St. Matthews Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.” Isaiah 43:1b

Advent, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Services

ADVENT & CHRISTMAS WORSHIP AT ST. MATTHEW’S

1st & 2nd Sundays in Advent
8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist
Epiphany Choir will play Dec 9 at 10:30 a.m.

3rd Sunday in Advent, December 16
8:00 and 10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist

5:30 p.m. Service of Lessons & Carols—
Nursery provided through age 6

4th Sunday in Advent, December 23
Holy Eucharist at 8:00
Holy Eucharist at 10:30 a.m. with Baptism

Christmas Eve, December 24 **
4:00 p.m. Family Eucharist Service
with Christmas Pageant, Junior Choir
and Cherubs
7:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist
11:00 p.m. Festive Holy Eucharist
(with incense), Sanctuary Choir
and Hand Bell Choir
Prelude starts at 10:30 p.m. with Carols

Christmas Day, December 25**
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist with Carols

1st Sunday After Christmas Day, December 30
10:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist (One Service Only)

**Please note there will be no nursery available on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day so that nursery volunteers may attend church with their families. ALL children of all ages are welcome in church.  Nursery is available for ages 6 mos. through age 4 on regular Sundays at  the 10:30 service.



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Counting Our Blessings

We at St. Matthew’s are abundantly blessed!

Our Consecration Sunday/Thanksgiving Feast was overflowing with joy, love, gratitude and delicious food!! To the many people who made the event happen, I give heartfelt thanks: the Fellowship Committee who gave their entire weekend to the luncheon, especially Nancy Drury, who organized her team while also serving on the Stewardship Committee; the Brotherhood who helped behind the scenes but especially with clean-up; the Stewardship Committee; and anyone else who was “volunteered” to help out.

I am also grateful for the people who were willing to go outside their comfort zones to share their personal stories about how the practice of stewardship has strengthened their faith and deepened their relationships with God. I pray that they are as blessed by their sharing as we are by hearing their stories.

If you are still prayerfully discerning what financial amount God is calling you to give to our parish, please complete your estimate of giving card and drop it in the lock box on the parish office door.

Should you have any questions or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me. And as always, should you feel called by the Holy Spirit to join our Stewardship Committee, we will welcome you with open arms and grateful hearts.

Terri Hurst, Stewardship Chair

Photos from Consecration Sunday / Thanksgiving Ingathering Feast can be found here:



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News From Annual Council & One Delegate’s Impressions of the Event

Archbishop Michael Curry spoke at the 112th Annual Council Convention this past week on November 9. The convention was held at Holy Innocents Episcopal School and Parish in Atlanta as parishes from all over the diocese gathered to meet and worship together. Archbishop Curry spoke during the council meeting on Friday, and celebrated Eucharist on Friday afternoon.

To hear Presiding Bishop Michael Curry’s sermon, follow this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZ-wwhVy0Yg&feature=youtu.be&t=3037

Present at the convention were our delegates Greg Andrews, Jay Jones, and Janis Williams, along with Mallard and Althea Benton, Sheila Ferrell and Richard Morris who all sang in the choir at Eucharist, and Jessie and Jacob Hurst who attended the youth lock-in held in conjunction with the event. In addition, attendees packed  15,000 meals for the hungry to be sent wherever they are needed in the world.

Impressions of a First Time Delegate to Diocesan Council

by Janis Williams

This adventure was amazing. I was a newbie, in rooms with a lot of white collars and quite a few black cassocks, and so proud to be among them. The first familiar face after finding Jay Jones and Greg Andrews, was Bishop Wright, welcoming me. I have only been a part of the Episcopal Church for 20 years, and was thrilled to be there and to find out more about our church on a broader, higher level. In spare moments, I visited the tables from different ministries to learn more about opportunities to serve and to share.

The purpose statement of the 112th Annual Council is Challenging Ourselves and the World to Love Like Jesus. The highlight of the weekend was the Eucharistic service Friday afternoon. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry gave the sermon with an engaging story of the Good Samaritan. Greg and I participated a little later in the service project, helping to make 15,000 food packages which will be sent all over the world when and where they are needed. Many of the young people participated in a Lock-in on Friday night, where six very tall posts were made, which will travel around the world to display and convey some of their concerns today. The final worship service Saturday morning was conducted entirely by the Youth with songs, a sermon, and prayers. If I have the opportunity to go again, I would love to!

 



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Festival of Lessons and Carols — December 16 @ 5:30 p.m.

The community of Snellville and Gwinnett County is invited to attend as the Sanctuary and Handbell Choirs present a Festival of Lessons and Carols modeled after the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols of King’s College, Cambridge. The Lessons and Carols Order was originally conceived by E. W. Benson the first bishop of Truro, later Archbishop of Canterbury, for Christmas Eve 1880.  In 1918, Eric Milner-White, Dean of King’s College, adapted the Order of E.W. Benson for use on Christmas Eve at King’s College.

Musical selections will include favorite carols, anthems and readings of the season that celebrate the birth of Christ. The prelude will begin at 5:15pm.

Please plan to come and celebrate the joyous season with this outstanding musical offering by the Sanctuary and Handbell choirs. Invite your friends, family and neighbors! Everyone is welcome.



