This Week At St. Matthew's
Sunday, May 17, 2020
Youth Sunday
Sixth Sunday of Easter
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During the COVID-19 outbreak, St. Matthew's is practicing Social Distancing which means the physical building is closed. However, God's PEOPLE are the Church, and our common life continues. Please join us on Facebook Live (see below for details), and be sure to reach out to others in the community by phone, Skype, FaceTime or email to stay connected, as we navigate this uncertain time together. God is with us; all will be well.
Daily Morning and Evening Worship
Monday through Friday (except Wednesday)
8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Wednesdays
at 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Saturdays
at 6:00 p.m. ONLY
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Due to connection issues created by
high online traffic, we are pre-recording Sunday services. All online video services will be posted on the
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This Sunday, May 17
Online Video Service
Sixth Sunday of Easter
10:00 a.m.
Youth Sunday
You don't have to belong to Facebook to join the Facebook Live sessions. Come check it out!
(Videos remain posted online if you wish to watch them at a later time.)
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Sunday School This Sunday
May 17, 2020
9:00 a.m. -
Don't miss it!
Sundaes Sunday
Join us for the last Christian Formation Class before Summer!
Topic: Pre-K - 5 Christian Formation
Time: May 17, 2020 08:30 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada) (Class starts at 9 a.m.)
Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 994 8938 8734
Password: 886181
One tap mobile
+13017158592,,99489388734#,,1#,886181# US (Germantown) +13126266799,,99489388734#,,1#,886181# US (Chicago)
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Please don't hesitate to contact either Mother Liz or Fr. Tommy
if you or your family have need of assistance or counsel.
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Musings From Fr. Tommy -- Youth Sunday
This Sunday is Youth Sunday,
a time in which we celebrate, recognize, and honor our Youth for their dedication, passion, and energy. Having been a part of and helped to create Youth Sundays at other parishes, this is typically a one-of, a service that takes place towards the end of the school year to celebrate and honor the youth. That is not St. Matthew’s.
In the short time that I have been here, St. Matthew’s recognizes and celebrates their Youth throughout the year, by having them participate as lectors, ushers, and greeters, at times even distributing the bread at Communion. The Youth here are much more integrated and a part of the fabric of this parish, and I am grateful for that. In fact, we all should be grateful for that, because we are taking seriously, Jesus’ urging to,
“Let the children come to me…. For the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to those who are like these children.”
(Matthew 19:14). Because of their passion, their excitement, their zeal, and their innocence we get to see and encounter life in new and fresh ways. Since we have been integrating and incorporating the Youth into the very framework of this community, we get the blessed experience of encountering The Kingdom of Heaven throughout the year.
This Sunday our Youth will perform all the roles of the service, from reading the lessons to leading the prayers and preaching. Please join me in thanking Andrew Byron, Caroline Bond, Jacob Hurst, and Emelia Furman for their willingness to read and lead our worship service. And a special acknowledgement goes to Jessie Hurst for her eagerness to open and share God’s Word with us. Thank you, Jessie. While we were not able to have all the Youth participate in Sunday’s service I hope that you will join me in celebrating and honoring all our Youth for their dedication, their vitality, their curiosity, and their willingness to create and to make real God’s Kingdom in our midst.
Grace & Peace,
Fr. Tommy
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From Your Senior Warden...
According to the Episcopal Church’s website, Stewardship is about being grateful, responsible stewards of the gifts we receive from God. The tradition of giving back to God and to the church comes from the Biblical practice of “tithing,” which means to give back a tenth of our earnings to God (Numbers 18:26). The Episcopal Church sees stewardship as more than simply contributing money to the church; it’s also about contributing time and talents, and volunteering for ministry and mission. It’s about reaching out to build relationships from a perspective of abundance instead of scarcity.
- I would like to recognize some individuals that have been using their time and talents to serve the parish and God.
- Thank you to Amanda Livermont and Jim Stallings for your continued hard work on our online services.
- Thank you to Janis Williams, Judith Kimsey, Lisa and Dallas LeDuff for working to make our Parish grounds beautiful this week!
- Thank you, Mark and Beth DiGiovanni, for taking down the Lenten Altar decorations.
- Thank you to all our wonderful Christian Education teachers that have continued to lead Sunday school class for our children.
- Thank you to our Preschool director Juanita Little and her staff for making the preschool students and parents feel loved and supported during this difficult time.
- Thank you to Kyle for the beautiful music!
- Thank you to the Gwinnett County Police for keeping an eye on our building and grounds.
- Thank you for your continued donations for the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry.
- Thank you to all our wonderful seamstresses that have been making masks for the Snellville Police and the Gwinnett County South Precinct Police.
- Thank you for continuing to send in your pledges or making online donations to the church.
- Thank you to Mother Liz and Father Tommy for your continued leadership!
Where have you been sharing your time and talents during this pandemic? I would love to hear about it. Please email me at beckyolbon@yahoo.com
Peace,
Becky Olbon
Senior Warden
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Prayers Requested
Please pray
- For local, state, and federal officials as they make decisions about the current health and economic crisis
- For migrant farmworkers, among the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, front line heroes who continue to supply our tables.
- For our shut-ins and infirm, and all those isolated from loved ones during this pandemic.
- For the homeless, and all those experiencing food or shelter insecurity.
- For those who have lost their jobs or are unable to work due to the economic shutdown.
- For students graduating from high school or colleges and universities during this uncertain time, as they make decisions about their future education or careers.
Prayer requests can also always be sent to the DOK by contacting
Peggy Isaacs or
Lynne Kiker, or any DOK member. Prayer requests sent to the DOK are confidential and will not be shared outside the DOK membership without your permission.
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Thank You! Keep It Coming!!
St. Matthew's is amazing! Thank you to all who donated to the May Food Drive last week for the Southeast Gwinnett Cooperative Ministry.
We collected over 900 items on 5/9 (917 to be exact).
We have received some cash and gift card donations too that will be used to purchase items. They will be counted in next week's total.
Donations will be accepted again this Saturday, May 16
, and every Saturday in May,
from 9 - 11 a.m.
The need is great--thank you for continuing to support this vital ministry. See below for other ways to support the co-op.
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Food Drive Month for the SE Gwinnett Co-Op!
Local food banks need help in a BIG WAY right now and we are ready to show them our support.
The co-op has requested we focus on the following items for our food drive:
Canned tuna
Canned chicken
Canned pasta (i.e. Spaghetti-os, etc.)
Peanut Butter
Jelly
Additional high need items this week include Mac n Cheese, Toothpaste, Bar Soap, Diapers Size 2,3,4, & Baby Wipes. Other non-perishable items accepted too.
There are 4 ways to participate in the St. Matthew’s food drive this month:
- Drop off food outside St. Matthew’s each Saturday in May 9 a,m,-11 a,m. Drive up and we will unload your car for you.
- Drop off food at the co-op during posted hours - https://www.segwinnettcoop.org/toserve
- Ship food directly to the co-op from Amazon, Costco, Sam’s and other retailers to 55 Grayson Industrial Parkway Grayson, GA 30017
- Send a monetary donation to the co-op at https://www.segwinnettcoop.org/donate
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Prayer For The Parish
Almighty and everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and earth, hear our prayers for this parish family. Strengthen the faithful, arouse the careless, and restore the penitent. Grant us all things necessary for our common life, and bring us all to be of one heart and mind within your holy Church; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen (BCP, p. 817)
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Birthdays and Anniversaries This Week
5/17 - 5/22/2020
Birthdays:
Perry Butler, Vilma Kulis, Dewey Nabors, Herb Coats, Crystal Furman, Don Ulmer, Alexis Gurz
Anniversaries
: Teddy McLaughlan, Emmanuel Mitchell, Kimberly Wilson, Tina Staples, Kenley Fitzpatrick, Jessie Hurst, Olu Odugbeson, Jerry Wicker, Jamie Atkinson, Chloe Heaps
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FORWARD DAY BY DAY
Miss your
Forward Day By Day
devotional booklets? The church office is currently closed but during this interim time you can find their
daily messages here.
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MORE "At Home During
COVID"
We miss your faces! Please send us some pics.
We need your photos! Online church as a family, SS activities, birthday or anniversary celebrations COVID-style, or How-We're-Spending-Our-Time-During COVID!
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CHECK IT OUT! -- St. Matthew's Youth made a video for moms last week for Mother's Day. You can view it by clicking this link:
Youth Group meeting this Sunday via Zoom Video Conferencing
from 5 – 6 p.m.
Zoom invites will be sent to your e-mail the Saturday before. If you do not receive the Zoom invite on Saturday, or if you have any questions, please contact
THIS Sunday, May 17th is Youth Sunday
. As you already know our Youth are compassionate and talented and this service will celebrate and recognize those gifts, as well as their intelligence and their competence. Please make sure that you “tune-in” for Youth Sunday but also make sure that you continue to encourage and support the Youth, especially during this bewildering time.
Grace & Peace,
Fr. Tommy
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Financial Giving in REALM
It's easy! Go to the church website,
www.itsthepeople.org
. Click on the blue Give Online button near the center of the page, and follow the prompts to choose the desired fund designation from the drop-down menu.
If you wish to set up an automatic gift, you can do so by logging into REALM and choosing Giving from the left side of the page. You will have options for credit card information, etc. on the next screens. You can also set up recurring gifts/payments in Realm if you wish.
If you have trouble logging into Realm, please contact
Susan Carson.
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Thriving Spiritually During the Pandemic
NEW!
The
Forward Day By Day meditations
included in the printed booklets made available at the church are also found online. While these printed books are not available due to the closure of the church building, you can find these messages daily by clicking on this link:
https://prayer.forwardmovement.org/
Bookmark this link on your browser so you can find it easily each day.
Books:
“The Rule of Benedict: A Spirituality for the 21st Century”, by Joan Chittister, O.S.B.
“The Universal Christ: How a Forgotten Reality Can Change Everything We See, Hope For and Believe”, by Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
"Praying the Psalms", by Thomas Merton, O.S.C. O.
Creating a Sacred Space At Home:
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For Information on the Corona Virus,
COVID-19, go to the Centers For Disease Control (CDC) website:
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THE REALM CORNER
Regarding A Parish Directory
Based on the feedback we have received, we have adjusted settings in Realm to allow us to print a directory of active members once the church office is open again. If you are logged into Realm you should be able to access the full directory online now, however. We appreciate your patience while we work to complete the process and hope to run printed copies in the near future.
If you find errors or omissions in the online directory information, please email
registrar@stmatthewssnellville.org
with the details. Thank you!
If do
not
wish to appear in the directory, please Opt Out via email to
registrar@stmatthewssnellville.org
. Thanks.
If you have not yet logged into REALM, please contact
Susan Carson
.
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St. Matthew's Episcopal Church | Ph 770-979-4210 | admin@stmatthewssnellville.org | www.itsthepeople.org
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