Who We Are

Welcoming All, Growing in God, Serving Our Neighbor

WHAT WE SEEK TO BE

The world today (and even some churches) categorizes people in exclusionary ways rather than seeing the full dignity and worth in every human being. We believe that everyone needs a secure and loving home, a place to be connected with God and others in meaningful relationships, be they in or out of church. The Episcopal Church of Saint Matthew is devoted to being a home for anyone who wants to explore or grow in the ways of Jesus Christ. We seek to be an assembly of people who are fully devoted to serving God; a people who are grounded, loving, welcoming, respectful and affirming; forever seeking to grow in the ways of Jesus in everything we do.

WHAT WE ARE ABOUT

We at St. Matthew’s have the deepest reverance for both the ancient and the new. What we do is often based on ancient patterns of worship and music, but all of it is directed to our being a presence in the world that completely relevant to today’s culture and most pressing needs. We are with God’s help, an inclusive people of God, reverent in our worship, radical in our hospitality, and devoted to growing in the Spirit of Jesus, to boldly yet humbly love and serve our neighbors.

WHAT WE ARE AGAINST

Our list is short but important to share. We oppose claiming to have all the answers, violating the dignity of any human being, prejudice for any reason, indifference to injustice and suffering, superficial answers to life’s hard questions and faith without works.

WHAT WE VALUE

Being Loving: To be a reconciling force for good in the world, a builder of people’s relationships with God and each other. Seeking the highest good for everyone.
Being Grounded: To live in God’s presence, allowing and receiving God’s guidance, ever centered on and trusting God as our source and foundation. Receiving both grace and truth.
Being Stewards: To be responsible, to wisely use what God has entrusted to us: our abilities, our material goods, and the precious natural resources of the Earth.
Being Respectful: To understand the sacred origin of people, holding them in reverence as brothers and sisters, always following the example of Jesus, rejecting the tempatation to label or judge.
Always Welcoming: To gladly and warmly embrace every seeker sentering our Parish as an honored guest and valued new friend and to invite the ministerial gifts of guests and members.
Always Growing: To grow in our capacities for service, collectively and individually. To be intentionalabout growing in our relationship with God, our understanding of God’s ways, and how we are each called to serve.
Ever Serving: For us, the fruit of love is service. Being an instrument of God’s love requires extending ourselves for the good of others. We delight in knowing only God can count the life-enhancing fruit to be harvested from the seeds we plant with God’s help.