webinars, and links to resources from across the wider Anglican community. Resources on praying the Creed are also part of the formation menu.
Seeds in the Neighborhood: Outreach Ministries
The parish takes its self-image from the parable of the mustard seed, quoting Mark 4: "It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." St. Martin's mission work focuses on feeding the hungry and supporting displaced Christians, with attention to relationships as the through line.
Local and Domestic Ministries
The parish is closely tied to the Great Valley Food Cupboard (GVFC). Weekly food deliveries are made every Tuesday to the cupboard, which serves 275 clients; the relationship began in 2009 with homemade Thanksgiving breads and cookies and has grown to include non-perishable food, household items, and a Lenten Homemade Soup Program that runs for the seven weeks of Lent each year. The most needed items at the cupboard include cereal, pasta and sauce, peanut butter and jelly, canned meats, crackers, toilet paper, and paper towels. Donated items can be dropped off at the church during normal business or worship hours.
At the Highland Homes community, a low-income housing facility in nearby Wayne, parishioners organize a Food Pantry that officially opened in 2018 and receives weekly deliveries of non-perishable food, personal care items, and seasonal treats. St. Martin's partners with Christ Church, Ithan, for two annual neighborhood events: the Unity in the Community Block Party on Highland Avenue each August, where the two congregations run a children's games and craft booth, and Breakfast With Santa at the Radnor Community Center each December, with crafts and cookie decorating.
On its own grounds, St. Martin's hosts periodic outreach events that always include a hands-on component. These have included live musical performances paired with the assembly of Blessing Bags for neighbors experiencing homelessness (each bag holds food such as water, snacks, and meat; clothing such as socks; and shelter items such as ponchos), a Blessing of the Animals with a pet food collection, and Christmas caroling paired with a winter clothing collection.
International Ministries
Stand with Iraqi Christians (SWIC) began as a direct mission of St. Martin's and now operates as an independent organization under The Episcopal Church's 501(c)(3) designation. SWIC supports displaced Iraqi Christians with projects such as the Family Farm Initiative and the Small Business Redevelopment Initiative.
The parish also gives as-needed support to the Radnor Police and Fire Departments, to Episcopal Relief and Development during specific disaster responses, and to Good Works, a joint ministry of Christ Church, Ithan, and St. Martin's.
St. Martin's Park and the Living Stream
The five acres around the church are known as St. Martin's Park, and the grounds are open to the neighborhood from dawn until dusk year round. Benches near the culvert invite reading and reflection; a Little Free Library shares books; a dog waste station and water bowls welcome leashed dogs; and an upper garden along the side of the church offers quiet space. Two collection bins stand at the park, one for non-perishable foods distributed to local food pantries and one for household bags and wrap that cannot go in regular recycling, such as dry cleaning or bread bags. Visitors are asked to clean up after pets, keep dogs on leashes, and watch for children on bikes.
The most distinctive feature of the park is the stream that runs through the property. Working with the Radnor Conservancy, LandHealth Institute, St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Phoenixville, St. David's Episcopal Church in Wayne, Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light, and the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, the parish has begun a watershed restoration that follows the church's Covenant for the Care of Creation: a commitment to practice loving formation, liberating advocacy, and life-giving conservation as individuals, congregations, ministries, and dioceses.
Phase I has added approximately 600 native plants along both sides of the culvert in the parking area, arranged in three zones: a wet zone closest to the stream, a riparian buffer up the banks, and a naturalized area at the top. Children from the neighborhood have helped plant and tend the project, which is designed to reduce erosion and flooding, restore habitat for frogs and pollinators, and build community resilience against wet winters and hot, dry summers. The parish has published a full Stream Restoration Plan outlining the work.
The Year at St. Martin's
Recurring events give the parish calendar its shape. The year opens with Lent, marked by a Lenten Soup Cook for local food pantries, and reaches Holy Week with a Palm Sunday Procession and Worship on Sunday morning and Easter Sunday Worship followed by an Egg Hunt and Fellowship. Pentecost Sunday closes the Learning Time school year with worship, dove kites, bubbles, and food, and invites the congregation to wear red in celebration of the coming of the Holy Spirit.
In summer the parish hosts Arts in the Park on the grounds, with painting, literature, music, and an outreach component benefiting children in need. In August the Unity in the Community Block Party on Highland Avenue in Wayne gathers the wider neighborhood. The Christmas season brings Christmas Caroling in St. Martin's Park with a winter clothing collection and a Christmas Eve Worship Service with Pageant. Arts in the Park and the Christmas Caroling both offer ways for newcomers to join in.
Visiting and Connecting
The church sits at 400 King of Prussia Road, Radnor, PA 19087, with parking lot entrances along Glenmary Road between King of Prussia Road and Belrose Lane. The parish office is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM and can be reached at 610-688-4830 or admin@stmartinsradnor.org. Visitors who wish to join the parish email list can write to the same address. Sunday services are followed by fellowship, and families looking for a church home with a focus on children are invited to explore the Formation page for learning opportunities at every age. Online giving is available through the parish's donation page.