Christian Formation This Fall
By Terese Lewis 
 
On Sunday, September 13, all ages will gather in the parish hall for a celebratory breakfast and an opportunity to share how we met God over the summer, what we've learned, and where we've felt most alive.  Then, children will be invited to participate in an art activity while adults and youth (13+) learn how to make deeper connections at St. Matthew's using The City as a communications tool.  

Christian formation classes for all ages will begin the following Sunday, September 20 from 9:15 to 10:15am.  In the children's and youth program, our focus this year will be on the Christian practice of story, inspired by the congregation's exploration of God's Five-Act Play last spring.  In each classroom on Sunday mornings, we'll immerse ourselves in the stories of God, discover how they've shaped us as God's people, and find out where we belong in the story.  

Godly Play (Pre-K-K/1): Based in Montessori methods, Godly Play creates sacred space in the classroom, fostering children's innate spirituality as children learn the stories of God's people, wonder together and respond through creative activities.  Godly Play engages the whole child - hands, heart, mind, senses, and imagination: Read More Here  

"God's Story, Our Story" Workshops (Grades 2-5): We're continuing the experiment we began last year with three arts-based workshops where students will explore God's big story and discover how our stories connect.  Three mixed-age workshops will focus on Art, Drama, and LEGO modeling.

Echo the Story (Grades 6-8): Students will explore twelve key stories, from creation to the formation of the church, entering into each story imaginatively-making observations, drawing, writing, and discussing. Then, they'll get hands-on with the stories, re-telling them in their own voices through creative projects using digital storytelling techniques, music, animation, and other art forms. Read More Here.

J2A - Journey to Adulthood (Grades 9-10): As they continue to journey together toward adulthood, our J2A'ers will study We Make the Road by Walking by Brian McLaren, a lively and accessible exploration of the biblical narrative aimed at reorienting us toward aliveness in God: Here is a quick link about the book.  We encourage you to read along by joining one of the groups reading the McLaren book together beginning in September, or read it on your own and connect with other readers through The City.  Read here for information about J2A.

Dragonsporks (11-12): Our J2A alumni will continue to meet in the atrium for discussion and board games.  Stop by for a game and some conversation and find out how God is at work in the lives of our young adults.     

Can you give one hour a month to the kids of St. Matthews's?  Our dedicated teaching teams need support, and opportunities to help are available at every age level.  For more information about enrollment, volunteering, or programs, please contact me: [email protected] or 651-487-6404, or look me up on The City!   
Notes On Being Married for 40 Years - with Dan & Jane White 

This year we are very fortunate to be celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary on August 29.  Blair has asked us to share some thoughts about our life together.

It really helps if you marry someone who challenges you to be your best self.  Someone who does not put up with pretentious or overbearing behavior.  Someone who expects you to do your best in all we try, knowing that God does not call us to be successful, He calls us to be faithful.

Short of love, only respect really matters.  Maybe humor too.  We believe that respect for ourselves and one another is the best tool for getting through day after day with each other, probably more than love.  Love is the special attraction and recognition of the unique, respect is the foundation of our partnership.

Over the years we have learned more about fighting.  At first if we had a fight we were afraid the other would overwhelm us and crush something important, now we are more likely to know that nothing is that important and that we can work it out anyway.  It's still a struggle!

We have been incredibly blessed to have received the gifts of family, friendship and home and it is sometimes easy to forget that we did not do it all by ourselves.  Occasionally we have to remind ourselves that God has walked with us and has given us so much and shielded us from what might have been.

We hope our children can build on what we have done.  They know that they are loved by us and by others and that they are called to love others.  We pray they build an ever stronger foundation for their children.

Dan and Jane White 
Men's Retreat: Oct 11-12
By Jack Rarick

Men, come to Eagle country in Southern MN to learn how to rest and soar like Eagles!  The annual St. Matthew's Men's Retreat is scheduled for September 11 and 12, 2015 at Villa Maria Retreat Center in Frontenac MN, just south of Red Wing.
We will be gathering at the Retreat Center after 3:00 pm Friday and the retreat will run through Saturday dinner.  Three meals will be served on Saturday, but Friday you should plan to stop for dinner on the way.  We will share light snacks and other refreshments (BYOB) on Friday evening during the social hour.  

Accommodations are for single rooms with communal bath rooms.  Carpooling will be available.  Please contact Ray Gerst if you wish to carpool.  The cost for the retreat is $100 with partial scholarships available as needed.  Registration will open in July and a sign-up sheet will be available at St. Matthew's.  We hope to be joined by men from Gethsemane Church where Phil Boelter is now Vicar.  There will be opportunities for dwelling in the word, worship, Eucharist, group discussion, socializing, contemplation, resting and recreating.  A more specific agenda is in progress and will come in a later e-mail.  Please return your registration and check to St. Matthew's by August 30, 2015  Contact Jack Rarick or 651-356-9570 with any questions or concerns.
Elaine Tarone at Project Home
Update on Project Home at St. Matthew's in 2015     
By Elaine Tarone

