Click here to check out the end-of-year committee reports and the approved 2019 budget, and meet your newly elected vestry members.
http://www.stmatthewssnellville.org/resources/annual-parish-reports/
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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Other Than Sunday — Christian Education Options
OTHER THAN SUNDAY OPTIONS
NEW! PARTNERING WITH POLICE
One Parish, One Precinct events to learn more about relevant topics
November 3rd at 10am- Identity Theft —
What is the Dark Web? How do we protect ourselves from Identity Fraud?
Join us on November 3rd to learn the answers to these questions and more about different types of scams, fraud, and how thieves obtain our information. Officer Laura Steele, from the Snellville Police Department, will be teaching us how to keep our information safe and what to do if personal information is compromised.
Saturday, November 3rd, 10-12St. Matthews Episcopal Church
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CAFE THEOLOGY
With a focus on Anglican theology, we will read and discuss the book, Dancing with God, by Jay Emerson Johnson.
Every other Saturday at 10:30am
9/8, 22: 10/6, 13 (off-site): 11/3, 17: 12/1, 15
Mother Liz Hendrick ~ 770-979-4210
WEDNESDAYS WITH THE WORD
We will begin the year with a study of the first book of the bible, Genesis. During Advent, we will be reading and discussing The Book of Joy, by the Dalai Lama and Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu.
Starting September 5th
WED at 11am after Healing Eucharist at 10am
Mother Liz Hendrick ~ 770-979-4210
CENTERING PRAYER
Book study with focus on centering prayer.
TUE at 6:00-7:30pm
Vicki Conway ~ 678-215-9179
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Adult Christian Formation Winter 2018
SUNDAY MORNING CHRISTIAN FORMATION OPTIONS
Adult Christian Education
Connecting Through Holiday Traditions:
10/ 28: 11/ 4, 11: 12/ 2, 9, 16
SCRIPTURE in the library
Unpacking Bible Stories and making sense of Scripture today.
Clay Olbon, Jim Jung & Susan Larson
RELEVANT TRADITION in the parish hall
Sharing holiday traditions that make us closer to God and our people.
various facilitators and presenters
AGES AND STAGES in the York Room
Raising children in the church and sharing in our traditions.
Ward Furman and Mary Louise Richards
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Photos From Worship and Celebration in Honor of Sally Ulrey’s Ministry
Check out photos of Sunday’s Celebration of Sally’s Ministry!
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After 15 years of serving St. Matthew’s, Sally Ulrey’s last day was July 31. We worshiped together Sunday using a liturgy that was composed in part by alumni of Sally’s youth program. Youth participatde by serving as acolytes, greeters, ushers, lectors, communion ministers and musicians. The worship music was that used during services at youth gatherings. A reception for Sally and her family followed in the Parish Hall. We will miss Sally, and wish her Godspeed in her ministry. She was a blessing to all of us here at St. Matthew’s.
Our youth with our visitors from St. Mark’s in Jacksonville, preparing to head to the Church of the Common Ground
Youth Service Retreat “Seek & Serve”
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Education for Ministry Classes This Fall
Members of the church are invited to participate in the EFM program which is offered here at St. Matt’s: each Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. commencing on the first Sunday after Labor day.
Prior graduates of the EfM program are invited to join the class for any year’s curriculum to delve deeper into the subject matter, with new class material in Old Testament, New Testament, History of Christianity and Theology.
The cost is $375, which covers cost for all text books; provided by The University of the South, School of Theology. Seminars are interactive, and will begin on Sunday September 9th. 2018.
You may contact Gini Peterson or Val Biggs for further information on St. Matthew’s class.
For information on the overall EfM program, visit http://efm.sewanee.edu/about-efm/about-efm
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Sunday School and Christian Education Registration August 12
9:30 a.m. in the Parish Hall
Sunday, August 12
For all ages, Nursery through Adult
Tables will be set up around the perimeter of the parish hall for the class sign-up. Sign up for Nursery, Cherub Choir, Junior Worship, Parenting Group, Inquirer’s Class and other classes and activities.
To register your child ONLINE for Sunday School, click here.
To register your youth ONLINE for Sunday School or activities, click here.
OR You can print one out and bring the completed form with you:
To print out a Youth Permission Form/Release, St Matts Release Form 18 St Matts Release Form 17–release only pdf
To print out a children’s Release Form (Fifth Grade and Under) St Matts Children Release Form 18.
Registration forms will also be available Sunday in the parish hall.
Sunday School classes for all ages will begin Sunday, August 19 at 9:30 a.m.
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Vacation Bible School & Special Needs VBS A Huge Success
Another great VBS has come to a close. This year’s theme was Rolling River Rampage, and we decorated the church with loaned camping gear, blue plastic, cardboard, and Christmas lights! We had around 49 adult and youth volunteers and about 67 campers.
Gosh, where to begin with the thanks? A special thanks to Sally Ulrey for wrangling the youth and opening and closing VBS each day. Thank you to all the center leads for devising meaningful activities and coming in each day ready to roll: Oscar De Leon and Amanda Lvermont in Snacks, Karen Whitehead and Persis Bristol in Music, Mother Liz in Story Time, Ciara Morris in Crafts, and Nate Olbon and Josh Hurst in Recreation. You all are the motor that keeps VBS running.
A huge shout out to Morgan Fletcher and Terri Hurst for helping keep me on track and taking over such tasks as needed, especially getting the dreaded name tags printed correctly! Thanks to Charmaine Warmington in the office for her patience as we took over the church, the copier, and her attention all week long.
Thanks also to Abby Whatley for making the Special Needs VBS such a huge success. We had three campers who participated in all the activities and had great fun!
Thank you as well to Steve McFarland for getting us set up with a sweet sound system and teaching the youth how to operate it. And last but certainly not least – a huge and hearty thank you to ALL the adult and youth volunteers! You helped in centers and shuffled the kids down the halls, rowing invisible boats as you went. You are the magic makers of VBS, and it’s you who the kids will remember most. Bless you all and thank you for giving your time and talent to the St. Matt’s VBS 2018.
~Kira Coats
