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

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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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, 10-12 
St. 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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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