Word from Father Tom
In the New Year (2023), I am planning to run a “Confirmation/New Membership” class for those who are interested in considering the next important steps in their journey with Christ. When we are baptized in Christ, we become a part of the past, present, and future church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The visible expression of this unseen reality is our visible membership, commitment, and service to a local New Covenant Family, i.e., the church. Our commitment to our Triune God and to one another culminates in our committing to and serving with a local body of people who also have been baptized in His love.
I have decided to make this a “hybrid” membership-confirmation class due to my understanding of the needs of those who are currently attending our church. Since the COVID protocols have been lifted (largely, anyway), we have a lot of new faces worshipping with us. I am thrilled by this. I have also found that quite a few of our “resident worshippers” are neither members or confirmed. To be a member in the Episcopal Church, one needs to be baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ in a legitimate Christian tradition. To serve in some eucharistic, administrative, and leadership roles in the Episcopal church, members must also be “confirmed communicants in good standing”.
For some, this class may offer an exploratory opportunity. No one who takes the class is committing to being a member of St. Matthews or to being confirmed in the Episcopal-catholic tradition. That said, everyone who completes the class with a baptized faith in Christ will be eligible to be confirmed, but the class is first of all designed for new attendees with little exposure to an Episcopal-catholic background or understanding.
Either way, if you are interested in joining St. Matthew’s as a full member or are looking to be confirmed, please speak with me. Also, if you have not been baptized and would like to consider the claims of Jesus Christ and the path to baptism, please do not hesitate to communicate this to me as well.
May we all be drawn closer in our walk with the Lord through HIS ways, HIS sacraments, and HIS call for us to be a communal family.
Fr. Tom
OUTREACH ITEMS OF THE MONTH
As Christians, we are asked to feed the hungry. Here’s how you can help: In August, September, and October The Outreach Committee will collect and deliver food and nonfood items for the Home Sweet Home Mission, which feeds and shelters people in need. We are asking for regular-sized items for the Mission’s Bread for Life Food Coop, where the needy can shop, and large or even bulk-sized items for the Mission’s kitchen. Here’s HSH’s needs list:
FOOD: canned chicken; cooking oil; low sodium items, such as soups and veggies; canned pasta; jelly; boxed meals, such as Hamburger Helper; brown rice; bottled water; 100% juice; Glucerna
NONFOOD: toilet paper; paper towels; dish detergent; bleach or disinfectant; plain notebooks.
Thanks so much for your generosity. -The Outreach Committee