St. Matthews Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA

All the paths of the Lord are love and faithfulness *
to those who keep his covenant and his testimonies. Ps.25:9

Holy Week and Easter At St. Matthew’s

Palm Sunday – March 28th:
8:00 a.m. Zoom (see your newsletter, The Messenger, for Zoom info.)
Drive-Thru Communion after the 8 am service for 30 minutes.

& 10:45 a.m. – Outside In-person – live streamed with communion.
Registration on Realm is required.**

Maundy Thursday – April 1st: 7:00 p.m. Live-Stream Service from Sanctuary
Plans are being made for the Maundy Thursday Watch following the service. Stay tuned for information on registering for this Lenten tradition.

Good Friday – April 2nd:
12:00 p.m. Outside Live & In-Person Live-Streamed Service
Registration on Realm is required**

Easter Sunday – April 4th: Two Services– 6:45 a.m. Sunrise Eucharist
Registration on Realm is required.**
No technology or music at this service

10:45 a.m. – Livestreamed From Inside the Church, Easter music
Drive Thru Holy Eucharist offered for 45 minutes after the 10:45 service.

**Registration on Realm for all services will open approximately 2-3 weeks ahead of time. Attendance limited to 50 individuals for services, including all service participants, due to Covid restrictions. In case of inclement weather, outdoor attendance will be canceled. For questions regarding attending any service, please contact the church office.

REGISTER ON REALM



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Observing Lent At St. Matthew’s — See What’s New This Year

What if we prepared for everyday like we do for Lent? We get so busy with work, kids, home, committee meetings, exercise that we often forget the important things. COVID-19 has made this even easier by allowing us to become really lax about our spiritual life. When we first began this pandemic journey almost a year ago, we all showed up for the online services but as time has gone by and the pandemic deepened, it has been easy to step back into our isolation.

Lent is a time of preparation and personal reflection for Good Friday and Easter that marks the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have put together several ways that you can refocus yourself and your family this Lent:

Stations of the Cross: An outdoor Stations of the Cross will be set up on the left side of the church for you to come and walk at your leisure beginning February 21.

Sacred Space Pilgrimage: Have you missed being in the sanctuary? Here’s a time to pray and meditate there during Lent: Beginning Thursday, February 25th; Thursday’s – 10 – 11:30 am and Saturday’s – 2 – 3:30 pm
Individuals and/or families are invited to take a Spiritual Pilgrimage of prayer and meditation to St. Matthew’s Sanctuary.  Registration on Realm is required due to Covid restrictions.  Spaces limited to 10 individuals at a time, inclusive.

Sunday’s Outside Live In-Person Service @ 4 pm. w/ communion (weather permitting)
Beginning Sunday, February 28th
Bring your own chair and join us for a Casual Outside & In-Person Service in the Garden area, located beside the undercroft. **Weather Permitting. Registration on Realm is required due to Covid restrictions.**

Palm Sunday – March 28th:
8 am Zoom (see your newsletter, The Messenger, for Zoom info.)
Drive-Thru Communion after the 8 am service for 30 minutes.

& 10:45 am – Outside In-person – live streamed with communion.
Registration on Realm is required due to Covid restrictions.**

Maundy Thursday – April 1st: 7 pm Live-Stream Service from Sanctuary
Plans are being made for the Maundy Thursday Watch following the service. Stay tuned for information on registering for this Lenten tradition.

Good Friday – April 2nd:
12 pm Outside Live & In-Person Live-Streamed Service
Registration on Realm is required due to Covid restrictions.**

Easter Sunday – April 4th: Two Services– 6:45 a.m. Sunrise Eucharist
Registration on Realm is required due to Covid restrictions.**
No technology or music at this service

10:45 a.m. – Livestreamed From Inside the Church, Easter music
Drive Thru Holy Eucharist offered for 45 minutes after the 10:45 service.

**Registration on Realm for all services will open approximately 2-3 weeks ahead of time. Attendance limited to 50 individuals for services, including all service participants. In case of inclement weather, outdoor attendance will be canceled. For questions regarding attending any service, please contact the church office.

Register on Realm



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Sunday Worship Services Christmas Day 2020 Through January 3, 2021

On Christmas Day (Dec 25) , 10:00 a.m . we will gather via Zoom from the Coil chapel. Drive-by Communion will be available for 45 minutes after the service at the back entrance to the church.
Zoom link https://zoom.us/j/5572242746
Meeting ID: 557 224 2746

Christmas I (Dec 27) : 10:00 a.m. One service, Holy Communion via Zoom . Drive through Holy Communion from the back church entrance for forty five minutes following the service.
Zoom link https://zoom.us/j/5572242746
Meeting ID: 557 224 2746

Christmas II (Jan. 3, 2021): 10:00 a.m. One service livestream from the sanctuary with music (carols). Drive through Holy Communion from the back of the church for forty five minutes following the service.

2 Services Online 8:00 and 10:30 a.m. with SS and CE resumes Jan 10, 2021



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Morning Prayer And the Canticles

Written and compiled by Kyle Osborne, Director of Music at St. Matthew’s

The office of Morning Prayer was created by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, for the 1549 Book of Common Prayer.  Cranmer combined the offices of Matins (the nighttime vigil), Lauds (which took place at Dawn) and Prime (which took place around 6am) from the Liturgy of the Hours (also known as the Divine Office which marked the hours of each day with prayer) to create Morning Prayer.

Invitatory and Psalter
At the Invitatory, the Venite (Psalm 95) or the Jubilate (Psalm 100) are said or sung. The Venite, a carryover from the office of Matins (Vigil), is an invitation to worship. The Jubilate, which was used as an entrance song in The Temple, is a song of thanksgiving and praise. The Jubilate was also the opening Psalm at Lauds (Dawn Prayer). This coming Sunday we will be singing a setting of the Venite (S-35).

Venite     Psalm 95:1-7
Come, let us sing to the Lord; *
let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving *
and raise a loud shout to him with psalms.

For the Lord is a great God, *
and a great King above all gods.
In his hand are the caverns of the earth, *
and the heights of the hills are his also.
The sea is his, for he made it, *
and his hands have molded the dry land.

Come, let us bow down, and bend the knee, *
and kneel before the Lord our Maker.
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. *
Oh, that today you would hearken to his voice!

Jubilate      Psalm 100
Be joyful in the Lord, all you lands; *
serve the Lord with gladness
and come before his presence with a song.

Know this: The Lord himself is God; *
he himself has made us, and we are his;
we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise; *
give thanks to him and call upon his Name.

For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting; *
and his faithfulness endures from age to age.

Canticles
After the first and second lesson at Morning Prayer a Canticle is said or sung. A Canticle is a song of praise with a biblical or biblically inspired text. Perhaps the most famous Canticles are the Gloria (Glory to God in the highest) and the Magnificat (Song of Mary). See BCP pages 85-96 for a list of Canticles 8-21. Canticles 1-7, which use traditional language, can be found on BCP pages 47-52. Many different musical settings of the Canticles can be found, including chant, choral, organ, and metrical paraphrase.

We will be using metrical paraphrases for both Canticle 12 – A Song of Creation (Benedicite, omnia opera Domini), and Canticle 21 – You are God (Te Deum laudamus) this coming Sunday.

A Song of Creation is from the Greek Septuagint version of the book of Daniel. This Canticle is often referred to as the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men (Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were the three young men who praised God even after being placed in the fiery furnace during the Babylonia Exile). A Song of Creation was originally used in Christian worship as a canticle at Easter Vigil and Thomas Cranmer suggested its use as an alternative to the Te Deum during Lent.

Our setting for Canticle 12 comes from Wonder, Love, and Praise #885. The metrical paraphrase of the text is by Carl Daw. The music is by Williams Bradley Roberts and was written specifically for the text.

Let all creation bless the Lord,
till heav’n with praise is ringing.
Sun, moon, and stars, peal out a chord,
stir up the angels’ singing.
Sing, wind, and rain! Sing, snow and sleet!
Make music, day, night, cold and heat:
exalt the God who made you.
All living things upon the earth,
green fertile hills and mountains,
sing to the God who gave you birth;
be joyful, springs and fountains.
Lithe waterlife, bright airborne birds,
wild roving beasts, tame flocks and herds:
exalt the God who made you.

O men and women everywhere,
lift up a hymn of glory;
let all who know God’s steadfast care
tell out salvation’s story.
No tongue be silent; sing your part,
you humble souls and meek of heart:
exalt the God who made you.
Carl P. Daw, Jr.

The Te Deum is one of the oldest hymns of praise. Dating from c. 387 the authorship was traditionally ascribed to Saint Ambrose (d. 397) but is now considered to be by an unknown author. Traditionally, the Te Deum was said at the end of Matins on all days that the Gloria was said at Mass.

Our setting for Canticle 21 is #366, verses 1-4, from The Hymnal 1982. The text is attributed to Ignace Franz and translated by Clarence A. Walworth. The music GROSSER GOTT is from Katholisches Gesangbuch, Vienna, c. 1774.

Holy God, we praise your name;
Lord of all, we bow before you;
all on earth your scepter claim,
all in heav’n above adore you.
Infinite your vast domain,
everlasting is your reign.

Hark, the loud celestial hymn
angel choirs above are raising;
cherubim and seraphim
in unceasing chorus praising,
fill the heav’ns with sweet accord:
“Holy, holy, holy Lord.”

Lo! the apostolic train
join your sacred name to hallow;
prophets swell the glad refrain,
and the white robed martyrs follow;
and from morn to set of sun,
through the church the song goes on.

Holy Father, Holy Son,
Holy Spirit, Three we name you;
while in essence only One,
undivided God we claim you,
and adoring bend the knee,
while we sing this mystery.

I encourage you to take time to read, explore, and meditate on the Canticles. Listen to different musical settings and be refreshed.

Blessings,
Kyle Osborne
Director of Music and Organist

Links for listening:
Te Deum in alternatim – The Te Deum sung by the Maîtrise de Notre-Dame-de-Paris led by Cantor Jehan Revert, in alternatim with Pierre Cochereau at the Grand Orgue of Notre-Dame. The choir sings the first half of the verse. The organ, representing the Heavenly Choir of Angels, plays the second half of the verse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohDqL6pjpjY

Te Deum for Solo, Chorus and Orchestra by Marc Antoine Charpentier https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxZQ1ODN1iU

 Coronation Te Deum by William Walton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lfKdAHgGw

 Jubilate Deo by Benjamin Britten
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_lfKdAHgGw

 Te Deum by Anton Bruckner
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgDBhcF8mus

 Magnificat from Collegium Regale by Herbert Howells
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpB9mQHORlg

 Nunc Dimittis in C by Charles Villiers Stanford
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e17kukPiXz8

 Let all Creation bless the Lord – A song of creation by Alice Parker
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hB6UxsYRwXQ

 Glory to God in the Highest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBWbAmKr5OU



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Families Attend St. Matthew’s Virtual VBS

FAMILIES ATTEND ST. MATTHEW’S VIRTUAL VBS
This year’s Virtual VBS invited the whole family to participate. VBS consisted of exploring “Godly Joy in Worship,” by creating and enriching a family’s Home Altar Space. Families enhanced their Home Altar Space through the ministries of Altar Guild, Flower Guild, Music, and Bread Guild and learned how to incorporate nature in their Sacred Space. Thank you to all who worked to put this VBS together. To view these videos, check out our StMattsSnellville YouTube videos from the week’s Worship presenters.
If you were not able to attend or would like to create or enrich your Home Altar Space we have posted all the videos on our website. We also have additional Activity Bags for those interested. Please contact Fr. Tommy to coordinate.



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Musings: What Will On-Site Worship Look Like At St. Matt’s In 2020?

As found in my article last week, Bishop Wright is allowing worship on campus beginning with the first Sunday in July, but with policies and procedures in place to create a safe worship service for those who attend. Putting a system in place to meet these requirements means that we will not have in-sanctuary worship until sometime in August or September. However, we WILL be continuing services online and that will be true even after we open.

When we do open the sanctuary for worship, the service will look very different from what it was in January and February. Let me share some of the significant details:

1. We can only have a maximum of 50 people in the sanctuary at one time, including those leading worship, the ushers, greeters, lectors, etc.
2. To comply with the limited attendance, you will need to sign up to attend a service, either on-line or by calling the office (for those who are uncomfortable trying to make reservations on-line), and will either be assigned seating or allowed a selection of seats. We are required to keep every other row empty and to seat singles, couples or family groups at least six feet apart. And we are required to wear masks during the service.
3. It will be very important that you sit in your assigned seat for contact-tracing purposes, should that become necessary.
4. So once we get here, what will the service look like?
a. Entering the church will look a lot like entering many retail stores during this time, with one-way markings to come in and go out. Ushers will help us maintain social distance in the courtyard and narthex until we are able to enter and be seated.
b. To avoid cross-contamination we will not be able to use prayer books, hymnals or service bulletins, so we are exploring the temporary use of video screens, or perhaps providing instructions on downloading the service bulletin to your phone or tablet.
 c. At this time, the bishop is not allowing Holy Communion, so worship will either be Morning Prayer or Ante-Communion, such as we are doing on-line right now.
d. Due to the risks of spreading the virus by singing, we will not be able to sing the hymns for a while. We will still have Kyle at the organ, and beautiful music WILL occur on Sunday.
e. Passing of the Peace will be from where you are seated.

I would imagine by this time you might be wondering, “what’s left?”
1. We will be able to see and greet each other.
2. We will be able to see the sunlight coming through the St. Matthew’s window and the colors reflected on the altar.
3. We will have time to sit quietly and breathe in the Spirit that we feel when we are in the sanctuary.
4. We will have beautiful music to lift our spirits and our hearts.
5. We will be able to see our beautiful gardens, blooming in all of God’s glory.

Thank you for your continued prayers for St. Matthew’s as we strive to move forward during this pandemic. Please continue to pray for those working to “open” the church building and plan services that are both meaningful and safe for the those attending.

Beloved, I know that the times we are in are challenging. There will be a time when this has passed and we will be able to come together in full community again. Until then, we will use the technology available to keep us connected, remembering that the church has not closed because the church is US. And we WILL continue to be church!
God’s Peace,
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.

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