Rev. Jarrett Kerbel.

by Eric Dolente

 A man of devout faith, the Rev. Jarrett Kerbel, rector of St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church, preaches well beyond sermons and community prayers. When it comes to social justice, Kerbel and his progressive church have a major influence in the community.

Kerbel’s 24-year career in the priesthood has influenced not only this small Philadelphia community, but also several places in Illinois where he served as pastor of St. John the Evangelist, St. Paul and the Redeemer and rector at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church.

In New Jersey, where he grew up, Kerbel spent time as executive director of Crisis Ministry of Mercer County, the largest food provider in the state, before moving to St. Martin-in-the-Fields Church in 2011.

Kerbel said St. Martin’s was a perfect match for him when he arrived because it was already actively involved in work that he “had a track record with.” To him, the church community is “so great to work with, so mature, thoughtful, faithful and prayerful.”

“It’s all the things I love and it’s mind boggling how great it is,” he added.

There is much awareness by the church to show the community issues that are affecting its members daily. For instance, in both 2013 and 2014 church members created PVC pipe crosses on the church’s grounds bearing white shirts with names of victims who died from illegal guns in the previous year.

Currently, the church’s largest event called the SUPPER Program – run by  church members and lead by Debra Roberts – provides free meals to the community every other Wednesday throughout the month.

“We do it in a way where you can’t tell who the clients are, per se, because our members eat side by side,” Kerbel said. “There’s no stigma, which I like. It’s very healthy and dignified. It’s a mix of people and, to me, one of the most amazing things we do.”

The program has spread to Grace Epiphany Church in Mt. Airy and St Michael’s Church in Germantown, where more than 300 people are fed a month at the three locations.

“The community is mature and healthy and treats each other very well,” Kerbel said. “We are focused on the mission of the church and what the church needs to be doing in the world. The church members do not want to serve themselves alone, but want to serve the neighborhood and region [of Philadelphia].”

A part of St. Martin’s mission is to “welcome all seekers,” which Kerbel and the ministry seem to execute well. Just this year, the church has welcomed the Dahan family, who sought refuge from the war in Syria. St. Martin’s has helped them along their whole journey, from the minute they arrived at the airport to moving them into their new home in Northeast Philadelphia.

“We have been very active with refugee settlement and have some excellent next steps planned … in terms of helping acclimate towards life in the United States, such as dealing with banking, starting a business and educating their children,” Kerbel said.

As anyone can see, Kerbel and his church are not beginners when it comes to planning and executing projects to benefit those in the community who have needs. Even though the church has accomplished much, there is still more work to be done.

“We are trying to learn how to be better partners with other churches in Philadelphia, especially across racial lines,” Kerbel said. “There are big gaps between congregations on race. I trip on my feet all the time about that, and the question is how can we be in the conversation in a helpful way and leave white privilege behind us. It’s hard, but we are learning.”

Kerbel makes a point about how we treat others in our community: There is always more work to be done. St. Martin’s has made great leaps to help those suffering in the community around us, but it is important that other members of this community should follow its lead.

As the golden rule states, treat others as you would like to be treated. In short,  Kerbel and his church set the bar high for the rest of us. When asked about how the church members respond when you bring them a new task he replied:

“St. Martins has a tremendous willingness to try these things. We are all trying to learn together. We spent a lot of time trying to talk as a congregation about what we want to do and how we want to do it. I want to bring as many people along as possible on the vision.”