St. Matthews Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA

These I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer…for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Isaiah 56:7

A Word From Mother Pat+: INCENSE – Fun Trivia for the Holy Days

The Church has long used incense for special celebrations much as it was used in the Jewish tradition of Jesus’ time. Scripture refers to incense as a sign of the presence of the holy and the smoke goes up like our prayers ascending to God. Incense will only be used at the 11:00 pm service on Christmas Eve. If you have allergies to incense, then please join us for the 5 pm Christmas Eve service.

In the Revelation to John, chapter 8:1-4 we read “the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints.” In the Old Testament we find numerous references to the use of incense as a part of worship. Incense has long been associated with prayer and with special times of celebration. The magi brought fragrant frankincense as one of the gifts for the infant Jesus.

The use of sight, sound and smell in worship have long been used to connect us to each other and to God. We offer our bodies in prayer and thanksgiving – kneeling, bowing, walking, standing, sitting and other postures of praise and prayer. We see and taste the elements of consecrated bread and wine allowing God to fill us. We lift our voices in prayer, praise and song offering our gifts to God; and when we use incense it involves our sense of smell and sight allowing us to experience visually our prayers ascending to the heavens and we smell the fragrance of frankincense reminding us of God’s gift to us in the person of Jesus.

Merry Christmas, Mother Pat+



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A Word From Mother Pat+: “Remember, Commit, Give – Be the Church”

Remember who you are

Commit to God

Give of yourself and the resources you have been given by God

Brothers and Sisters in Christ Jesus, we are all baptized by the one Spirit into one Body, and given gifts for a variety of ministries for the common good.  We are the church.  The building may be where we gather to worship and to study and to serve others; but we are the church, not the building.  One of St. Matthew’s parish tag-lines is “it’s the people.”  So, remember who you are as a child of God, beloved by God, made in the likeness and image of God, and called to follow Jesus Christ as Lord.  Each new day is a gift from God.

At our baptism, we committed to God with our whole being.  Don’t look back at yesterday and dwell on the failures or on the successes, because we don’t live in the past.  Live today as the gift that it is.  We only have today, there is no promise of tomorrow and we can’t re-play yesterday.  So, commit yourself to living the life you were meant to live, a life of love and joy in the fullness of God’s presence and in the company of the people of God who travel this road of discipleship with you.

This week the church celebrates All Saints Day which falls on Nov 1st, and then again on Sunday, Nov 7th we remember all the saints whose work has enabled us to gather in praise and worship.  We remember all those in our families and our communities whose lives have touched our own and whose example has inspired us to faithful discipleship.  We also renew our own baptismal vows to God.

Give of yourself and your talents, in ministry to others.  Give of yourself in praise and worship to God.  Give of your treasure in support of God’s work in the world.  Give of your time in prayer, worship and in ministry.  Give the greatest gift of all, yourself to God in moments of prayer throughout each day and in weekly worship.

Be the Church because that is what Jesus calls us to do.  The church is the body of Christ and as such we become what the world sees.  Of course, our buildings are a visible reminder of God’s presence and the buildings are a wonderful place for us to worship and to do ministry together; but the buildings are not the church – WE are the body of Christ, we are the church.  It takes each of us joined together to show the world the fullness of God’s grace and the joy of a life lived in Christian discipleship.

Remember that you are the beloved of God and live like it.  Commit to be an active part of the body of Christ, the Church.  Give yourself to God’s work and together we will show the world the love and grace of God by being the Church, the body of Christ in this time and place.

It is time to commit our time, our talent, and our financial resources to the work of God’s kingdom in and through St. Matthew’s.  The body of Christ, the Church, is incomplete without your gifts.  Tell us how you plan to serve God’s kingdom in this coming year.

Come and worship, come and serve, commit to being the Church.  Mother Pat+

PS, don’t forget to turn your clocks back 1 hr this Saturday night Nov 6th before you go to bed or you will be really early for worship.  See you Sunday.



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Backpack Blessings and Blessings of All Area Teachers and Other Staff This Sunday

CALLING ALL STUDENTS, TEACHERS, AND SUPPORT PERSONS

THIS SUNDAY

August 1

Blessing the Backpacks
and
Commissioning & Blessing of Teachers & Formation Leaders

As school starts in the area, we would like to recognize all of you who work so hard to educate and care for the children and youth both here in St. Matthew’s Sunday School & Youth programs, the preschool, and in public or private schools in the area.
If you are a SS teacher, preschool, classroom teacher or para-pro, bus driver, librarian, lunchroom worker, or serve in any capacity involved in teaching or caring for our children and youth in the community,
please plan to attend church this Sunday August 1
at the 8:00 or 10:45 a.m. service
for the blessing and commissioning of your coming year.

BLESSING OF THE BACKPACKS

All children and youth are encouraged to bring their school backpacks to church this Sunday August 1 to be blessed, and receive a backpack tag.
This is a very special day in the life of St. Matthew’s–don’t miss it!
(Masks & Social Distancing Strongly Encouraged)



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Intergenerational VBS Meets Every Wednesday In July

Wanted By God: Intergenerational VBS
Wednesday Evenings in July (7th, 14th, 21st, & 28th)
6:30 – 8:00 p.m.

