Zimbabwe Liturgy Begins this Sunday
Every year during Epiphany, St. Matthew's features global liturgies (a different country every year) to honor and celebrate our worldwide faith community.
Beginning Sunday, January 10, we will offer a Zimbabwe liturgy, using prayers and songs from Zimbabwe at our 10:30am service and continuing on January 17, 24 and 31. To celebrate and learn more about this nation, please come to our all ages gathering at 9:15am January 10 to hear a presentation on culture and history by St. Matthew's parishioners Kennedy Nyenya and Edward Chidothe.  Following the service, stay for a fantastic lunch with food from Zimbabwe.   

- Kunashe, Kennedy & Winnie                
5 Questions for Kennedy Nyenya 
Tell us a little bit about your experience growing up in Zimbabwe - especially  memories of your formative years in your family's church.  I am the second oldest sibling, with one brother and two sisters.  My brother and I started serving in St. Martin's Anglican Church, Hatfield, Harare, Zimbabwe as one of the acolytes when I was 9 years old.  My brother and my two sisters were active members of the St. Martin's Anglican Church Youth Group, when we were teenagers.  My dad is a former  St. Martin's Anglican Church warden, while my mother is a former  St. Martin's Anglican Church Chairperson of the Mothers' Union. They were both involved in the Church choir for many years.  My dad was a deacon in the Anglican Cathedral for many years.   My brother and I were educated at St. George's College while my sisters were educated at Dominican Convent.  

When did you come to the United States and what brought you here? 
 I arrived in October 1999, after some family friends who live in Peoria, Illinois, asked me if I would consider college education in the USA.  I lived with them for a few months.  However, in Minnesota there are a few friends that I knew from Harare and some of them lived in the same neighborhood that I grew up in Hatfield, Harare. I studied at St. Paul Community College and St. Mary's University of Minnesota. 

How did you find St. Matthew's and why did you decide to join our faith community?  We were living on 1998 Brewster Street, in St. Paul (in St. Anthony Park).  The first Episcopal Church we visited was St. Christopher's Episcopal - it was very welcoming and we considered attending it.  However, three days later I went to the library at the corner of Como Avenue and Carter Street. After finishing work in the library, I took a right turn by the library. I wanted to make another right turn, so that I would be heading back home and I saw St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. When I got home, I told my wife that I spotted another Episcopal Church near the library. On our first visit to St. Matthew's, in mid-January 2007, we noticed that the Swahili Liturgy was the basis of worship.  I enjoyed singing "Hakuna Mungu......Alpha na Omega...." Our family felt at home at St. Matthew's and right away I said to the Reverend  Dr. Blair, "This is the church we will be coming to." 

This is now the second time we have used the Zimbabwe liturgy during Epiphany.  Can you share with us what to expect (especially for those who may be new to our church and haven't experienced a global liturgy before)? 
This will be one of the many opportunities for our church members to continue experiencing local and global worshipping approaches, offered at St. Matthew's. Therefore, new members, local, out of state or international are comfortably welcome to make them feel at home. Last time, my brother Stanley and his family helped us with the launching of the Liturgy, when they were living in Rochester, MN.  Stanley and I shared the presentation about Zimbabwe, including a Zimbabwean children's folk tale.  Stanley led in prayers.  Family, relatives and friends helped with preparation of food for lunch and an arts and crafts display. I will miss the presence of my brother and his family as they now live in Canada. However, there is still some continuity of support from family, relatives and friends. The Zimbabwean presentation Power Point will have some updated cultural information, including sports, religion and Anglican community support. Lunch will be similar to five years ago. 
Is there anything else you would like to add? 
This time I am excited to jointly host launching of the Zimbabwean Liturgy with Edward Chidothe, a fellow Zimbabwean, who also joined us at St Matthew's.  For Edward and me, not only are we both originally Zimbabwean nationals, we have a history of attending the same elementary schools and high schools.  I was Edward's first rugby coach and we also share a common educational background.

Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ ) Tour: January 30 
By Cecelia Caspram
When my husband and I first moved to the Twin Cities in 2014, talk about the so-called "achievement gap" here was at a fever pitch. I heard superintendents and corporate leaders and politicians alike talking about the urgency of this mission - and their deep commitment to it. I was so impressed. I had worked in the inner city of Milwaukee for years, seeing similar problems - and I had never seen such collaboration and commitment to solving them. But perhaps no organization or effort caught my eye like Minneapolis' Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) did.

I kept meeting people involved, over and over again. St. Matt's members Valerie Matthews and Tina Maynor, who teach in the Zone. Jim Toscano and Kate Mortenson, who are volunteers working on major fundraising. Ryan Petersen and Pa Thao, key staffers. Don Samuels, one of the co-founders of the effort (and husband of the CEO, Sondra Samuels), kept coming to St. Matthew's to speak. I randomly ran into Don and Sondra one day, while out to Sunday brunch. I felt like I was being drawn to NAZ.
I was especially intrigued because I knew the roots of NAZ's approach were in the world-renowned Harlem Children's Zone. NAZ was using the same wrap-around efforts to help entire families, ultimately ensuring that under-resourced little people grow up to be big people with college degrees. I don't know about you, but to me, that right there seems like the way to change the poverty equation in our communities.

NAZ's goals are huge: to permanently end generational poverty and close the achievement gap in North Minneapolis. And according to NAZ, it's happening. Student by student, family by family. NAZ-enrolled families are making remarkable strides: "Our children are not only showing improved academic outcomes at key kindergarten and third grade benchmarks, but families are stabilizing their housing, employment, and health. These early successes are already driving a culture change on the Northside."  Come and see for yourself!

Working in collaboration with Don and fellow St. Matt's member Mike Christenson, I've set up a bus tour on Saturday, January 30th -- so all of you can be inspired too. We will leave from St. Matt's around 10 a.m. We'll then take a tour of North Minneapolis (led by Don and Mike), learning about the struggles of the past and the present there. We'll end at NAZ, learning from Sondra about the exciting work they're doing to lift up the Northside. We will return to St. Matt's around 1 p.m. Please contact me with questions and RSVPs: [email protected]. 

I really hope you can come! Invite a friend (or two)! Let's fill the bus!
"Celebration of Community" Art Show: A Call for Artists  
 
The Art Ministry of St. Matthew's announces a call to artists for submissions to the 18th annual "Celebration of Community" Art Show.   We welcome all artists, 18 and up, from St. Anthony Park and its surrounding communities who wish to display their work in a local gallery.   Show Dates are February 7 - April 8, 2016.  Here is some important information:
  • Saturday, January 30 - Drop off artwork at the church including a registration form and $10 registration fee, 10:00am - 1:00pm
  • All work must be ready to hang or display.
  • The show will be juried this year - 5 Cash Prizes will be awarded at the Opening Reception, Sunday February 7.
  • For further information, please contact Janet Murphy

Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • January 10: Zimbabwe Celebration at 9:15am, with prayers and music from Zimbabwe at the 10:30am service through January.
  • January 24: Annual Meeting: 9:00am in the parish hall
  • January 30: Northside Achievement Zone Tour, 10:00am
  • January 30: Community Art Show - Day for Artists to drop off their artwork, 10am - 1pm at church.
  • February 7: Opening Reception for The Celebration of Community Art Show
 
Please share your news and photos with us: [email protected] 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons