A Vestry Report on Generosity and Giving  
By Katie White, Senior Warden

By now you should have received a letter from Blair and me regarding this fall's Generosity Campaign. The Vestry continues to be blown away by the devotion of our staff to running our phenomenal congregation. While St. Matthew's has traditionally been a volunteer-run organization, our growing congregation means our staff is responsible for so much more. I am in awe of how well our staff operates on how little we give them.

The Vestry's 2015 budget, and our likely 2016 budget if we do not make requested improvements in programming and building needs, is $390,000. To include a 10% increase to cover anticipated building needs that are becoming readily apparent we will need to look at a $425,000 budget. Over the past two years the Vestry (along with remarkable professional insight from folks serving on our Building and Management teams) has seen several costly surprise repairs needed for the building. A building survey from last year revealed imminent needs -- including an $80,000 roof replacement. To meet these known needs and prevent emergency repairs, the Vestry is recommending a 10% increase in the budget towards building projects. For more information, take a look at the inserts in the letter mailed last week.

Like all spiritual practices, I find that the practice of generosity is most fulfilling when I make it an intentional, routine part of my life. My practice at St. Matthew's is reinforced every month through monthly Vestry meetings and monthly pledging. The timing of the Generosity Campaign coincides well with the GiveMN fall campaign. My husband and I are able to talk about the great things that St. Matthew's and our favorite non-profits are doing in the community, and plan our giving accordingly. We both look forward to this annual tradition as part of following the Way of Jesus.   

- Arun and Cecelia Caspram              
- Tina Maynor                                   
The Social Justice Ministry: An Update   
By Cecelia and Arun Caspram & Tina Maynor

All three of us joined the High Commitment Discernment Team (HCDT) earlier this year -- which felt like a pretty big leap and commitment. But we all felt strongly drawn to the process.

We did three things regularly over the months we worked together (with the rest of the HCDT): intentionally invited the Spirit into our process; explored new organizations and ministries, across the Twin Cities, that allowed us to understand better the lives of our neighbors on the margins (and those who are currently serving them); and reflected together afterwards.  Not only did we feel the Spirit move us as we worked together, we grew very close and unified as a group.

The HCDT process was transforming and inspirational for us, and we knew we wanted to share that experience with all of you. That was a big part of our motivation, as we decided to accept Blair's invitation to lead the St. Matthew's Social Justice Ministry.
  • We think this means creating shorter (but still deep) experiences where we prepare, engage, and reflect together.  We already tried this new model once this year - for Project Home, where we prepared with deep listening training, engaged in serving our homeless neighbors, and gathered to reflect together afterward - and many participants felt a powerful change from previous years.  We are planning several more opportunities like this, for the next few months. We hope you can participate!
  • We believe that abstract concepts like "love your neighbor" become more concrete when we have face-to-face, meaningful experiences with our neighbors. As some of our parishioners who went to Southside Abbey in Chattanooga, Tennessee (as part of the Episcopal Church in MN trip) were so inspired, we would like for us all to feel the same impact and inspiration right here in St. Paul and Minneapolis.
  • We believe that thoughtfully creating opportunities for us all to prepare, engage, and reflect in our social justice ministries will bring us deeper into our faith and help us all to deepen our relationship with Jesus - as individuals and as a community.
  • One other important thing: beyond any social justice ministries we do as a church community, we believe that our (and your) primary ministries are in our daily life and work. We want to recognize and celebrate this, as well as find small ways to "fill up our tanks" so we can all continue our important daily work.
We are contemplating holding regular gatherings, likely over dinner, where we can share our work, family, and other experiences serving others - and support each other in that work. We are really looking forward to the sharing, connections, and fellowship that will surely result from those gatherings. We also hope they will be fun and a great opportunity to strengthen our relationships with each other!  Read More Here 
Adult Faith Forum: Women of Prayer, October 4  

Parishioner Shannon Livingston-Harris is hosting the October 4 faith forum session in the library at 9:15am and has invited Melissa Borgmann-Kiemde to share her work with the Visitation Sisters and what she and others do there in the capacity of spiritual companionship.

Melissa is a Companion to the Visitation Sisters of Minneapolis, a monastic order of women religious in the heart of the city. Her career in public education has taken her beyond the classroom to work in critical, artistic and spiritual literacies with learners of all ages. She writes contemplatively for the Visitation Community, and manages their social media; in short, she "blogs for nuns." Her role as a Vocation Partner with the Visitation Sisters has lead to further studies and training in spiritual direction. She co-leads the Following the Spirit and Women of Prayer discernment series with S. Katherine Mullin and Rev. Karen Wight Hoogheem; and facilitates a monthly spiritual direction/ companioning group at St. Jane House in north Minneapolis. Melissa is happily married to Francois, a bread baker from Burkina Faso, West Africa, and they are the proud parents of Marguerite and Gabby

October Faith Forum Schedule 

9:15-10:15 in the St. Matthew's Library -- All Are Welcome! 
  • October 4: Serving as a Companion to the Visitation Sisters in North Minneapolis and Discernment with Melissa Borgmann-Kiemde
  • October 11: Infant Mortality in Minnesota with Michelle Chiezah
  • October 18: Dr. Karen McKinney, Bethel University - Racism & Racial Reconciliation
  • October 25: Dr. Karen McKinney, Bethel University - Racism & Racial Reconciliation
 -- Does your bookshelf at home look like this??                                            

The Used Book Sale is Coming...
Keep saving those books you have read and would like to donate!  The sale will take place Saturday, October 10,  9:00am - 3:00pm and Sunday, Oct. 11, from 9:00am - 1:00pm under the direction of Elizabeth VanderSchaaf.  This important fundraiser helps to stock our library with up to date materials and equipment.  Here is how you can help make this a success:
  • Volunteers are needed on Friday afternoon and evening to set up, sort books, and prepare for the sale.
  • Volunteers can also assist during the sale hours on Saturday and Sunday, plus the important task of clean up on Sunday afternoon. 
  • Please bring in your donations the week before the sale (including fiction, non-fiction, children's books,  DVD's and CD's (no VHS tapes, please), cookbooks, learning toys and puzzles)
  • Place them on the long bench near the coat rack in the back hallway, adjacent to the kitchen.

For more information or to volunteer, please contact Elizabeth at elzvds@msn.com
City Tips: How to Navigate our new online resource  
  • Are you on The City?  There are several ways to do this -  put your email on a sign up sheet located in the parish hall and we will send you an invitation.  Individual help is also available after the services.
  • City Tip: "Giving:" The Giving option on The City gives you tools to enter and manage your financial donations to St. Matthew's.  Use the Giving tab to make an online donation.  The My Giving tab provides you the ability to enter a recurring monthly pledge.  You can also create and view your own giving statement.  Once you make a donation, it's reflected on both your bank account and the church's.  The length of time this takes depends on which payment method you use.  A debit transaction should happen immediately, while a checking transaction may take a few days to process.
Faith + Learning Resources     
  • Do you have a book, event, opportunity or other resource to share?  Send them to tidings@stmatthewsmn.org
  • An important book on generosity is The Paradox of Generosity - Giving We Receive, Grasping We Lose  by Christian Smith and Hilary Davidson --recommended by Luther Seminary's Stewardship Center. They have many online resources on this topic.
  • Visit our St. Matthew's website, with parishioner reflections on generosity by Gary Johnson, Mary Griffin and Barrett Fisher, and our Pledging and Generosity page with FAQ's about pledging and a video.
Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • October 4: Adult Faith Forum with Melissa Borgmann-Kiemde, 9:15am
  • October 4: Blessing of the Animals in College Park, 4:00pm
  • October 4: Rodney King at Penumbra Theater, 2:00pm
  • October 10-11: Used Book Sale to benefit St. Matthew's library
  • October 18: 60th Wedding Anniversary Celebration for Keith & Iris Ringold at the 10:30am service and afterward in the parish hall.
  • Oct 18 & 25: New Member Class: A two session class for anyone interested in officially joining the St. Matthew's faith community - from noon - 1:30 in the church Library.
  • October 25: Commitment Sunday: Dedication of pledges and luncheon.
 
Please share your news and photos with us: tidings@stmatthewsmn.org 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons