St. Matthew's Messenger
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This Week At St. Matthew's
February 28, 2021

Second Sunday In Lent

All Sunday morning services are ONLINE only. Go to:

4:00 p.m. Outdoor Eucharist (casual)
weather permitting
Please Register on Realm

Weekday worship:
Tuesday and Thursday at 8:00 a.m.,
Wednesday (healing service) at 10:00 a.m.

IN THIS ISSUE:
(Scroll Down/Click Links)


This Sunday, Feb 28


8:00 a.m.

Zoom Holy Eucharist ++

Join Early Sunday a.m. Zoom Service:


10:45 a.m.

Holy Eucharist++

ONLINE ONLY
Find the service on


for both services


Drive through Holy Communion will be held for 30 minutes following the 10:45 a.m. service.
SS and CE All Ages
SUNDAY QUICK LINKS
Click the above link for all classes, including
Confirmation Class
(10:00 – 10:40 a.m.)
Youth Group Today
5:00 p.m.

Middle School - Outside &
In-Person on campus
(weather permitting)

High School -- Via Zoom
Lent At St. Matthew's
From Fr Tommy - Garden Eucharist Service
This Sunday

Outside & In-Person – In Garden Area
Attendees please Register  

This Sunday, February 28th we will begin a 4 pm Garden Service. This will be a casual outside and in-person service, weather permitting. By casual I mean relaxed and informal.  Limit 50 persons due to Covid restrictions.

The service is a modified Holy Eucharist service, meaning there will be two scripture readings, homily, and Prayers of the People followed by Holy Eucharist, with blessing & peace. 

You will not need a bulletin or your prayer book, but you are welcome to bring them. Please bring chairs for your family if possible.  If you are not able to make this week, no worries; the hope is that this service will continue for the near future.

If you have any questions please contact Fr. Tommy.

While Covid continues to limit how we visit the St. Matthew's campus for now, there are new ways you and your family can be present there during Lent. We invite you to be intentional about finding sacred space during this holy season for prayer and self-reflection. Here are a few ways to consider:

Sacred Space Pilgrimage: Have you missed being in the sanctuary? Here's a time to pray and meditate in that space during Lent: Beginning Thursday, February 25th; Thursday’s – 10 – 11:30 am and Saturday’s – 2 – 3:30 pm, Individuals and/or families are invited to take a Spiritual Pilgrimage of prayer and meditation to St. Matthew’s Sanctuary. Registration on Realm is encouraged due to Covid restrictions. You may drop in without registering if there are spaces available. Spaces in each time slot are limited to 10 individuals at a time, inclusive. There are 3 separate Realm registration events of 30 minutes each for each date, so choose the 30 minute slot which works for you and register for that time slot.

Stations of the Cross: An outdoor Stations of the Cross has been set up on the left side of the church for you to come and walk at your leisure. They are in the front parking lot area, so you can even stay in your car if you wish. If others are walking the stations when you are there, please maintain social distancing.

Sundays--Outside Live In-Person Service @ 4 pm. w/communion (weather permitting) Beginning Sunday, February 28th
Bring your own chair and join us for a Casual Outside & In-Person Service in the Garden area, located beside the undercroft. No electronics, not live-streamed.
**Weather Permitting. Registration on Realm is required due to Covid restrictions.


For information on Palm Sunday, Holy Week and Easter Services
Outreach During Lent
Many of you remember the successful collection we held in 2019 for CCG and we are excited to be able to support this important ministry in 2021.

Items needed for CCG:
  • Men’s XL socks (black or white)
  • 4 lb bags of sugar
  • Hot Cocoa Packets
  • Sandwich Cracker Packets
  • Water flavoring packets 

Donation Drop Offs at St. Matthew’s on Sundays February 14th through March 28th 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m.

Helpers needed! If you can assist in collecting items during these times please sign up for a date here https://www.signupgenius.com/go/4090F45ADAA28A13-stmatthews 

If you would like to order and have your items delivered you can send them to St. Matthew’s:
Outreach at St. Matthew's
1520 Oak Rd. Snellville, GA 30078
HAVE YOU DONATED?

2021 Hunger Walk/Run
is Going Virtual

Hunger Walk Registration is open!

Join the St. Matthew's Team and walk or run for the SE Gwinnett Co-Op on (or around)
Sunday, March 7th.

St. Matthew’s has a goal to raise $2,500 for the Southeast Gwinnett Co-Op through the Hunger Walk this year and the need is greater than ever! Even if you can’t join the virtual walk donations made through the link below are greatly appreciated.
Help us reach our goal!

Details for a small group, socially distanced park walk are in the works. Sign up for the team and you will be notified of team updates.
Warden’s Corner

Thank you to all who attended our first online annual meeting. There were lots of wonderful questions and comments and it was great to see all your smiling faces. Please join me in saying a big Thank You to our outgoing Vestry members: Amanda Livermont, Tina Staples, Bret Hurst, and John Byron. Your hard work and dedication were greatly appreciated.

As many of you have reached out about our financial situation this past week, we thought it would be a good topic for this week’s Warden’s Corner. As discussed at the meeting, the vestry passed a 2021 budget of $370,000 and our projected expenses are $367,456 leaving us with a positive cashflow of $2,544. Our goal was to set a modest budget in hopes that we would not have to make drastic changes to staff or programs. It takes a minimum of $30,000 each month to cover salaries and expenses, but that amount does not cover any repairs, programs, or ministries. Once we are back meeting in the sanctuary together, we hope that giving will be in the $40,000- $45,000 which would allow us to do so much more. The Vestry and finance committee will continue to monitor the budget each month and will look for ways to keep our finances on track.

So yes, this year will continue to be a challenging one due to Covid and we will have to take it one month at a time, but we do know there is light at the end of the tunnel and that we will all be back together once again. If you haven’t already done it, please prayerfully consider what changes you can make in your giving to St. Matthew’s.
Peace,
Becky 
New Vestry Members Elected 2/21/2021

Mindy Barringer, Jack Denton, Morgan Fletcher-DeVoss, Trisha Voiles
Thank You!

Many many thanks to those rolling off the vestry this year: John Byron, Bret Hurst, Amanda Livermont, and Tina Staples. Thank you for all your hard work and dedication in ministry on vestry the past three years!
THANK YOU, BROTHERHOOD
OF ST. ANDREW!

Many thanks to the "Boys In the 'Hood" for continuing the annual tradition of the Fish Fry following the Annual Parish Meeting last Sunday. Although we couldn't enjoy the fish and all the fixin's together in the parish hall, parishioners signed up on Realm and drove by to pick up dinners for their families after the meeting.

Funds raised by the event will help the Brotherhood continue their many projects that benefit the St. Matthew's family. Thank you, Brotherhood!!
Financial Giving in REALM

stmatthewssnellville.org/give or
Text Stmattsnell to 73256

Or, give through your Realm account by logging into Realm and choose Giving.

Or, 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 have trouble logging into Realm, please contact Susan Carson.

Please mail donations made by check to St. Matthew's, 1520 Oak Rd. Snellville, GA, 30078. DO NOT MAIL CASH.
Around St. Matt's
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)
Birthdays and Anniversaries
2/28 - 3/7

Birthdays: Marina Laborn, Oscar De Leon, Jeannette Johnson, Bette Starr Ulmer, Walker Bond

Anniversaries: Dallas & Lisa LeDuff
Marvelous Monday Walking Group

Join us Monday, March 1 at 8:00 a.m. for our Marvelous Monday Walking! We will be at Alexander Park for the month of February. The Walking Group meets every Monday at 8:00 a.m. for exercise and fellowship. All are welcome!

Alexander Park is located at 800 Old Snellville Hwy, Lawrenceville. Meet at the pavilion nearest Hwy 124. Please contact Fr. Tommy with any questions.
Questions ?

Fr. Tommy -- frtommy@stmatthewssnellville.org
Becky Olbon -- beckyolbon@yahoo.com
Mark DiGiovanni -- markdigiovanni@comcast.net
Chuck Marsh -- marsh.chuck@gmail.com
Realm Corner

Do we have your correct contact information
in Realm?
Is Your Photo In Realm?


We ask that you please take a moment to log into Realm and check your contact information to ensure that your records are up to date, and consider adding a photo to your account to help folks put a face to your name in the directory.

As always, if you have any questions or problems with logging into Realm or making needed changes, please contact Susan Carson. Thank you!
It's Pledge Time...


Scan and email the completed form to: mfallen0@gmail.com
or
Mail to: St. Matthew's 1520 Oak Rd. Snellville GA 30078

You can also Pledge Online on Realm
or
Drop off the form at drive-thru Communion each Sunday in Feb.


We trust God's promise to us: God will always be with us and sustain us.
We give out of all that God has given us, in gratitude for God's blessings
And out of love for God's people. We give to the Glory of God.

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St. Matthew's Episcopal Church | Ph 770-979-4210 | admin@stmatthewssnellville.org | www.itsthepeople.org