This Week At St. Matthew's
Sunday, October 20, 2019
19th Sunday after Pentecost
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Editor's Note:
The Messenger
is now published on Thursdays, in order to give more notice about weekend events. Please submit articles/content for publication
no later than the Monday prior to Thursday publication
. Thanks!
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THIS SUNDAY
19th Sunday After Pentecost
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8:00 a.m. Holy Eucharist
9:00 a.m. Breakfast
9
:30 a.m. Sunday School & Christian Ed
10:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist**
Rite 13 Sunday
Reverend Canon Liz Hendrick
,
Celebrant
Reverend Tommy Matthews,
Preacher
READINGS FOR THIS SUNDAY
** Nursery available 6 mos - 4 years
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SUNDAY SCHOOL &
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
ALL AGES
Join us
this Sunday, October 20
9:30 a.m.
For information on
Adult Christian Ed classes,
Youth classes meet in the Undercroft.
Sunny's Kids (Pre-K - 5th grade) meet in the
Christian Education wing.
Nursery available for children 6 mos - 4 years
in the Christian Education wing.
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BAPTISM NOVEMBER 3
The Sacrament of Baptism will be offered at the 10:30 a.m. service on November 3, All Saints Sunday. If you or your child would like to be baptized on that day, please contact Susan Carson at
registrar@stmatthewssnellville.org no later than 10/21 to set up an appointment to speak with Mother Liz.
A pre-baptismal form can be found
here.
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Dear friends,
I’m excited by this year’s stewardship theme, “Shining Our Light.” That theme, taken from the fifth chapter of Matthew’s Gospel, speaks to us as individuals and as a community of faith.
Individually, each of us is called to make sure we are letting God’s light shine through our work, our friendships, our service and our giving. We are called to be light bearers. It is a powerful calling.
As a faith community, St. Matthew's must shine the light of Christ through our worship, welcoming, pastoral care and ministry to the wider community. How we use our time, talents, and treasure determines how brightly we are shining our light.
Here at St. Matt's, I’m often blown away by the various ways members of our parish keep their light shining brightly. Some of us make sure the snacks at the coffee hour are delicious and abundant. Others participate in our worship either by singing in the choir or assisting in the service. Still others prepare the worship space with flowers or altar vestments. Many of us also represent the church in our participation of various community service programs around Snellville and the greater Atlanta area.
While during this pledge drive each of us is asked to make a generous financial pledge for the coming year, I’m also grateful for the many gifts of time, food, and skills from virtually every member of this church.
Over the next month, I challenge you to "look for the light" - to recognize where you see God's light shining here at St. Matthew's. Who do you know who shines extra brightly? And how are you personally shining that light?
I hope you’ll join me as we work together to shine our light in church, in our community and in our lives.
Faithfully,
Terri Hurst, Stewardship Chair
"In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." - Matthew 5:16
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Musing from Mother Liz
Finally! Fall is here. Last week’s car show was a great success; the fall weather arrived this week, and rain over the past few days has refreshed the area. My favorite liturgical season is Advent, but my favorite of the four seasons is fall. I love the crisp air, the smell of woodsmoke and the changing color of the trees.
I confess that I also look forward to our time of stewardship celebration. That may seem an odd term, “stewardship celebration”, but that’s the way I think of it. If you read Terri Hurst’s stewardship letter elsewhere in this e-letter, then you know that all the work we do as a community is part of our promise of stewardship – to take care of one another and of the many gifts and blessings which God has given us. This year’s theme, “Shining Our Light”, gives me context in which to do a reflection on where I am on my Christian journey. How have I allowed God’s light to shine through me? How have I offered my time, skills and financial resources to share God’s light both in the parish and in the greater community? I love stewardship because it allows me to be intentional as I realize that all that I have and all I can offer are gifts from God – I am only returning to God that which belongs to him already. If I am totally honest with myself, I must admit that on my own, I am not much, but as an instrument of God’s light and love, I can make a difference.
We have a motto at St. Matthew’s: “It’s the People”. Every month, when I meet with people new to St. Matthew’s, what they always share with me is the warmth they’ve felt from this community. I believe God has given us special gifts of hospitality and welcome, however, I believe that God does not call us to rest in this, but to continue to move forward. To do the work God has called us to do takes financial resources and the commitment of all of us.
So yes, I love our time of stewardship; I love this time of reflection on where we’ve been and where God is calling us to go. I will use these next four weeks to thank God for all the ways God has blessed me, and I will prayerfully ask God what I can offer in return. I hope you will join me this season in celebrating stewardship: by giving God thanks for his light that you have received from others; by giving him thanks for his light in you that you in turn have shared, and by making a financial commitment to God and St. Matthew’s out of the blessings you have received.
Happy Fall!! Liz+
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ALL SAINTS SUNDAY
Evening of Remembrance
Sunday, November 3
6:30 p.m. Quiet Reflection
Labyrinth, Cairn, Flowers, Candles and more
7:30 p.m. Service of Remembrance
If you have friends and family you would like commemorated during this service,
PLEASE USE THE RED SIGN-UP BOOK IN THE PASS-THROUGH BETWEEN THE MAIN HALLWAY AND THE NARTHEX. All names should be submitted by Monday, October 21st. All names will appear in the bulletin on Sunday, Nov. 3rd.
