St. Paul Promise Neighborhood
By Blair Pogue

Last Spring St. Matthew's parishioners Birdie Carter, Terese Lewis, Cecelia Caspram, Paula Kringle, and I visited the St. Paul Promise Neighborhood (SPPN) as part of the High Commitment Discernment Team's efforts to explore potential ministry partners working in St. Matthew's communally-discerned "pockets of energy" (the social justice issues the people of St. Matthew's are most passionate about): education and mentoring, addressing the opportunity gap, lessening racial disparities and promoting racial reconciliation, systemic change, and working to eliminate homelessness. We were encouraged by what we saw and experienced, feeling that God is up to something important and exciting in the SPPN, something that will bring positive change to the lives of some of our youngest neighbors and their parents, both now and in the long run. We wanted to invite you, the people of St. Matthew's, to join us on a pilgrimage of the SPPN.

The SPPN is a 250-square-block area in the heart of St. Paul's historic Frogtown and Summit-University Neighborhood with about 20,000 residents. While a vibrant mix of races, ethnicities, and cultures, the neighborhood faces some steep challenges: children and families experience high rates of poverty, racial and academic disparities, highly mobile living situations, and homelessness.

The SPPN desires to put an end to multigenerational poverty, systemic racism, and poorly integrated systems, resources, and services. Its focus is on children's academic and social development, from birth through grade five, eventually leading to college and career readiness.

Supported by ten anchor partners and more than 80 other agencies along with elders, parents and youth, SPPN is a community-wide initiative. Anchor partners include the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation, the City of St. Paul, The Cultural Wellness Center, the Network for the Development of Children of African Descent, the Hmong American Partnership, the Saint Paul Public Schools, Ramsey County, Saint Paul College, and the YWCA of St. Paul. The three SPPN Partner Schools are Jackson Elementary, Maxfield Elementary, and St. Paul City School. Together with families the SPPN and its partners are working toward the following goals:
  • All children are prepared for kindergarten
  • All parents feel they have the power to influence their child's education and their neighborhood
  • All children meet or exceed the state's 3rd grade reading standards
  • All families have strong ties to the school community and with their neighbors
St. Matthew's will be going on a pilgrimage to the SPPN on Wednesday, December 2 from 11 am to 1 pm. Please rsvp to Blair Pogue at [email protected] by Tuesday, November 24 if you plan to go or have any questions. The pilgrimage begins at the St. Paul City School at 11 am, and there is plenty of street parking. If you want to carpool over to the SPPN, please be at St. Matthew's by 10:15 am.
Thanksgiving Day Service and Feast
  
A Thanksgiving Day service and celebration has become a tradition at St. Matthew's. We gather for the Eucharist at 10:30 am, followed by a festive holiday coffee hour, and Thanksgiving dinner at 12:00 pm. Lloyd Latty will preach during the service and The Rev. Dan Anderson will preside. A sign-up sheet for the dinner is on the table in the parish hall.

 
A Conversation with Rosa Uy and Marilyn Grantham....

How did the Thanksgiving Service begin at St. Matt's?  Blair's arrival played a big role.  She thought we should have a service on Thanksgiving which we hadn't done before.  A couple of churches in St. Anthony Park had a joint service a number of years ago but it wasn't on Thanksgiving.
And what about the dinner?  Several of us ... couples ... who had no children at home and no extended family in this area got in the habit of going out to a restaurant together.  We did that for a couple of years but then thought that it was pretty costly ... maybe we should just do a potluck at church and invite others who otherwise would be alone on Thanksgiving.  Rosa and Warren stepped in and offered to prepare the turkey(s), dressing, mashed potatoes and gravy and Warren bakes sheet pies, usually pumpkin and apple. So the rest of us bring veggies and salads and appetizers for coffee hour.
Tell us the story of inviting international students? In addition to inviting members of our congregation and international students, Rosa invites Chinese and Filipino friends that she knows.  In the past, we have hosted foreign students and their families from Iran, Greece, Mainland China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan.  Many of them were welcomed through the English Conversation classes held at St. Matthew's.
Marilyn, how did you become involved in organizing the event? The dinner sort of evolved and I volunteered to be the "organizer" in terms of getting information out and being the contact person, encouraging people to let us know if they plan to come and what they plan to bring, so we have some idea of how many likely will attend and what we'll have on the table ... but no one is turned away, even if they show up on T-day without letting us know.  The idea is "instant family" ... fellowship as well as food ... that has become another "St. Matthew's tradition." (If you would like to join them for the dinner, contact Marilyn.)  

