St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA
St. Matthew’s is pleased to welcome our new rector, The Reverend Timothy Meyers. Fr. Tim’s first Sunday is January 8, 2023. We invite you to come worship the Lord Jesus Christ with us in community at either 8:00 a.m. or 10:30 a.m. Breakfast is served at 9:00 a.m., with Sunday School and Christian Education classes from 9:30 – 10:15 a.m. We look forward to seeing you there!
Click the link below to view Fr. Tim’s message.
Tim’s invitation to worship.MOV – Google Drive
August Update on Our Ministries at St. Matthew’s
from Trisha Voiles, Sr. Warden
Building & Grounds has had another busy month! We began the month scaring the attendees of the Wednesday Healing Prayer service when they arrived for the service by having a parking lot full of Snellville and Gwinnett Police officers. BUT The reason was for protection training–and not crime. John Eberhart had attended a Homeland Security Presentation sponsored by the Diocese and had the speaker come speak with our local law enforcement, the vestry, and the preschool directors. We walked the campus and received a security audit. We discovered there are grants to help purchase systems for the church, and many other tips and procedures we will be working on in the next months/year.
Other projects: B&G is having the roof repaired over the Parish Hall where a leak is causing the parish hall ceiling to peel away. The roof is now repaired, and bids are coming in for the ceiling. Have you noticed the front courtyard sidewalk dipping? This is another issue that is being repaired. Apparently, the ground below was being compressed, but PolyLift has been able to lift and level it to eliminate the tripping hazard. Thank you to our Building and Grounds Team for their vigilance.
Christian Education began the CE year with a wonderful Sign-Up Circus. There were clowns, popcorn, facepainting, and even an elephant (although it was one of the wonderful balloon creations along with turtles, ladybugs, swords). The children and youth classes will begin full force this week. The adult classes met initially last week and will resume on September 11. And come out for our August Adult Forums! We will be having informational sessions to help you listen for God’s Gifts to help you serve St. Matthews (Stewardship-but don’t let that keep you away or you will miss the fun.) and an Update of the new rector search with the Parish Profile Presentation.
Youth Group began last weekend with a wonderful Youth Retreat up at Camp Mikell! What a great way to build the group with a “Be At Peace” theme. This school year the Youth Group has hired two interns to help guild the spiritual growth in the program. Caroline Bowen and Jessie Hurst are former Youth members, returning to share God’s Love with our young adults.
Some Upcoming Dates – Mark your calendar to be involved in our ministries:
August 26 – Restaurant Foyers: Universal Joint, Lawrenceville, Dinner at 7pm
August 29 – Outreach Co-op Dinner
September 17 – St. Matthew’s Gwinnett Stripers Baseball Game (Stripers are a type of fish known in the GA waters.)
September 25 – St. Matthew’s Celebration Luncheon and Ministry Fair
October 8 – Vestry and Committee Chairs Planning Meeting
October 9 – Blessing of the Animals
Wow! What a fun week surfing through the scriptures at VBS! The sanctuary was transformed to a coral reef and the parish hall was home to a tiki bar and beach scene. You may feel like you’re under the sea thanks to Becky Olbon’s handiwork with the window decorations.
We had a smaller than usual group of campers but it was the perfect way to get back in to the swing of things after a 2-year hiatus. Most of our campers were from the community so we’re hoping some will return to St. Matt’s for Sunday School and church.
Thanks so much to all our adult and youth volunteers who made VBS happen! We had many “VBS veterans” and many “rookies” who made it a great week for everyone. Huge thanks to our center leaders: Juanita Little (crafts), Trisha Voiles and Cheryl Wheeler (snack and Bible story), Karen Whitehead and Rich Morris (music), and Greg Andrews and Kenny Adkins (recreation). Jessie Hurst organized the youth, and Susan Carson helped with registration and check in. Our Shepherds were Betty Medlin, Carol Maneol, Carol Walsh, Jay Jones, Josh Hurst, Judith Kimsey, Mona Livermont and Liz Livermont. And additional volunteers in Snack, Bible Story and Crafts were Gail Sawyer, Beth DiGiovanni, Nancy Griner, Sharon Hansen, Susan Adkins, Vicki Conway and Paula Pownell. And Karen Wilson even taught yoga during Recreation one day!
Our youth volunteer force was small but mighty: Becky and Jessie Barringer, Maddie Ferrell-Mixon, Mia Lewis, Rory Morris, Stanley Livermont and Jacob Hurst.
Thank you all for answering the call to be the hands and feet of Jesus at VBS!
Terri Hurst and Becky Olbon
Co-Directors
St. Matt’s VBS!
Here’s just a few photos from our Easter Sunday at St. Matthew’s. If you have photos from the day that you’d like to add to our collection, please send them to
admin@stmatthewssnellville.org.
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)
8:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.
Palm Procession and Holy Eucharist (no Passion narrative until Good Friday)
7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist
7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist
10:30 a.m. Healing Eucharist, 7:00 p.m. Holy Eucharist
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)
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)
7:00 p.m. Great Vigil and Baptisms (no Communion)
7:00 a.m. Sunrise service—begins outside
10:45 a.m. Festive Holy Eucharist (with incense)
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.
More than two million people have been displaced after Russian forces invaded Ukraine, making this the fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II. Damage to civilian infrastructure has left thousands without electricity or water — and homes have been destroyed, affecting hundreds of thousands of people within the country. Ukrainians continue fleeing to neighboring countries such as Poland, Hungary and Romania.Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is supporting Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance) as it works through ACT member Hungarian Interchurch Aid (HIA) and other local organizations to provide emergency assistance such as food, shelter, water and basic supplies to refugees and people displaced within Ukraine.
To donate, click here.On February 27, HIA set up a refugee support point on the Ukrainian side of the border at Beregsurány, where volunteers are providing hot tea, sandwiches, refreshments, blankets and basic hygiene items for families, who often wait long hours to cross the border into Hungary. HIA is in contact with its network of churches and organizations, as well as local governments in Hungary, to coordinate cash assistance, shelter, food and medicine for people who have been displaced.ACT Alliance is setting up similar support points at other border towns to assist people as they leave Ukraine. It is working through local partners to provide aid for refugees in Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Poland.