Karen Pfeifle remembers taking 'Precious' and her siblings to the Park in the first Project Home hosted by St. Matthew's in 2001; this year, we continue to offer hospitality and build relationships with homeless families residing in St. Matthews' classrooms and Undercroft space. We have learned a lot since 2001. Whether signed up or not, St. Matthews' volunteers continue to stop by on a regular basis to check in and interact with the children and their parents. Our guests more and more seem to be an extension of the St Matthews community. Our choice to house families in classrooms with doors that close has enabled a calmer atmosphere for the children (stories at bedtime!) and deeper sharing with adults.
Here is a snapshot of life in Project Home this August:
  • A dad is working two jobs but can't find a 3 BR rental he can afford; a deaf mom who's a recent M.A. from Gallaudet can't find work; a grandmother laid off from her job struggles to do online homework (to become a medical assistant) during nights in a shelter full of children
  • Some volunteers help with the children - child volunteers read to child guests, there's a pickup football game with jovial voice-over by announcer Lloyd Latty, volunteers and guests of varied ages line up to take turns jumping rope, art is created and displayed on the wall of the undercroft, there's a hilarious game of charades by children and adults, and Valerie Matthews demonstrates how she wisely shapes preschoolers' behavior.
  • There have been at least two multiple-hour conversations between a mom and a volunteer, a discovery that a volunteer and a mom are taking essentially the same nursing course, and an introduction to the chapel space for guests who want to sit quietly and pray in the midst of very stressful circumstances.
  • We learn we are all connected in unexpected ways: one of our guest children will enter Murray Middle School this Fall as a sixth grader; a guest's brother is a pastor who once took a course at Luther Northwestern; and the bus driver personally knows several people in our congregation.
  • And though two families moved into a rental after the first week of August, and another moved into theirs this week, overall, the search for affordable housing drags on; parents nightly search the Internet for seemingly nonexistent low-cost rentals.   (If you know of any 2BR or 3BR rentals in your neighborhood going for less than $1K, please let us know.)
In 2001, because of 9/11, we did not debrief Project Home.  This year, all PH volunteers are invited to gather in the parish hall on Sept. 2 from 6:30-8:30 to meet with spiritual advisors from City House to process our work with these families: Where did we see God working in Project Home in 2015? What did we learn? Where to go from here?

An additional, very important volunteer opportunity is Tuesday September 1st -- we need people to help with the moveout, cleanup, and setup of Education Hour spaces any time between 7:30am and 1:00pm
 

3rd Spiritual Listening Session
- Presenter Lorilee Petrangelo
 
 
Spiritual directors from City House will join us at St. Matthew's on Wednesday, September 2 from 6:30-8:30 for a final wrap-up session in which we  will have an opportunity to reflect on our experiences of working with homeless neighbors during Project Home and what we learned, where we met God, and where we felt the Holy Spirit moving.
Hopefully, volunteers from St. Matthew's as well as the participating neighborhood churches will be able to join us.

We will also have a chance to reflect on any application of the "deep listening" learnings we talked about prior to Project Home.  All are welcome to attend this important session. 

Shadow Visitors: Indonesian Puppet Show       
By Lars Christensen

Many parishioners know that I play traditional Indonesian music, called gamelan, in the Twin Cities-based music and dance group Sumunar. On September 4-6 at the Como Dockside Pavilion, we are teaming up with Green T Productions to produce an original Javanese-style shadow puppet show (wayang) about Minnesota, entitled "Shadow Visitors: A Minnesota Adventure." The performances begin at 8 pm, when it is dark enough outside to cast shadows, and will last about ninety minutes (as opposed to the all-night performances in Java). Tickets (available at the gate) are $10 for adults, $8 for students 12 and above, $5 for children 5-11, and free for children under 5. More information is available at Sumuna Indonesian Gamelan & Dance. 
Faith + Learning Resources
 
This section offers faith and learning opportunities at St. Matthew's and in the wider community.  If you have a resource to share, please send it to Tidings. 
  • Blair Pogue recommends 2 books on marriage that she frequently recommends to new couples, although they are important resources at any age!  Grentz and Glover, The Marriage Journey unpacks the Episcopal marriage service, including the vows, and explores marriage as "sacramental" and
    John M. Gottman, PH.D., The Seven Principles for Making Marriage Work -- based on LOTS of research and  recommended by several marriage therapists.
  • An informal evening worship service - "Music+Meditation" is planned for August 31 at 7:00pm. Music will be offered by Marc Landeweer and others.  All are welcome.
  • Minnesota Healing of Memories: Thursday, September 17th at 7:00pm, Father Michael Lapsley will speak at Augsburg College.  He is director of the Institute for Healing of Memories. Previously he worked at the Trauma Center for Victims of Violence and Torture in Cape Town, South Africa, which assisted the Commission for Truth and Reconciliation headed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In April 1990, he received a letter bomb that blew off both of his hands, destroying one eye and burning him severely. His new book is called Redeeming the Past: My Journey from Freedom Fighter to Healer.  Place: Augsburg College Oren Gateway Center, 610 22nd Avenue South, Minneapolis.
Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • August 31: Music and Meditation, informal evening worship, 7:00pm
  • September 1: Project Home Clean Up and Move Out, 7:30am - 1:00pm
  • September 2: 3rd Spiritual Listening Session with City House, 6:30pm
  • September 11-12: Men's Retreat at Villa Maria, Frontenac, MN
  • September 13: Return to 2 Services at 10:30am and 5:30pm
  • September 13: 9:00am - All Ages Celebration: Breakfast, Faith Sharing, introduction to "The City" including individual assistance with laptops.  Art Show Opening at 12:00pm
  • September 19: African Dinner Gala to support the Blue House
  • September 20: Christian Formation classes for all ages begins, 9:15am


Please share your news and photos with us: 
[email protected] 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons