St. Matthew’s Good News – 3/11/2022

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A Word From Father Tom

In recent sermons, we have investigated what it means to be a “baptized Christian”. When we are baptized into Christ, we become a part of the body of Christ, i.e., the Bride of Christ, the New Covenant People of God. The Scriptures tell us that when this happens we are given gifts by the Holy Spirit to be used to serve the “body” of members in Christ as we seek to live out the Gospel and Kingdom teachings of our Savior and Lord.
What are your spiritual gifts, and how might the Lord be calling you to serve among us? The starting place in using our spiritual gifts, of course, is not necessarily the involvement in our “organizational needs and functions” as a church, even though this is certainly an important part of using our gifts. Our starting place is realizing that because we are indwelt with the very Spirit of God, everywhere we find ourselves in the world, we have the chance to model, live, and even tell of the Good News of Jesus.
That said; serving the body specifically and certainly looks like something. We are so blessed as a smaller church to have as many people involved in our ministry as we do! Thank you to all! However, we have many people wearing many hats. As willing as they are to do this, as we begin to meet together again, we are starting to show some areas of need. Will you consider and pray about testing out if your gifts match in any of the areas below?

For Worship on Sundays in Rite I and Rite II:

  • Lectors (especially in Rite I)
  • People to run the soundboard, set up mics, and possibly do some basic video recording (both services)
  • Crucifer/Acolytes (especially Rite II)
  • Welcomers/Greeters (for near future – more to come on this – especially in Rite II service)
  • Singing voices to help lead portions of our sung worship in Rite II, and also for the future when we look to organize an Ensemble or Choir.
  • A Lay Worship Scheduler who assists Fr. Tom and our Office Administrator by organizing and communicating with our Lay Worship Assistants.

Other:

  • Anyone interested and gifted in computer/media/editing etc. to aid us in the uploading and maintenance of our social media presence.
  • Coffee Hour/Holiday Meal Planning/Organizing and Scheduling in these areas
  • Repair/Maintenance/Future building related to our campus and facilities
  • Outreach/Missions – our Outreach Committee or other potential callings in the community
  • Multiple other areas related to teaching, children’s ministry outreach/care, etc.
  • Where you might see a need to be addressed in our church that you think your gifts might fulfill.

How do we know what are Spiritual gifts are? The best way for us to discover this is to take the talents and interests we each have and TEST an area of need to see if it is a good fit for us. It is the place of the “equipping gifts” (Priests) and the rest of the body to aid one another in confirming the spiritual gifting that we have. Anything new takes time to learn and to get comfortable with, but if after time you feel out of place and “dragging” yourself to continue, we will understand! I as your priest (and we as your church family) want you to use your gifts where you can serve the Lord and others first of all, but also find a place where you can thrive spiritually in your service. Thus, as your priest, I would welcome the opportunity to be a sounding board or offer any advice I can as you seek to discover your Spiritual Gifts and where you might be a more connected part of your church family. Let us go into the world to love and serve Christ! Thanks be to God.

Father Tom

Upcoming Schedule
Holy Week

  • Palm Sunday, April 10th – One Service at 9:30 AM (meeting 10 minutes early outside and in front of the church for the Procession of the Palms – or in the Fireplace Hallway if the weather is inclement).
  • Maundy Thursday, April 14th – 6:00 PM
  • Good Friday, Stations of the Cross Service, April 15th – Noon
  • Good Friday Service, April 15th – 6:00 PM
  • Easter Vigil Service, Saturday, April 16th – 7:00 PM
  • Easter Sunday Service, April 17the – 10:00 AM

Sunday School Class – The Psalms (Eric Teoro, teaching)

The class regularly meets between worship services (9:00 to 9:45 a.m.) in Parish Hall. Come join us!

Documents of Interest

To Mask Or Not To Mask?

We are lifting the mask requirement in every facet of our ministry life, at this time (please pray that this becomes a permanent reality!). We welcome anyone who desires to wear a mask in smaller settings or during Mass to do so. We would also ask everyone to continue to stay aware of distancing (especially with those wearing a mask). If you are revealing strong symptoms related to COVID19 please stay home.