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+: The Search

Here we are in the 5th week of the Easter season, and we find ourselves searching. In this season many of our readings have Jesus searching for us and in other Sunday readings we are searching for Jesus. As a parish, St. Matthew’s is in the midst of the search for a new rector, so I thought perhaps we should reflect on what it means to search and what happens when we find what we seek.

When we search for something, we have some idea of what we are looking for, but often in the very process of searching we discover that we really need something else. For example, the early disciples sought the risen Jesus because they still wanted the familiar companionship of his presence at the table and on the road. The disciples wanted it to be like it was before the crucifixion, but that was not to be. Jesus clearly tells Mary Magdalene in the garden that she is not to cling to him or try to hold onto him, because things are different now. Jesus is no longer bound by temporal time or earthly boundaries; and yet the disciples would like things to return to the way they were. We all like things to return to whatever we think is “normal” or the way they were before the disruption or change; but that is not how it works.

Jesus will soon ascend back to the Godhead forever and the disciples will have to learn to walk in faith in a different way – no more surprise visits by the risen Jesus in the upper room or for breakfast on the beach. Jesus will ascend and will send the Holy Spirit to serve as that constant reminder of God’s presence in their lives – nothing will ever be the same again and the disciples are just beginning to discover that reality as they search for Jesus and wait for the power from on high which Jesus promises them.

St. Matthew’s is also searching and in the discernment process, you as a parish have discovered that what you thought you wanted and needed might indeed be different than the familiar things of the past. In your searching for a new rector, St. Matthew’s may discover new ways to work for God’s kingdom. You have been praying for God to lead you to the person whom God has also called to look for you. Through the power of God’s Holy Spirit, you will find new ways to share ministry and leadership and to build God’s kingdom in this place.

So keep searching for what God wants you to see and to do. Be open to God’s surprises in the people you meet and in the work God calls you to do. God’s Holy Spirit will guide the nominating committee, the vestry, and those God will lead to this place. Searching is a part of how God reveals God’s self to us – God continues to seek us out and we continue to seek God. May your life and the life of this parish be filled with Godly surprises. Mother Pat+



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HISTORY

April 5, 1979

58 people met with Bishop Child to discuss the organization of an Episcopal church in Snellville.  A formal organizational meeting was held in July of that year, at which time St. Matthew’s was given its name.

Regular Sunday services began on August 5, 1979, at Centerville Elementary School, with Fr. Gene Ruyle serving as priest-in-charge. In January of 1980, Fr. Franklin Thomas was appointed full-time vicar, and St. Matthew’s received full mission status.

Worship services were moved to the Snellville Civic Center in June of 1980, and property at the current site on Oak Road was purchased in August of that year.

A building fund drive launched in April of 1981 resulted in the completion of the new church building one year later; 592 people, representing 130 families, joyfully celebrated Palm Sunday in the new church on April 4, 1982.

In November of 1982, Fr. Thomas departed and Fr. Paul Gerlock became interim vicar.

On September 4, 1983, Fr. Edward Hanson was called as full-time vicar. During Fr. Hanson’s tenure, the church grew in membership to approximately 300 families and the budget increased from $60,000 to $195,000. St. Matthew’s attained full parish status during this period.

In November of 1989, Jim Crews became the first youth director at St. Matthew’s.  He remained with St. Matthew’s until June of 1995.

Fr. Hanson resigned in January of 1991. Fr. John Dukes and Fr. Scott Harris began serving as priests-in-charge.

On August 22, 1992, Fr. P. Douglas Coil was called as rector.

On January 5, 1997, the parish broke ground for the new Strickland Education Building. On May 18 that same year, ground-breaking for the new sanctuary was held. The new sanctuary was dedicated on April 19, 1998.

Fr. Jim Johnson came to St. Matthew’s as an assisting priest on February 22, 1998. He remained with the parish in that capacity until May 31, 2005.

Dan Mitchell joined the St. Matthew’s staff as music director on August 16, 1998 and continues in that position.

Jeff Tait, St. Matthew’s second youth minister, served between July of 1996 and May of 2002.

On June 1, 2003, St. Matthew’s called Sally Ulrey as full-time youth minister for the parish.

In July of 2005, Fr. Bradford Smith was called as associate rector of St. Matthew’s. Fr. Brad served the parish until November of 2009.

Fr. Doug retired on July 1, 2013, after twenty-one years as rector of St. Matthew’s and forty years in service to our Lord.

At that time, Mother Debra Metzgar Shew was appointed as priest for the interim.

STAY TUNED … 



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New Beginnings 2022!

New Beginnings 2022 Kickoff

New Beginnings is a Middle School Episcopal renewal weekend held at Camp Mikell. Prayer Partners are family and friends who agree to pray intentionally for one or more of those attending the weekend as participants, team, or adult sponsors. Prayer Partners link the parish to the weekend, a tangible way to provide support and encouragement to our youth and those accompanying them.

Youth – St. Matthews Episcopal Church (stmatthewssnellville.org)




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A Word from Mother Pat+: Holy Week – a week like no other week….

Finally, we see the end coming near. Holy Week is that time when we journey with Jesus through the final days of his earthly life and we witness at the end of our journey the most amazing event – the death and resurrection of our Lord – the Paschal mystery which is the very core of Christian belief. This year will be unlike any other Holy Week you might have experienced as we will match Jesus’ movements as closely as we can and that means changes in our readings and in our worship.

We begin Holy Week with the blessing of palms this Sunday. At St. Matthew’s, this joyous celebration, commemorating the Lord’s entry into Jerusalem, is capped by a procession around the church campus so be careful as you come “flying in on Sunday not to hit people gathered outside for the procession of the palms. Then we continue to hear readings of Jesus’ day in Jerusalem before he heads to Bethany to stay at Mary, Martha and Lazarus’ house for a few days. There is no reading of the passion narrative on Palm Sunday this year – instead the passion narrative will be enacted by our youth on Good Friday when we believe the actual events occurred.

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week tell us of how Jesus continued to surround himself with his close disciples and friends – each night at 7 p.m. we have a special liturgy with Holy Eucharist to share in this journey with Jesus. The readings for these services give us the background for what will quickly happen on Thursday and Friday. You may not have ever heard these readings and you are invited to come and find out how Jesus and his friends spent the first part of this week.

On Maundy Thursday we will gather for a final Eucharist. One aspect of this service is the (Mandatum which is Latin for command). Jesus washes the disciples feet and commands us to love one another as he has loved us. We join in this rite of Foot Washing to signal our readiness to serve others as Christ served. At the end of the Maundy Thursday liturgy we enact one of the most solemn rites of the Church year, the stripping of the Altar. The Altar and Sanctuary (tabernacle) light are symbols of Christ’s presence. In this ancient rite we commemorate the abandonment of Jesus by his followers and the stripping of Jesus by the soldiers prior to his crucifixion. To signify Jesus’ arrest and later crucifixion we extinguish the sanctuary light to remind us that the light of Christ has gone out of the world. Temporarily darkness seems to have the final word.

At noon on Good Friday when we assume the crucifixion might have occurred, we gather to walk the stations of the cross which remind us in graphic ways of the agony of Jesus in his walk to Golgotha and his death. In walking the stations of the cross, we stand symbolically with those who stood at the foot of the cross with Jesus in those final hours.

The 7 p.m. Friday evening the liturgy of Good Friday is divided into four parts. It begins in silence followed by the Liturgy of the Word which includes the Passion narrative from Mark’s Gospel which is lead by the youth of the parish. The second part is a solemn form of the prayers of the people. These bidding prayers and collects date as far back as the 3rd Century CE. It is traditional to kneel in prayer during the bidding and to stand during the collect. The third part, the Veneration of the Cross is a time to reflect on the cross as both an instrument of death and a symbol of the resurrection. ((For a bit of historical trivia, the veneration of the cross was first described in detail by Egeria (an early Christian): a fragment of the true Cross was processed to Calvary and, while the deacons stood guard, the bishop would lift it up for all to venerate. All would then come forward to kiss the cross. The deacons were in place to guard the relic because some particularly fervent pilgrims would try to bite off pieces of the cross to take home. The rite, minus the guards, remains much the same in our liturgy today.))  After anthems and silent veneration of the cross, then all depart in silence remembering the great sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Jesus has died and been placed in the tomb just before sunset.