Week 1: We had a great evening creating our riding partners for our journey of faith. Not only did we make horses out of pool noodles we also discussed how the concepts of loyalty and commitment are important to our faith journey, using the book of Ruth as our setting. This coming Wednesday, July 14th, we will be discussing Moses’ encounter with the burning bush. See you next week!

Week 2: This week we had a wonderful time creating beautiful string art projects of crosses, hearts and horses. We also discussed Moses and the burning bush and how we can practice being aware and present to what God is doing within our world.

Week 3: We decorated and adorned our Prayer Journals and played BINGO. Journaling can help in many ways from helping to create a gratitude list, to writing about how your day went, as well as clarifying your thoughts. We discussed how journaling can assist us when we journey through those times of testing, similar to when Jesus entered the wilderness.  We have one VBS Night left, Wednesday, July 28th. We will be visiting Jim & Susan Jung’s barn, giving us a truly authentic western flavor. If you are interested in attending please contact me so we have enough supplies.         Fr. Tommy 



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Drive Through Nativity December 20, 4 – 5:30 p.m.

Drive-Thru Nativity – December 20th @ 4 pm – Experience the story of Christmas from the comfort of your car. A drive-thru nativity is a live nativity experience with actors and “animals” and all the sights and sounds of the birth of Jesus, but you drive past while practicing safe protocols. If you and your family are interested in participating in the Drive-Thru Nativity please contact Liz Livermont or Fr. Tommy.



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Christian Formation Online Registration Information

Register For Christian Education/Sunday School and Youth Group
Starts in Coffee Hour and breaks out into smaller classes — 9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Sundays.  If you have problems registering, please email Crystal Furman, Debbie Stallings, or Fr. Tommy.
Youth Group meets Sundays at 4:00 p.m.    Zoom Links available in your 9/20/2020 newsletter, The Messenger.

Tea And Conversation — Tuesdays at 2:00 p.m

Register For Cafe Theology   Saturdays 2x per month at 10:30 a.m.  Meeting dates for 2020 are September 19, October 3, October 17, October 31, November 7, November 21, December 5 and December 19.  Zoom link available at registration.

Register For Thursday With the Text (Bible Study)  Thursdays at 7:00 p.m.  Begins October 1  Zoom link available at registration.



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Santa / St. Nick Breakfast Was So Fun!

Check out the photos from our Santa/St. Nick Breakfast held Saturday, December 8. Santa and St. Nicholas paid a visit to talk to the children about God’s love and to tell the story of God’s greatest gift to us–Jesus Christ, God’s only Son. Yummy pancake breakfast, crafts and stories made it a really fun morning!



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Junior Worship

Teaching the Traditions of Worship To Our Children

The liturgy of the Episcopal Church is participatory– that is, those attending take part in the service by singing, praying, listening and responding to what is happening during the service. The goal of Junior Worship is to help children understand the parts of the service, to help get them ready to sit and worship with their families on Sundays through the whole service.  Junior Worship occurs during the first part of the 10:30 service on Sundays. Children ages 5-8 (through 3rd grade) follow the verger out of church and return to their families at the Peace so they can take Communion with their families.

Junior Worship follows the outline of a regular church service. The lead can wear a chasuble much like what Mother Liz wears. The kids get a kick out of it! They even have our own bulletins. The kids enjoy the up-close approach to the altar where they can touch everything and ask questions. They walk into the classroom down the center aisle of their “pews”; they sing, light candles (battery operated of course) and follow along in their bulletins as they would in “Big” church. They say the Children’s Creed, the Prayers of the Children (Prayers of the People), the I’m Sorry (confession), and the Lord’s Prayer.

Lessons in Junior Worship are different from what the children are learning in Sunday School. What we’re trying to teach are the “nuts and bolts” of the church, answering questions they may have while they sit in service with their families. Hopefully, once they understand what is happening, when, and why, they will be better equipped to sit all the way through service. Remember, the service can sometimes seem long to adults, too!

Check out the pictures for a little taste of what we’re doing!



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New This Season!! Christmas Pageant At St. Matthew’s!

Our seminarian, Karen Anderson, is leading the plan to offer a Christmas pageant at St. Matt’s for the Family Service on Christmas Eve (at 4:00 p.m this year).
To do that, we are looking for children ages 6-12 who want to be involved in some fashion in helping us tell the story of the birth of Jesus. We have parts for kids who want to practice their theater skills and share some lines from memory with us, and we have roles for those who would prefer to simply be part of the fun! Rehearsals will be on Sunday afternoons in November and December.
An information meeting will be held Sunday October 28th at 2: 00 p.m. in the parish hall.
We are also looking for parents, older youth and other adults who would commit to being part of the team to make this a success, including costumes, lighting, sound, etc, and assistants to the director. We would really like this to be a parish-wide effort to tell the story of the birth of our Savior!
Contact Karen Anderson for more information on getting involved:
(770) 979-4210, ext 200



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At St. Matthew’s, our MISSION is to continue the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ, by serving the greater community through loving its children, caring for the unfortunate and witnessing to the healing power of God’s love.

The St. Matthew's campus is in the process of re-opening following the pandemic shutdown.Click here for details