Information

BAPTISM

“Holy Baptisim is full initiation by water and the Holy Spirit into Christ’s Body the Church.  The bond which God establishes in Baptism is indissoluble.”  (Book of Common Prayer, p, 298) 

At St. Matthew’s, Baptisms take place in the midst of the 10:00 service on several specific dates during the year.  An evening of preparation and a rehearsal are required for the parents and godparents of the children being baptized, or the adult baptizands themselves.  If you desire baptism for yourself or your child, please contact the Rector or the Director of Christian Education.

CHILDREN'S CHAPEL

Although a nursery, activity rooms and Children’s Chapel are available each week for infants through 2nd grade age children, children of all ages are always welcome in church with their families. Conversely, parents are always welcome in Children’s Chapel, and the activity rooms. One of the many strengths of St. Matthew’s is the appreciation of children in our worshipping community.

ENDOWMENT FUND

Please consider the Endowment Fund as a recipient of your resources to continue the live and programs of St. Matthew's Episcopal Church.  You may make a contribution or a bequest.  You may wish to make your gift "in honor of" or "in memory of" an individual, or "in celebration" of an event.  Click here for more information. You can also contact our Accountant or the Rector.

Each year, from late fall to late spring, classes are held for adults who wish to be baptized, confirmed, received into the Episcopal Church, or to make a re-affirmation of faith at the time of the Bishop's visitation. Episcopal heritage is explored, of course, but the central emphasis of the classes is the shared spiritual journey and finding together what it means to live as baptized persons in today's world. If you are interested in joining The Journey, please contact the clergy.

2002 Class

         

Our Chapel

Stained Glass Windows in Chapel

Classes are held for Senior High School students who wish to be baptized, confirmed, or received into the Episcopal Church at the time of the Bishop’s visitation. The class is an exploration of the Christian faith and the Episcopal tradition in the context of today’s youth culture and includes a retreat before the Bishop’s visit. If you are interested in joining the Journey in Faith class, please contact the clergy.

2002 Class

Anyone who is an Episcopalian may become a member of this parish when we receive a Letter of Transfer from a previous parish. If the person has been confirmed, he or she will become a Confirmed Communicant of the parish. If the person is baptized, but not confirmed, he or she will become a Baptized Member of the parish.

Anyone who is baptized, but a member of another Christian body, may become a Baptized Member of the Episcopal Church by stating his or her desire to become such a member and by giving us some assurance of having been baptized. This may be done by a letter of commendation from another church or by some evidence of having been baptized.

All persons who become Baptized Members of the Church are encouraged to become a part of one of our Journey Classes which leads to Confirmation. A person then becomes a Confirmed Communicant of the Church.

Guidelines for memorial flower donations were recently revised by the Flower Guild. As always, flowers are given each Sunday to the Glory of God and in memory of loved ones, in celebration for appropriate occasions such as special anniversaries, graduations or births and in honor of anyone deserving special recognition. Donors are asked to make a $30.00 tax-deductible contribution which is used for flowers and will now also be used to enhance and beautify our worship service in other ways such as special music.

Those who are not currently on the flower donation list but wish to pay tribute to loved ones in this way should contact the office.

Every effort is made to accommodate requests for specific dates. However if there are large numbers of requests for a specific date, an alternate date may be assigned. A notice including the date, the names of the honorees, and invoice information is mailed to the donor at the end of the month prior to the assigned date. If this date is not satisfactory, an alternate date may be arranged by contacting the Flower Chairperson.

Multiple names may be listed at no additional cost. However those with the same last name will now be listed as a group (e.g., The Smith, John and Elizabeth, Paul and Sara).

Please note that the variety of flowers used is at the discretion of the Flower Guild in keeping with the season and the liturgical calendar. Flowers used in Saturday weddings will remain for Sunday’s worship.

Behind the sanctuary is a beautiful memorial garden that contains the ashes of the loved ones of our parish. Click here for a listing of those whose ashes are interred in our memorial garden. Click here for to read the Memorial Garden brochure (PDF file)

PASTORAL CARE

In case of an Emergency, please call the parish office (895-3485). During office hours, the staff will know how to locate the clergy immediately. After hours, please leave a message detailing the situation on the answering machine, and then press 8 (as the machine will instruct you). This will activate a beeper that one of us always carries.

If it is not an emergency, but you or someone you know needs a visit from one of the clergy, we would really like to know. Please don’t presume that we do know. Call the office and tell us! Thank you!

AS A NEWCOMER, YOU MAY NEED TO TAKE A WHILE TO GET TO KNOW US, TO WRESTLE WITH THIS THING CALLED CHRISTIAN FAITH, TO STUDY THIS ENTITY CALLED THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH.  Please take all the time you need.  Part of our calling is to be open to all people, at whatever point in their spiritual journeys they may find themselves. 

I'M TIRED OF CHURCHES ALWAYS ASKING FOR MONEY!   Well, yes.  At St. Matthew's, we believe that the very first thing we should ask is NOT "what can you give us?" but "What do YOU need?"  And we do want to know – and to respond. 

If and when the time comes that you want to make a commitment to Christ in this particular parish, we will ask you to think about STEWARDSHIP.  Christians believe that everything we have comes from God: our money, our time, our skills, our very lives.  So the Christian life is a life of stewardship as we endeavor to discern what God would have us do with the gifts we are given.  Christian commitment involves the discipline of stewardship of time, talent and treasure. 

          You are welcome here in the name of Christ.

If you are considering marriage at St. Matthew's, please contact the clergy as early as possible to discuss the policies and arrange for the required preparation sessions. Click here for a copy of your wedding policy (PDF format).