An Ordination Celebration! 

 

The Episcopal Church in Minnesota ordained 33 individuals last week, including our own Lisa Wiens Heinsohn (as a deacon) and Reed Carlson (to the priesthood).  Over 20 parishioners attended the service at the Breck School. It was a celebratory, joyful day..... The festivities continued on Sunday, June 21 with a potluck following the 9:30am service.  Congratulations to Lisa and Reed!

 

   
   
   
   
Sunday Evening Ministry  

 

Lisa Wiens Heinsohn writes: "This summer, the Sunday Evening ministry is experimenting with doing outside-the-box kinds of worship and community building. So far, Luis Mendoza and Shannon Livingston-Harris went to Tennessee to visit an Episcopal faith community of homeless people who meet in an art gallery; Jeff Kidder led worship in his yard at Crossroads Community in Frogtown; Lisa Wiens Heinsohn hosted a potluck and eucharist at her home to hear about Luis and Shannon's trip; Arun Caspram hosted a Bible study at Groundswell Cafe in St. Paul; a small group has committed to eight weeks of daily prayer and checking in / supporting one another; and others are planning to lead evening prayer, host social gatherings at their homes, and explore what is going on in the neighborhood.

 

We are trying to discover what it means to be an "agile church"-- to give ourselves opportunities to learn, lead, try new things, and above all, to discover where God's Spirit is most actively leading us to engage our neighbors outside the walls of our building."
 
The Wednesday Eucharist + Lunch Group   
 
The Wednesday Noon Holy Eucharist and Lunch Group celebrated the birthdays last week of parishioners Marilyn Grantham and Rosa Uy.  Shown here from the left: Rich Stiefel, Bob Hardman, Cindy Land, Dick Hotchkiss, Grace Evans, Marilyn Grantham, Blair Pogue, Rosa Uy, June Sherren, Susan Hardman, Karen Gerst and Ray Gerst.

This group meets every Wednesday at noon for eucharist in the side chapel and lunch afterward in the parish hall.  All are welcome! 
Project Home is Coming...
 
On August 1, St. Matthew's will once again become a temporary shelter for families experiencing homelessness. We'll work together with neighborhood churches to be companions to these families, listening to their stories, playing games or reading books with children and taking them to the park to play, helping parents with job searches and other needs. Our church is one of 24 St. Paul area faith communities that offer evening and overnight space for these families. 
 
If you would like to volunteer for this important work, please visit our website and sign up online or use the sign up sheets located in the parish hall.  For more information, talk with Elaine Tarone or Janet Murphy.
HCDT Update
St. Matthew's High Commitment Discernment Team met on June 17 to discern and work on a plan for inviting the people of St. Matthew's into a year of learning, pilgrimage, and reflection as we wonder about how God might be inviting our faith community to be in deeper relationship with neighbors experiencing poverty, homelessness, and racism. 

In a nutshell, the Holy Spirit continued to move our group to a common vision in which every pilgrimage and current social justice ministry commitment would be experienced as part of a three part process: preparation, pilgrimage/action, and reflection. We believe that God is calling us to be more intentional in going out into the Cities as a community of faith, as well as in deepening the preparation and reflection around our current outreach commitments (Loaves and Fishes, Project Home, and the Blue House).  

To this end, we are currently in the process of setting up a series of pilgrimages to places like the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood, Redeemer Luther Church, and the streets of Minneapolis (led by a homeless guide), in which the people of St. Matthew's and anyone who wants to join us can see and experience what God is up to in the lives of neighbors experiencing multiple challenges, as well as the people who work with them. In the St. Paul Promise neighborhood we will visit three schools working with some of the poorest children in St. Paul and their parents. At Redeemer Lutheran Church we will see how a congregation and its pastor have "adopted" the wider neighborhood as their "church." Through City House, a nonprofit that does spiritual direction with homeless men and women on the streets of Minneapolis and St. Paul (and understands what they do as a two-way spiritual learning experience), we will explore the streets of Minneapolis through the eyes of a homeless man or woman. Each of these pilgrimages will include a period of preparation and learning, a period of immersion (pilgrimage), and a period of theological reflection following the immersion experience.  
Preparation for each pilgrimage will include not only an overview of what the group will be seeing and experiencing, but also Faith Forums and trainings focusing on deep listening to and with neighbors who are homeless, understanding and working with men, women, and children who have experienced trauma, racism, and reconciliation. 

Please keep your eyes and ears posted for more information about these training and pilgrimages in the days ahead. And if you haven't yet read Reconciling All Things: A Christian Visiton for Justice, Peace, and Healing, I strongly encourage you to do so. As the authors Emmanuel Katongole and Chris Rice point out multiple times, the journey towards reconciliation and healing is slow, involves a long, ongoing journey or pilgrimage, includes relocation (being close to the location or source of pain so you can be in relationships with those who are struggling), and confession, meaning realizing our part in the suffering of others, and acknowledging that we, too, are broken and in need of God's healing. 

With gratitude for what God is up to at St. Matthew's, and the dedicated work and enthusiasm of the High Commitment Discernment Team, 
Blair
Beatrice Garubanda  
     Dec. 24, 1955 - Sept. 19, 2005                     
You are invited to the
AFRICAN DINNER GALA 
By Karen Lilley

 

Commemorate Beatrice Garubanda's legacy, 10 years after her passing.

 

Beatrice was a member of this parish when she saw orphans in desperate need in her home village in Uganda, and she established the Blue House for girls, with the help of friends, including many here at St. Matthew's.

 

Celebrate a decade of making Beatrice's vision a reality. Support her dream of empowering girls through education, to give them HOPE.  

 

Saturday, September 19, 2015

6:00 pm - 9:00 pm

North Star Ballroom

University of Minnesota, St. Paul Student Center

2017 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108

$45 Early bird rate, before August 29.

See Blue-House.org for how to buy tickets and more info.

To volunteer, offer auction items or ask questions, call 651-644-3927.

 

A benefit for the girls of the Blue House orphanage in Uganda, with roots at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. 

 

You are also invited to remember Beatrice as part of the St. Matthew's Day observance the next day at our Sunday service, September 20, at 10:30 am. The observance will include music and prayers from Uganda, followed by coffee hour, fellowship, and memories.
Faith + Learning Resources

 

This section offers faith and learning opportunities at St. Matthew's and in the wider community.  If you have a class, book, event, volunteer oppportunity or anything faith-related to share, please send it to Tidings.

  • Martha Hotchkiss and June Sherren invite you to join them for Morning Prayer at 9:30am Friday mornings this summer, in Langford Park, under God's bright sky. We meet at a picnic table on the southeastern edge of the park, near the bandstand. If it drizzles, we'll use the bandstand for shelter; in the event of a downpour, we'll call it off. Details: Morning Prayer, outdoors. Fridays, 9:30 a.m. Langford Park, SE side near the bandstand. We welcome all who would like to join us!
  • Resting in God: Centering Prayer at St. Matthew's meets each Saturday in the library (or the chapel) at 9:00 a.m. Centering Prayer is a wonderful opportunity to sit quietly and allow God to speak to you. We begin with a psalm, sit in meditative silence and conclude with the Lord's Prayer. For more information, please speak to Marilyn Grantham (651-644-5422) or Pat Haga (612-331-7640). We maintain an email distribution list to notify everyone should either of us not be available to arrive and unlock the church by 9:00a.m.
  • Here are a few Online Faith Resources you may be interested in: On Being is a public radio show and podcast exploring faith from a variety of angles, with episodes such as How to be Spiritually Bold with Simone Campbell, The Wisdom of Tenderness with Jean Vanier and The Art of Stillness with Pico Iyer.  Vibrant Faith at Home is a website offering spiritual practices, especially for families with children and youth.Luther Seminary's website features Enter the Bible, with a wealth of bible-related resources. Richard Rohr's Center for Action & Contemplation provides a free, daily meditation delivered to your email inbox.
Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • June 28: Faith Forum: Reconciliation Class in the library, 11:00am
  • July 5: The Rev. Toua Vang, preaching at 9:30am
  • July 12: The Rev. Andy Barnett preaching at 9:30am
  • August 1: Project Home begins at St. Matthew's
  • August 8: Novel Faith, Frederich Buechner's Godric, 6:30pm
  • September 19: African Dinner Gala at the Northstar Ballroom, U of M campus


Please share your news and photos with us: tidings@stmatthewsmn.org 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons