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+: Change

“The secret to change is not in fighting the old. but in engaging the new” (attributed to Socrates).

So we are in the midst of change. Change with a capital C is continuing to occur at St. Matthew’s. This change is multi-faceted and impacts all of us. This change is about a new way to be the church, a new way to lead, a new way to engage the community, a new way to be Christ in the world. The most obvious change has been in leadership––you have an Interim Rector (me), you have new program ministry staff this past year in Matthew coordinating the music ministry, Susan in a new role as parish admin and worship support, Mary as registrar and office support, Trisha as Sr. Warden and new vestry members too. We have two new youth interns who joined us in August and are planning and supporting the youth program in conjunction with the adult sponsors and parents: say hello to Jesse & Caroline. Even the Pre-school has changes as Dalex shares the Director position with Juanita this year. New and returning committee chairpersons along with new vestry liaisons means new energy and changes in our programing.  Check the website ministry list for contact info if you need to reach someone.

We are thankful for all that was in the past and all that is happening now; and also anticipating all that is yet to come for this parish and for each of us.

The goal of all this “change” in leadership is to the program staff and lay ministry coordinators to fulfill their roles without constant direct supervision. Each program leader and staff member are experts in their areas of ministry and so they are empowered to act and to teach and to guide others without the interim rector or the new rector providing specific details and constant direction. This allows the next change to happen. The clergy and program staff can now act interdependently as needed to support the growth of the parish in both numerical numbers and in spiritual growth. The Vestry also has begun to function in expanded ways by equipping and empowered the ministries and groups they work with, rather than doing all the work themselves.

Now this process is not complete, nor is it fully implemented; but it is well underway. As your interim Rector, I have been with you for over a year and will remain with you until a call is made for your new Rector. So we continue to work together to strengthen the leadership team so that the transition will be smooth. Committee chairpersons and Vestry liaisons are educating themselves on budget preparation and goal setting; and how to coordinate and focus their energy and efforts on activities and ministries which support and enable all of us to “continue the incarnation of Jesus Christ our Lord”. All the work is focused on supporting and living into St. Matthew’s mission statement.

Perhaps you are pondering why we need to change, why engage in new ways of being the church and doing the work? The answer is simple. St. Matthew’s is a diverse and large congregation; and the work of ministry can’t be done by a single clergy person or program staff member.  I realize that worship attendance has not returned to pre-Covid levels, but St. Matthew’s is still one of the larger congregations in the diocese. If St. Matthew’s is to continue to grow, then the style of leadership becomes one of empowerment and equipping others for ministry –– the work becomes the coordinated work of everyone in the parish.  So the Vestry, all the Program Staff, and Clergy have fully engaged in the work of change for the sake of God’s kingdom. Embrace the new work and join in the challenge of change. This year the work of discernment and call will be completed as St. Matthew’s selects a new Rector; but the work of building God’s kingdom will continue and the work of empowering and equipping everyone will be an important part of the future of St. Matthew’s. The role of the new Rector will be to continue to stimulate changes, to help St. Matthew’s leadership team envision a new way to be the church, to encourage new styles of leadership, and engage the parish and community in new ways of making Christ known. Be part of the change and add your prayers and your efforts to continue the incarnation of Jesus Christ here at St. Matthew’s and in all the cities and towns where we live and work. Change is a continuous process which allows God’s work to be done and God’s grace to be shared.

I leave you with one of my favorite biblical verses: “Be strong and courageous and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God is with you, who will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the Lord is finished.” (1 Chronicles 28:20 –– I don’t remember which translation this is, but it is clear that God is in control of the work and the results). Yours in Christ’s Service, Mother Pat+



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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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A Word From Mother Pat+: Centered In Christ-A Reflection Of Christ To the World

St. Matthew’s mission statement starts out this way, “We are to continue the incarnating work of Christ”….   This season is the time when we re-examine our lives not looking at our sinfulness, but looking at how we reflect Christ’s image in the world.  How do we incarnate the love of God as lived out in the life of Jesus?

