St. Matthews Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA

 “Open for me the gates of righteousness; *
I will enter them; I will offer thanks to the Lord..” Psalm 119:19

A Word from Mother Pat+: Growing in our Faith

We are now officially in the Season AFTER Pentecost.  This year the season is 24 weeks long and ends with the start of Advent.  The season after Pentecost is focused on our spiritual growth and maturity.  Many of the readings over the course of the summer and fall will nudge us and challenge us to assess our readiness and willingness to grow and change.

What does this time ask of us as individual members of Christ’s body, the Church?  You may notice that you feel the nudging of the Holy Spirit to spark your passion for ministry or you may hear a sense of call to service in a new way or a nagging persistent push to re-engage in worship, prayer and ministry.  Whatever you sense, feel, hear or see – pray about it and respond with an action.

Here are a few ideas which may help in your spiritual journey and refine your call to ministry:

LISTEN to those around you in an active way and listen to God.

GO see a friend or someone who needs your presence – if you can’t go in person then call them.

GIVE your full attention to whatever you engage in doing.

REST – physical rest is important and so is spiritual rest, a Sabbath day to restore our souls.

SLOW DOWN – not everything is a high priority, let some things lie fallow for a season.

GIVE praise to God and to others who you see doing God’s work

USE common sense

EDUCATE and allow yourself to be educated in the faith of the Church

BLESS someone’s work with your words of recognition and accept others blessings on your work.

ENCOURAGE someone everyday.

CHALLENGE yourself to stop, listen and mindfully respond to those nudges and see what happens.  Think of those feelings, longings, frustrations or thoughts as the Holy Spirit gently, or not so gently, drawing you to someone or something needing your special gifts and presence.  If you need to clarify what God might be asking of you, then seek the counsel of another Christian or come talk with me to explore where God is inviting you to use your gifts.

God’s peace, Mother Pat+



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VBS 2022 – Surf Shack! Registration is OPEN for Campers and Volunteers

St. Matt’s VBS!

Surf Shack is back!

July 11-15
Mon-Fri 9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
rising Pre-k (age 4) through rising 5th grade (age 10)
$20/first child per family, $15/each add’l, $50/max per family
CAMPER REGISTRATION IS OPEN!
YOUTH AND ADULT HELPERS NEEDED
Call the office for details,
Calling all helping hands –We Need YOU!
Contact Terri Hurst for questions or more info.
**If you have trouble registering, please contact the church office for assistance. Thank you.



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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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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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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.