Please print the names plainly to ensure correct spelling.
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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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READING CAMP DEBRIEFING MEETING THIS sUNDAY, October 20, 2019 at 12:30 p.m.
in the Library. See Gini Peterson for details.
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ALL ARE INVITED TO THE PREMIER PERFORMANCE OF
Dan Mitchell's "Requiem"
All Saints Day
Friday, November 1st, at 7:30 p.m.
at the
Peachtree Road Lutheran Church
3680 Peachtree Road, Atlanta
St. Matthew’s is investigating a shuttle for those who do not want to drive.
If you are interested, please call the office 770-979-4210
no later than Friday,
October 25th
Dan Mitchell is the former choir director for St. Matthew's and several members of the St. Matthew's Sanctuary Choir are performing in the event.
You are cordially invited to attend the premiere performance of a Requiem for choir, organ, and string ensemble. composed by Dan Mitchell, in memory of his son Daniel Thomas Mitchell. Soloists are Nathan Holmes, Elaine Camacho, and Warren Drury. A $10 donation is suggested for church ministry, as Daniel donated time and money to serve the needy.
It is fitting to present this tribute on All Saints' Day to the life of Daniel Thomas Mitchell, whose exemplary character and service are an example to us all.
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Please note--
The 40th Anniversary Time Line
will be posted in the hallway outside the church office through this Sunday, October 20. Please take a few minutes to add your family's milestones at St. Matthew's to the timeline. YOUR story is part of St. Matthew's story--help us tell it!
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THANK YOU!
MANY THANKS to all
sponsors, vendors, volunteers, participants and attendees
for your
CAR SHOW
help and participation—and whether you parked cars, signed cars in, baked goods for the bake sale, manned a booth, sold tickets or set up and broke down the event—
THANK YOU!
We had 82 registered cars at the show, and two motorcycles! Your willing hands and hearts helped make the show a huge success. Mona Livermont won the parish 50/50 raffle, and donated the $520 back to the church. Thank you, Mona! Monies raised are still being tabulated, and the total will be announced at a later date.
It's The People!
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HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY Sunday, October 27
hosted by St Matthews Youth group
Sunday October 27th from 3pm to 5pm.
All school age children
welcome -- wear your favorite costume.
Music, dancing, games, fun crafts and party refreshments.
Admission
:
bring a toy donation
for The Children's Hospital of Atlanta.
For toy donation guidelines and a suggestion of toys for all age groups
click here:
We know this will be an exciting event and will help teach our younger friends about giving to others their age in need.
We can’t wait to see you all there!
If you have any questions please feel free to contact
Mara DiGiovanni (678) 227-8151 or
Ciara Morris (609) 724-5683
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Toys and Treats Drive -- Junior Worship
Junior Worship is helping the Golden Retriever Rescue Group
by collecting donations
of sturdy toys such as Kongs, treats made in the USA, Regular JIF Peanut Butter (not diet) and purple leashes and/or leads. You may leave items in the old narthex in the basket marked Golden Retriever Rescue Donations, by this Sunday, October 20. Thanks!
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All women and girls are invited
to the
ECW Annual Halloween Bingo Party
Monday, October 28
6:30-8:30 p.m. in the parish hall.
We promise there will be Ghoulish Drinks and Tasty Chili to eat.
Please bring a sweet or salty dish to share.
For those who wish to get into the Halloween spirit
we will have a
costume contest
as well as the
creepiest food contest
with
lots of great prizes!
This will be a night to have lots of Spooky fun!
All women in the church are members of ECW (Episcopal Church Women) .
Please come and bring a friend!
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Blessing Of A Marriage
Flora Cox and Thomas Garcia
are pleased to announce the blessing of their marriage on
Sunday, October 27th at the 10:30 a.m. worship service
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There is a reception in the parish hall immediately following the service and the parish is invited to attend.
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THE RUTH CHAPTER OF ST. MATTHEW’S Daughters of the King (DOK)
is planning a study in preparation to become a Daughter. At this time we are projecting January 2020 for those who feel so called. It will also be open to those Daughters seeking renewal. The DOK is a group of women dedicated to Prayer, Service, and Evangelism. If you would like to know more about DOK, please contact
Peggy Isaacs at 770-923-1955. Or Lynne Kiker at 770-235-6650.
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PARISH WORKDAY
Saturday, October 26
8:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.
Lunch will be served
We need you! Come for all or part of the day --Jobs large and small, both inside and out. Make it a family day--all hands, large and small, are welcome! Please bring whatever yard tools you have, (marked with your name). Other needs will be posted on the bulletin board.
Painting, cleaning, washing windows, fix-it, weeding and mulching, among other things.
A sign up sheet is posted on the bulletin board in the main hallway.
Care of our church building and campus grounds are an act of stewardship, caring for what God has given us. Your gifts of time and talent on this day are most appreciated. Thank you!
For more information, contact Steve Charron at 678-787-6635 or Janis Williams at 770-367-4930.
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It's the People -- and It's the Volunteers!
Time and talent are two foundational elements of stewardship in a church community. There are many things that happen in the life of the church that depend entirely on volunteer hours offered in service to God. Here are a few ways YOU can serve at St. Matthew's, and who to contact to offer your time and talent to God and your parish family::
Ushers, Lectors and Eucharistic Ministers
-- join the rotation for reading lessons on Sunday mornings, and/or serving for either 8:00 or 10:30 service. See
Greg Andrews about training/licensing for these rewarding ministries.
Sunday Breakfast -- We are in need of volunteers to sign up to prepare breakfast. If you haven’t taken a turn since last school year, we need you now. If you are on a committee, please ask others on your committee to cover breakfast one Sunday. Breakfast doesn't have to be elaborate, For more information, contact
Nancy Drury
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JUNIOR WORSHIP
Every Sunday during the Sunday School year, children ages 5-7 spend a portion of the worship service in a child-size worship environment learning about how we worship in the Episcopal church, with hands-on opportunities to examine and experience elements of the worship service and ask questions about what we do in church. Additional
helpers are needed to take turns in rotation assisting in this ministry. Lesson plans are available and training will be given. For more info, speak to
Debbie Inman or
Mona Livermont.
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POLICE BIRTHDAYS
Please keep the following
Snellville Police officers in your prayers as they celebrate birthdays in October:
- Officer Adam Green, October 6
- Officer Albert Thomas, October 7
- Communications Briana Hajrizi, October 23
- Sgt. Rain Neiddu, October 28
Prayer for Police Officers
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all men and women in law enforcement in our neighborhoods, cities, and on our highways. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; protect their families; strengthen them in their trials; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
(Adapted, BCP p.823)
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Knit, Crochet & Pray --
Prayer Shawl Procedures
Prayer shawls are made by the Knit Crochet & Pray Ministry (KCP) for the purpose of giving them to someone in crisis to show our love, support and prayers for his/her difficult time. They are made by the ministry members (usually at the individual member's expense of time and yarn) and blessed by Mother Liz at the altar.
The prayer shawls are kept in the church office and must be signed out in a specific notebook by a church employee or a member of the Knit, Crochet & Pray Ministry. We welcome all in need to request a prayer shawl, but we have to remind everyone that the KCP membership is currently very low, so it is important to remember that our limited number of prayer shawls must be shared with all parishioners who need one. Thank you for being considerate of the needs of all.
We also would like to welcome anyone who takes a prayer shawl to consider making a donation to this ministry. This love offering could be in the form of purchased yarn, prayer shawls, chemo caps, hats, police lap robes, scarves, gloves or a financial donation. In addition, for those unable to attend the KCP meetings who knit or crochet, please consider creating any the above-listed items at home and donating them to our ministry. KCP meets the first and third Thursdays of every month at 10:00 a.m. in the library, and all are welcome. Please contact
Beth DiGiovanni for any questions about this ministry.
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--- YOUTH GROUP NEWS ---
BACK TO SCHOOL, BACK TO YOUTH GROUP!
HALLOWEEN COSTUME PARTY Sunday, October 27
hosted by St Matthews Youth group
Sunday October 27th from 3pm to 5pm.
(see information elsewhere in this e-letter)
Youth group meets in the parish hall and/or undercroft most Sunday nights throughout the school year. All youth 6th - 12th grades are invited to attend. Bring a friend!
NOTE:
Youth Group now meets
from
5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. on Sunday evenings.
For questions or to volunteer to help with youth group activities, please speak with
Thank you for being a part of our amazing youth program!!
Faithfully,
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IMPORTANT:CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE CHURCH OFFICE
PLEASE NOTE that the
stmatts@bellsouth.net
email address has been discontinued and we no longer have access to email sent to that address.
It should be deleted from your contact email lists.
Please use admin@stmatthewssnellville.org to reach Charmaine, our parish administrator. Thanks.
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THE REALM CORNER
Are YOU logged into Realm yet?
Pledge payments and financial giving through REALM is 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 automatic pledge payments, you can do so by logging into REALM and choosing Giving from the left side of the page. (If you have not yet logged into REALM, please contact
Susan Carson
).
Realm Directory and Your Privacy Settings
For instructions on how to change your privacy settings
, or other REALM information,
click here.
Stay connected! For information on logging in, and to view other Realm information and tutorials, check out the link below:
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LOOKING AHEAD:
October 20 -- Rite 13 --
10:30 service
October 26 -- Parish Work Day.
See information in this issue.
October 27 --
Children's Halloween Costume Party
3:00 p.m.
(Youth sponsored, see info in this issue.)
October 28 -- ECW Halloween Bingo
--
6:30 p.m. see info in this issue.
November 3 -- All Saint's Sunday -- Baptisms
10:30 service
November 3 -- Evening of Remembrance
6:30 p.m.
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Events and Serving Schedules
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St.Matthew's Episcopal Church | Ph 770-979-4210 | admin@stmatthewssnellville.org | www.itsthepeople.org
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