We are Christians and we are supposed to be living icons so that others see Christ through us.  An icon is simply an image which provokes and evokes something greater than itself.  So when people see us, they are reminded of God in some small way by our words, our actions and our willingness to be Christ-centered.  Yet, often the demands of family, work, play, exercise, and service crowd out Christ from the center of our lives.  We fall prey to trying to “balance” or “juggle” all the demands on our time.  Most of us find it impossible to truly “balance” family, work, God, ministry, and personal time to take care of ourselves.  So we skip exercise or we are too tired to pray or play with our children.  Balance is not possible unless we put Christ in the center of our lives.

When we center ourselves in God, we put God in the middle of our day and the middle of our life.  The outer particles of an atom can orbit at great speeds only because of the stability which the atom’s center provides.  So it is when we center ourselves on the one absolute, the one thing in life which is constant and stable.  God’s presence is always with us.  God’s love is always there.  Christ has done the work for us – his life, death, and resurrection have given us the “center”.  All the rest of our lives may spin in what seems like a wildly erratic pattern, but with Christ at the center we can be sure that we will always be in God’s loving presence; and we can draw upon God’s Spirit for strength and guidance.

So, stay centered in God through prayer and worship.  Jesus modeled a life “centered” in God.  He faithfully worshiped, prayed and lived in community in order to keep himself centered.  Take care of yourself so that you can mirror Christ to the world.  Christ is risen and the world has been forever changed.  Stay centered in the One who is the center of all that is.  Reflect the love of God to everyone through your centeredness in God.  We are those people who continue the incarnating work of Christ.

 

 



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A Word From Mother Pat+: Saints and Mission

Stanley Hauerwas, a contemporary theologian said this: “The work of Jesus was not a new set of ideals or principles for reforming or even revolutionizing society, but the establishment of a new community, a people that embodied forgiveness, sharing and self-sacrificing love in their lives. In that sense, the visible church is not to be the bearer of Christ’s message, but to be the message.” That also is the stated mission of St. Matthew’s parish – to continue the incarnating work of Christ.

We just celebrated All Saints Day remembering those who have left a name and whose stories we know like St. Simon & St. Jude, St. Mary & Martha, St. Peter, St. Matthew or St. John. But we also remember all the faithful departed whether they made a mark in the world or not; the saints who are known to God alone.

Each of us has prayerfully completed a ministry commitment form to help St. Matthew’s know where God is calling us to give our efforts of time and talent and how to best use our resources for the building up of God’s kingdom.

So we pray that we might live our lives as the “visible church” knowing that we are the message of Jesus in this time and place. And we remember those who have died because their faithful life and witness reminds us what it means to be baptized: to live our lives focused on God’s eternal presence.

At baptism we are given the seed of eternal life and we become a saint of God. Then we begin the journey of discipleship so that we may with God’s help have the strength to live as peacemakers, as pure and humble before God, as beloved children of God for that is what we are.

We are not trying to live into a new set of ideals or principles in order to reform or even revolutionize our society, rather we are called to be a Christ-centered community which embodies forgiveness, sharing and self-sacrificing love. We are called not to be the bearer of Christ’s message, but to be the message.

As the body of Christ gathered and formed by God into this community of faith called St. Matthew’s, we offer ourselves anew to God giving of ourselves and our resources for the work of God’s kingdom. See you Sunday, as we journey together toward the fulfillment of God’s plans.   Mo 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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A Word From Mother Pat+: Busy For God’s Kingdom

This is a busy time of year for all of us in our personal lives and in the life of the parish. Over the past 6 weeks, the Vestry, the Stewardship team and the clergy have asked each member of St. Matthew’s parish to focus on their baptismal vows. This is the time of year when we ask each member of St. Matthew’s to pray about their commitment to ministry, service and tithing. We engage in this cycle of prayer and discernment in order to decide how God is calling us to work for the Kingdom in the days ahead. God wants us to be part of bringing the world to Christ and so we need everyone to do their part to help bring God’s vision to reality in this time and place.

There is an old joke that says “God is coming, look busy!” This joke of course assumes that between the time of Jesus’ ascension back to heaven and His second coming that somehow God is in the dark about whether we are busy working for God’s kingdom or focused solely on ourselves and our own ambitions. The truth of course is that God is fully aware of our choices and our work and “looking busy” isn’t necessarily what God has in mind for us.

By the time you get this newsletter, many of you will have prayed about your ministries and committed to service for the coming year and you will have offered a financial pledge to God’s work in and through St. Matthew’s. For those who have not yet completed your discernment, I would encourage you to prayerfully do so. God needs all of us to work for the coming kingdom. Every act of ministry and every gift for God’s work is important, no gift is too small or too insignificant to be blessed by God and used for God’s work.
Perhaps you are wondering why we renew our ministry and financial commitments each year rather than just giving and serving as we have in the past. Well, God calls us to new challenges from time to time and God may be calling you to stretch your comfort zone and commit to something new. There are so many opportunities to work for God’s kingdom that we have to select only a few ministries where we believe our gifts can best be used.

Balance your spiritual portfolio – make sure you have a commitment to some type of Christian education or Scripture study, personal prayer time, corporate worship, and service both to the parish and to the community. Lastly, make some commitment to financial support of God’s work at St. Matthew’s – it does not have to be a Biblical tithe of 10%; but when we give of our treasure in whatever amount you decide, you will find your faith in God is strengthened and God’s work can be done.

There are many opportunities for spiritual growth and I encourage you to take advantage of them. Start with Christian Education on Sunday mornings – just 45 minutes of conversation and discussion with other Christians can give you new insights and keep you from Spiritual stagnation. Water which simply stands in a pond or pool will become stagnant unless it has a fountain to circulate the water or fresh water is coming in. So it is with our spiritual lives, we become complacent and stagnant when we don’t get fresh ideas and insights.
So, engage in the work of building God’s kingdom and commit to prayer, study, ministry and service.

See you Sunday. Mother Pat+



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A Word From Mother Pat: Seek and Serve, Baptismal Promise #4

Week 4 Baptismal Promise – Seek and Serve

Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?  Will you, Jesus asks us again this week.

If we look closely at scripture we see that there is a lot of going & coming, sending and being sent.  Some of the classics are Abram and Sarai being sent by God into the desert to find a new home;  Moses and the Hebrew people going on a journey with God to a land of milk and honey, escaping Pharaoh, and finding a way to live as God’s holy people;  Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem and from there taking a long journey into Egypt and then back to Nazareth, all guided by God’s plan.

Then we start to encounter Jesus traveling with his disciples back and forth across the sea of Galilee and into Gentile towns.  Next thing we know, Jesus is sending the disciples out two by two on mission trips to spread the good news.  And of course, the story of Paul who, while persecuting the early Christians, encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus–and we know how that turned out.  Paul, blinded by the presence of the risen Christ, is led to a home where he hears the truth about God’s love for all people; and he learns that he is called to seek and serve Christ in all the people, even those that he once considered worthless sinners.  Paul’s call to discipleship sends him to seek and serve Christ in the pagan gentile world of his time.  Paul finds out that it is only when he can see Christ in himself that he can see Christ in others.

It is likely that we will not have such a profound encounter with the risen Christ, but we are still called to seek and serve Christ in ourselves and in all persons, expressing the love of God to everyone.

This week we are invited to see ourselves as God’s beloved and to show the love of Christ to all persons.  What ministries might God be asking you to undertake in this coming year which express God’s love to your neighbor and to yourself.? What spiritual disciplines might help you find joy and wonder in God’s glorious creation?

Again this week, Jesus asks us through the power of the Holy Spirit, “Will you be my hands and feet?  Will you speak my words of love and support to those in need?  Will you give of your resources to serve others?  Will you prayerfully engage in listening for the needs of the community?”  I pray that you answer will be, “I will with God’s help”.  Amen.

 



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Baptismal Promise # 3

Rooted in Christ and carrying the cross of cross we are to Proclaim the good news.

In case you have not taken a good look at the prayer card that you got in the mail with your ministry commitment form. I invite you to take a deeper look. Rooted in Christ – what does that really mean to you?

The cross reminds us of Christ’s saving act, but it also reminds us that in our humanity we are capable of great sin. But Jesus doesn’t leave us in that sinful place – he offers grace and forgiveness. Jesus came among us in order to show us how to live and he came to share God’s forgiveness and grace with us. The Church is Christ’s body – that means that we are to live in such a way that people meet Jesus when they meet us. That is how we live out our third baptismal promise which is to PROCLAIM by word and example the good news.

That is what we are supposed to be about. We are to be that compassionate and caring place, the church, where Christ is proclaimed, lives are transformed and people’s needs are met through word, sacrament, service and community.

We, as the committed disciples of Christ at St. Matthew’s, are to be that place which centers and grounds all who come to us. We are the place where people do not have to be ashamed of their sins but rather find and experience God’s abundant love and forgiveness in our midst

In our third baptismal promise, God asks “Will you Proclaim by word and example the good news?” “Will you”, Jesus asks us again and again everyday. Will you be my eyes and ears to see and hear the needs of the world? Will you take action by your words and deeds to bring the love of God to those who have not yet found their way?

Will you, Jesus asks us. And we prayerfully and faithfully say, “I will with God’s help”.

I invite you to continue your prayerful discernment about how you are called to live into your discipleship. Rooted in Christ, supported by worship, education, community & service we grow in our spiritual maturity and in our faith. As we fix our focus on the cross gazing toward God, we see the outstretched arms of Christ which form the crossbeams of the cross – we are invited and challenged to reach out in evangelism and social outreach. As we journey with Christ we find ourselves more and more opening our arms in a wide embrace proclaiming by word and deed the good news of God’s love for all creation. Blessings, Mother Pat+



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Bishop Wright Announces Phase One Reopening of Churches

On Wednesday, Bishop Wright announced to the clergy that churches in the Diocese of Atlanta may begin holding services in the church after July 1, with the first services being held on or after July 5. While this is good news, it also comes with a series of very specific requirements designed to ensure that when we meet together in the sanctuary for worship, we offer the safest space possible for all concerned.

The Advisory Committee met last night to discuss how we might move forward, now that we have the diocesan requirements and guidelines. There is a lot of planning and preparation required before we come together again as community, balancing our desire to worship together with creating the safest space possible for all our members.

While we have been given the permission to begin worship in the sanctuary, it will be awhile until we will be ready, and there is much to be done.

While we have been given the permission to begin worship in the sanctuary, it will be awhile until we will be ready, and there is much to be done. Consideration must be given to such stipulations as limited attendance and safety spacing, contact tracing, disinfection of the space, the challenge of worshiping without bulletins, hymnals or prayer books, and for a time, no Communion. As we review the diocesan requirements with various groups that help plan worship, we will get a better idea of the timeline. When we know more, we will share that information with you, with regular updates both in the Messenger, on our website and on our Facebook page. We can also use the Zoom coffee hour to give you the latest information.

While we long to worship together again in the sanctuary, it’s good to remember that the Church is not “closed”. WE are the Church, and we continue to do God’s work in God’s Kingdom. I ask your prayers for those who are engaged in the project to get us ready for on-campus worship. I know how anxious I am to see everyone again, and I’m sure that you feel the same way. However, the times in which we live means we must always err on the side of safety.
Blessings, Mother Liz+



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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.