Holy Saturday at 10 a.m. we continue the liturgy which began on Maundy Thursday – no dismissal of the gathered faith community occurs from Maundy Thursday until Easter. This brief Saturday service of prayer and scripture is intended to mirror the disciples gathered in the upper room trying to hide from the authorities and praying for God’s guidance as Jesus, their friend and leader, has been killed and they are in mourning.

Then when evening arrives on Saturday, the Great Vigil of Easter begins with the lighting of a new fire outside and the recounting of the history of salvation. Vigils have a long history in the Church; frequently they lasted all night and culminated with the celebration of Eucharist at dawn. Our Great Vigil is not an all-night vigil, only about two hours. It is time well spent as this is the beginning of our move toward Easter and the recounting of salvation history is one of the most beautiful and ancient liturgies of the church. It begins with the blessing of a fire kindled outside about dusk. From this fire our Paschal candle is lit. This large candle will burn at all services during the fifty days of Easter and also burns at any baptisms and funerals. This candle reminds us that Christ, the Light of the World can overcome even the darkness of sin and death. We will process behind this candle into the dark church where we will gather in the light of this candle around the Baptismal font. At this point a cantor will chant the ancient hymn known as the Exultet. This hymn begins to tell the history of God’s tremendous love for creation and humankind. Following the readings from Scripture, water is blessed and if there are candidates for baptism they receive the sacrament at this time. We renew our baptismal vows and all are sprinkled with the blessed water. At this point in the Liturgy, we end our recounting of God’s actions in creation and we return at dawn to discover what God has done in the darkness of the night.

On Easter Sunday morning Alleluias, grand music and incense fill the air as we conclude our Holy Week celebrations with the festive Eucharists at 7 a.m. sunrise and 10:45 a.m. These beautiful celebrations are the apex of our liturgical life. In these liturgies, commemorating the Paschal mystery, we are connected with Christians from all over the world in our time, from the past, and those yet to come. We celebrate as resurrection people the victory of Jesus Christ over death and the grave, and we are reminded that we too have eternal life.

On Easter morning, bring bells and cut flowers, if you have them, as we celebrate with joy the gift of God’s love. Egg hunt to follow the 10:45 service for those 5th grade and younger.

 Come and journey with Jesus through Holy Week.  Don’t miss out on this most mysterious and wonderful spiritual journey – 7 p.m. each evening.



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Holy Week and Easter Services

Palm Sunday, April 10

8:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
Palm Procession and Holy Eucharist (no Passion narrative until Good Friday)

Holy Monday, April 11

7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist

Holy Tuesday, April 12

7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist

Holy Wednesday, April 13

10:30 a.m. Healing Eucharist, 7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist

Maundy Thursday, April 14

7:00 p.m. Foot-Washing, Holy Eucharist, and Stripping of the Altar
9:00 p.m. Prayer Vigil begins (Sign up sheet in the narthex)

Good Friday, April 15

12:00 p.m. Stations of the Cross outside (weather permitting)
7:00 p.m. Good Friday service, Veneration of the Cross and
Passion Gospel enacted by youth. (no Communion)

Saturday, April 16

7:00 p.m. Great Vigil and Baptisms (no Communion)

Sunday, April 17, Easter Sunday:

7:00 a.m. Sunrise service—begins outside
10:45 a.m. Festive Holy Eucharist (with incense)

  • The congregation is invited to bring bells to either service to ring as we celebrate the Resurrection.
  • Flowering of the Cross before and after both services in the courtyard; you may bring flowers or use the flowers provided.
  • There will be an egg hunt immediately following the 10:45 service for children 5th grade and under. Older youth are invited to help hide the eggs. Contact Holly Bond to volunteer.

 



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Spotlight on Ministry: Flower Guild

Have you ever wondered about the beautiful flowers on the altar? Did you know that there is a small group that arranges them each week? At one time in St. Matthew’s history the flowers were purchased from local florists in Snellville and the altar guild would place them on the altar. The guild was formed by Ildy Mezey in 2015 and continues now under Janis Williams and Beth DiGiovanni. The guild purchases some flowers, in addition to using greenery & flowers right from the St. Matthew’s campus.
There are times in the liturgical season that dictate the color of the flowers – Red for Pentecost, White for Easter, funerals, Bishop visit, Bare Branches for Lent, Greenery for Advent. Then there are the other times where the Flower Guild members have an open pallet for colors!
We are looking for members for the guild. You do not have to be a floral expert! We have a group of members now who are shadowing members a week a month. If you are interested in finding out more about the Flower Guild please contact Janis Williams or Beth DiGiovanni.
Flowers for the altar are supported by donations from the St. Matthew’s members. Since we are now fully open and in person after the pandemic closure in 2021, we currently have many weeks open on the Sunday Flower chart outside the church office. If you have a special week to celebrate a birthday, anniversary, memory of a family member, or just a Thanksgiving, please consider adding their name (and yours) to our flower chart or contact the office to help. The suggested amount of the donation is $65, but any contribution you are able to make is appreciated.



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A Word from Mother Pat+: Lent is drawing to a close…

Lent is drawing to a close….

So here we are nearing the end of the season of Lent and we know that the crucifixion of Jesus is just ahead of us. But we also know that God takes the sorrow and pain of death and turns it into the joy of eternal life. So this season forces us to acknowledge our dependence on God for our very existence. We are reminded that God does not insulate us from pain and difficulty, but God does walk with us, support us, encourage us and challenge us to live faithful lives of service and love.

It takes a day of clouds for us to rejoice in the sunshine. It takes a day of hunger for us to appreciate the abundance of food which we have. It takes a power outage for us to remember how much we like lights and television and heat. It takes a disciplined Lent for us to celebrate the joy of Easter. And it takes us a lifetime to realize the vastness of God’s love for us and the magnitude of the support God gives us, even when we don’t think that God is present with us.

Remember the story entitled “footprints” about the man who looked back on his life only to discover that in the most difficult times there was only one set of footprints. He responded as many of us do and yelled at God for abandoning him in his times of greatest need. In the quiet voice which answered the man’s angry outburst, God simply said, “it was then that I carried you”. The cross of Christ carries our sins so that we don’t have to be burdened with them. The cross of Christ assures us of victory over death. And the cross of Christ calls us to new lives of love and service in this life and the next.

Use the remaining weeks of Lent to gain a renewed perspective of God’s grace and mercy in your life and how you might share that joy with others. Remember everyone leaves a legacy, whether they are intentional about it or not. Be intentional in your life’s work and leave a legacy of faith and hope for those who walk this journey with you and those who will follow in our footsteps.

Have a blessed and holy Lent, Mother Pat+



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A Word from Mother Pat+: Spiritual Weightlifting

In Lent, we are encouraged to practice our faith in ways which produce lasting results. Much like we might take on a new exercise routine to tone our muscles and increase our endurance, Lenten practices help us tone up our spiritual lives and provide us with tools to persevere through life’s ups and downs.

In your holy and sacred space “bag” – tool kit, you have items designed to help you develop a practice of spiritual exercise. Sometimes, it is just a glimpse of an item that makes us mindful of God’s presence; but often we need to be more intentional. Somewhat like developing an exercise or walking routine, our spiritual practices must be done regularly and with an intentionality which helps us grow in our Christian journey.

Consider adding or changing your daily routine to include a few minutes intentionally focused on God’s presence in your life. Select a spiritual discipline which helps you recognize Christ in yourself and in others. To start, remember that you are the beloved of God and believe it. Practice self-care and self-respect. If we love ourselves then we can more easily express our love for others. Second, look for Christ in others – listening to the opinions, needs and concerns of another person allow us to treat them with love, for they too are God’s beloved and they can be a reflection of God’s love to us. Lastly, remember that our lives are gifts from God. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son….” Love is the basis of God’s gifts to us and we are God’s beloved.

Live this Lent as the holy person you were created to be. And remember, we are not called to perfection, we are simply called to love God, love ourselves and love others. We will in this life miss the mark; but God takes our imperfect actions and turns them into loving gifts which help bridge the gap between what is and what can be. Blessings, Mother Pat+



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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.