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Christmas Outreach At St. Matthew’s

This year the Outreach committee has chosen two area ministries as our focus for the holidays:

1. Glimmers of Hope, SE Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry

The Co-op Christmas assistance program has changed this year. Eligible clients who have minor children living in their household will be given one $25.00 gift card for each child and one additional card per family. We will be collecting $25.00 gift cards from Walmart and Target. A gift card tag board will be posted in the Narthex. Please return donated gift cards to Dotty Merrifield or Cheryl Wheeler or place in collection container in parish office. If the office is closed, you may place them in the new lock box in the office door (please mark them for SE Co-op). All gift cards need to be turned in by November 30th.  
To find out more about the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry go to: www.segwinnettcoop.org

2. Mending the Gap, Inc. Seniors Ministry

Mending the Gap will be delivering gifts to 400 Grandmas and Grandpas this Christmas. We will be collecting items to help them. A gift tag board will be up in the Narthex starting November 4th and all donated items will need to be returned no later than December 2nd. There will be bins in the old narthex for your donations. If you have any questions, please contact Becky Olbon.
To find out more about Mending the Gap, Inc, go to www.mending-the-gap.org



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Ingathering : Consecration Sunday is November 18

SINGLE COMBINED SERVICE

AT 9:30 a.m.

followed by a

THANKSGIVING  POTLUCK FEAST

Bring your favorite side dish or dessert to share. You can sign up to bring a dish on the poster on the bulletin board in the main hallway.

Meats and beverages will be provided.

Please plan to attend this special service and dinner.

You may complete a Consecration Sunday Reservation Card (found in the narthex) to let us know you will attend worship and the luncheon,



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Musings From Mother Liz: Stewardship — Where Does It All Go?

As much as we stress the spiritual discipline of making a financial commitment to the church, there are practical aspects as well.
In 2018, the vestry approved an operating budget of $567,000. A little over 50% of this amount goes towards staff salaries and benefits: pension, medical and disability insurance, travel, continuing education and social security. The cost to maintain and repair the physical plant, categorized as Buildings and Grounds, is 20% of the budget. A little over 9%, or $53,600 goes back to the diocese to help fund the cost of their operations. The cost to run the office, including office machines, computers, phone, internet and equipment replacements, requires 8% of the budget, while ministries uses 7%. Outreach is allocated 3% of the budget.
The vestry and the finance committee work hard to be good stewards of the monies donated to the church. Ideally, an increase in donations allows us to increase funds for Outreach as well as accrue funds for Buildings and Grounds to cover unexpected repairs, and expected replacement of high-priced items like air conditioners and roofs.
As you pray and discern what your financial commitment to St. Matthew’s will be, I hope learning what it takes to operate the church will be helpful to you. If you have questions about any of this, please contact our Treasurer, Chuck Marsh, the chair of our Finance Committee Mark DiGiovanni, or Bret Hurst, vestry member and liaison to the Finance Committee.
In Peace,
Mother Liz+



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Acolyte Training Workshop November 17

The Acolyte Ministry will hold a training session from 10 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, in the church fellowship hall to prepare for the Advent and Christmas seasons.
The workshop will be in two sessions: acolytes, ages 8-12, will train from 10 a.m. to 12 pm. Acolytes, ages 13 and up will train from 1 to 3 p.m. Lunch will be provided.
Acolytes play a vital role in our worship service. The workshop is a chance to sharpen acolyte skills and etiquette. The workshop will also be a time to measure for albs (robes) and update contact information.
Attendance is strongly encouraged as we plan for new processes and services during the Christmas season. Kindly RSVP by email to dockjones@gmail.com or by text or voice to 404-217-8172.



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Musings From Mother Liz

I don’t know about you, but I found this past week a difficult one to navigate. Saturday, Gwinnett police officer Antwan Toney was shot and killed while approaching a car parked near Shiloh Middle School. On Monday, the alleged shooter, Tafahree Maynard, was shot and killed by a Gwinnett officer as they sought to take him into custody. That same Monday, an eighth grade student at Trickum Middle School in Lilburn stabbed his language arts teacher in the chest with an 8 inch butcher knife he brought to school.
As a pastor, I mourn both lives lost, and I pray for the teacher who was wounded and for the student who would commit this act. And I pray for those who are impacted by these acts of violence – a ripple that goes far beyond these four people.
I have heard from people who are angry and afraid. I deeply wish I could offer wisdom, but that would be trying to explain the illogical with logic. So I offer compassion, and prayers, and a listening ear to anyone who might need to talk, whether about these events or anything else that is weighing you down. And please know that I am not the only one available if you need to talk. Susan Jung and our Stephen’s ministers would like to help, and you can ask for prayers from our Daughters of the King and St. Luke’s chapters. Father Doug is helping me right now with parish pastoral care when he is in town, and he’s a good listener.
I hope you realize that if you are struggling, you do not need to walk alone. Call me at St. Matthew’s – I now have an extension (109) and voicemail, so if you don’t reach me, you can leave a message. Or you can call my cell (770-820-9448). This is what being in community is all about. And I give thanks to God each day that he led me to St. Matthew’s.
In Peace, Liz+



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What A Weekend! Retreat Note and Photo Gallery

Dear Sisters and Brothers from Saint Matthew’s!

A few years ago, the parish provided feedback that an event like a weekend retreat was something the majority will welcome.  After more than a year of planning, this past weekend that retreat was a reality;  an effort that brought so many parishioners together in love, harmony, worship and fellowship to the glory of God.

The setting was the magnificent Stone Mountain Park campgrounds. The weekend activities provided opportunities to all present to get to know each other and work, have fun and worship together.  It was a weekend where young and old mingled and learned from each other. The campfire provided a magical moment for all to keep warm and connect through stories and music.

The fellowship committee would like to express the utmost gratitude to all who attended and others that works so hard to make this retreat happen. Special thanks to Terri Ingalls, our professional story teller, that allowed her craft to teach us how, and the importance of, telling our stories;  to Mindy Barringer for the gift of live music for the campfire and the worship service; to the parenting group that handled most of the meals; and to the countless volunteers that ensured this successful event.

Thank you and may the peace of the Lord be always with you!

Oscar

 



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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.