November 22 Faith Forum: Digital Devices & Our Connections to Each Other

 What does it mean to pray in an age of fragmented attention? This Sunday's faith forum will engage how smartphones and other devices are reshaping relationships, community, family, and spirituality.

Dwight Zscheile will share some findings from MIT professor Sherry Turkle's latest book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age. Her research discovered a significant decline in empathy, the loss of capacity to have conversation, the eclipse of generative solitude, and other disturbing shifts among people in the past decade due to digital devices. While such devices connect us in new ways, they are also changing how we connect to one another. We will explore these findings and talk specifically about what all this means for our lives with God, as well as our parenting, relationships, and work. You can read more at Dwight's blog.

New Member Profiles

Claire Fromme grew up in rural Southern Illinois and came to Minnesota 10 years ago for college. After bopping around a bit after school, she moved back to Saint Paul and loves living here, even in the winter!  She likes reading fiction, seeing live music, vegetable gardening, and loves dogs.

She joined St. Matt's out of a desire to be in community with people who are asking serious questions about faith. While she was raised around Catholicism, this is her first experience as a member of a church and is excited to start learning more about what this step and this faith mean in the world.

Beatrice Nasike:
"I grew up in Eastern Uganda in the Tororo District. I am an Anglican Christian and I love to serve, following the example of Jesus Christ. I graduated from Makerere University in Uganda, with a bachelor's degree in Software Engineering.  I came to Minnesota in July 2015. I hope to enroll in computer science (graduate program), at the University of St. Thomas.

I was invited and introduced to St. Matthew's Episcopal church by Nancy Hall. I am joining St. Matthew's faith community because of the unity in Christ while honoring our differences, and the love that St. Matthew's shows to all members. I love cooking, gardening and listening to Christian music.



Marissa Schmitz:
Marissa recently returned to her native St. Paul after attending Humboldt State in northern California. She is now studying Forest Resources at UMN. She came to St. Matthew's hoping to continue the spiritual practice she began at a small Episcopal church in California, and is thankful for the warm welcome she's received. She enjoys outdoor recreation, lake swimming, and playing with her new dog, Ravi (he is a character). She looks forward to participating fully with St. Matthew's faith community. 
 
 
This framed photograph and quilt (above) are just 2 choices of the 10 raffle items.  You bid by allotting your tickets to the items you most want to win.

10 years of Blue House Boutiques... and 10 Fabulous Raffle Items! 

To celebrate this important 10-year milestone, you can choose from 10 wonderful hand-picked items donated to be in our Raffle of the Decade: from personal to practical... whether shopping for a new baby or an art connoisseur.  And you get to choose which items you want to use your tickets towards. Values range from $20 to $175, so 10 very happy winners will receive fabulous gifts at a fraction of their cost.  

Here's how it works:
1.  Buy your Raffle Tickets at the same low price: $2 each or 3 for $5
2.  Then the fun begins....
  • use all your tickets for that one item that's meant just for you,
  • allot your tickets to a few items in proportion to how much you want them, or
  • put your tickets towards all of the choices and increase your chances of winning more than one. Who knows how lucky you'll be?!

Whatever your strategy, we hope you'll have fun checking out all of your choices -- and, no matter the outcome, you are all winners in our minds!  See you at the Ticket Table!
For more information go to: www.hopemultipurpose.org

Faith + Learning Resources     
  • Dwight Zscheile recommends Sherry Turkle's new book, Reclaiming Conversation; The Power of Talk in a Digital Age.
  • Dr. Eric Baretto recommended a Ted Talk by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story in his faith forum discussion last Sunday. (a powerful story, but it is lengthy - 20 minutes).
  • Black Nativity, Penumbra Theatre's treasured holiday tradition, is returning December 3-20. And December 10th is Episcopal Night! If you attend the 12/10 performance, you'll receive 20% off your tickets by using the Promo Code: Episcopal. Contact the Penumbra Theatre or 651-224-3180.
Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • November 22: Faith Forum with Dwight Zscheile, 9:15am
  • November 22: Loaves and Fishes at the Dorothy Day Center, St. Paul
  • November 27: Thanksgiving service, 10:30am and feast at 12:00
  • November 29: First Sunday of Advent with special music and processional
  • November 30: Advent Taize Candlelight Service, 7:00pm
  • December 2: St. Paul Promise Neighborhood Pilgrimage, 11:00am
  • December 5-6: Blue House Boutique
  • December 6: Infant Mortality Report, with Michelle Chiezah, 4:00pm
 
Please share your news and photos with us: [email protected] 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons