- An Important Reminder: We begin our summer service this Sunday at 9:30!              
"Quarks, Chaos & the Trinity"
By Lisa Wiens Heinsohn
 
We can cooperate with the divine will. When we pray, we can surrender our self-centered reference point, and literally align ourselves with the great pattern of God's will for reconciliation - even when we find ourselves in the midst of diversity and conflict. Instead of taking the individualist's answer - which is usually either to shut out problems or try to control them - we can seek to discover the Triune God's will for healing, and reconciliation, and align ourselves with that.
 
In John Polkinghorne's book Quarks, Chaos, and Christianity, he asks the question, can a scientist pray? He explains from a scientist's and a theologian's point of view how our thoughts and actions impact the world. Then he asserts that when we pray, we align ourselves with God's will. He says, "I believe that when this alignment takes place, things become possible that are not possible when human and divine wills are at cross purposes. Therefore, prayer is genuinely instrumental. It genuinely changes the world."

A good metaphor might be light waves. In normal light, individual light rays are moving in random patterns all over the place, and the result is diffuse light, like the light in a sunlit room. But when all the light waves begin to move in sync, the result is a laser. Similarly to the power of a laser, when we align our will with God's will for reconciliation, great power is unleashed. In this complicated intricate universe, we have no way of knowing what exact impact will happen when we align ourselves with the will of God. We have no idea what chain of events will occur, totally beyond our own capacity to predict. But we can know beyond doubt that there will be an impact, and it will be in the direction of God's great Shalom.

Let us let go of our temptation to make ourselves the central reference point for the universe and instead accept our profound interconnection, with the Triune God's presence and will for reconciliation at the heart of it.
(Click Here to hear Lisa's entire sermon from Sunday, May 22)
Financial Peace University Reflection
By Dan White 
 
Early this year St. Matthew's offered the Financial Peace University course. I took it and I have become a big fan. The course will be offered again this fall and my hope is that every member of the St. Matthew's congregation will take it then.

Just a couple weeks ago Blair arranged a series of three Sunday morning Faith Forums on Finances and Faith. During the Forum we went around the room and shared our experiences with money in the families in which we grew up. It was pretty clear that most of us come from families with not much if any money and for some of us money had been the cause of real trauma. It was very clear that there were not a lot of good models of money management in our lives. To put it another way, when many of us went out on our own we did not have strong positive, knowledgeable mentors to show us an error-free pathway.

Most of us are not quick to talk about money with our spouse or family and perhaps it is because talking about money is a pathway to conflict. A lot of us just suffer from a cultural bias against talking about money. Taking this class pushes you into the deep end of the pool and you have to engage the subject with the people with whom you live. The course gives you the tools to have that conversation in a very positive framework.
My hope is that people in their twenties and thirties will take the course and save themselves endless aggravation, lots of money and the feeling that they could have done more to prepare for retirement. If you can get siblings or multiple generations to take the course then you will really open up money as a topic within your family. Jane and I took it with Katie and her husband Nick and it gave us all kinds of opportunities for talking about money.

I used to think that I was the only one who made mistakes managing our money. But when I started asking around of people who I liked and respected I found out I was just one of millions who had all made the same mistakes. We can stop this, people, and so far this is the best course I have seen to make it stop.

St. Matthew's will be offering Financial Peace University this fall. It will consist of nine sessions beginning September 25 at 4:00 PM here at the church and run through November 20. Go to www.daveramsey.com and scroll down. On the left side of the page you will see "Find A Class." Click on it and you will quickly find St. Matthew's Episcopal Church. The cost of materials for the class is $93 plus shipping. Financial assistance is available, please talk to Rev. Pogue.
Project Home at St. Matthew's this
August, 2016 
By Elaine Tarone
 
This summer once again, St Matthew's Episcopal Church will provide shelter and comfort to homeless children and their families.  Last August volunteers read to and played with the children, organized art projects, and field trips to College Park's playground; Duke Addicks told stories every Friday evening to an appreciative circle of children and parents.  We listened to our guests and learned a tremendous amount.  This summer, Interfaith Action's Project Home will deliver beds, supplies, and cardboard dividers on August 1, and provide support to us each evening.   Other Park congregations helping us provide volunteers during the other days of August include Corpus Christi Catholic Church, St. Cecilia's Catholic Church, and St. Anthony Park Lutheran Church.   

You can sign up to volunteer today by going to the St. Matthews' website, under Ministries/Project Home: Click Here.  Just hit the sign up button at the bottom of the page, and choose a time slot on any day August 1-9, and 30-31.  You will also be able to sign up after church during the coffee hour.  Or phone Elaine Tarone at 651 338-6155 or Janet Murphy at 651-357-0295 
- Ben Johnson                                  
- Chris Jenkins                              
Congratulations to our 2016 Graduates:
  • Chris Jenkins graduated from Mounds View High School and will enter the University of Rhode Island next fall.
  • Ben Johnson graduated from St. Paul Central High School and will enter St. Olaf College next fall.
  • Noah Hardman graduated from Washburn High School in Minneapolis and will enter Gustavus Adolphus College next fall.
  • John Dietman graduated from St. Olaf College with a B. A. in Social Studies Education and Economics. He is pursuing a high school or middle school teaching position.
  • Kristina Abbas graduated from the University of Minnesota - Morris with a B. A. and will finish her undergrad studies with a study abroad experience in July at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She has accepted a position as an English Teaching
    - Will Christenson                                     
    Assistant for the next school year in the region of Versailles, France.
  • Duke Addicks received a Certification of Graduate Studies in Ethnomusicology (world music) from Liberty University.
  • Will Christenson graduated with a Master's Degree in Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. He is working for Hennepin County on workforce development.
  • Lisa Wiens Heinsohn graduated from Luther Seminary with a Master's in Divinity degree.

Welcome to the World...
 

Grant Abbott and Elaine Tarone have a granddaughter! 

Their daughter Rachel and her husband Peter Meyers welcomed Sarah, a healthy, beautiful girl, on May 24 at United Hospital, and are now at home in St Paul.
DATE CHANGE! 


The discussion of Samuel Wells and Marcia A. Owen's Living Without Enemies: Being Present in the Midst of Violence will take place in the St. Matthew's Library on Wednesday June 22 & 29 and  July 13 & 20 from 7-8:30 in place of the aforementioned June dates.
Amazon has had trouble finding copies of this book. We hope to have copies by mid-June, and will let you know when they arrive. Please read the introduction and first chapter before the June 22 session. 

RSVP to Blair Pogue  if you plan to participate.
Eleanor Craig to Compete at National History Day 

On May 1, Eleanor Craig presented a ten minute documentary at the State History Day competition - she'd made it through the school-wide and city-wide events to reach State. She placed 2nd in Junior Individual Documentary, and will be travelling to Washington DC in June to compete at National History Day with kids from every state and a few other countries! As far as her history teacher knows, she is the first student from Northeast Minneapolis schools to go on to Nationals. 36,000 kids started this process back in January - only 66 are heading to Nationals.
Go Eleanor!!!
Looking Ahead: Calendar Highlights
  • May 29: Summer worship begins: one service at 9:30am
  • June 5: Reception following the service to honor Sue Ladehoff
  • June 12: Financial Giving Trends with Dan White, 10:45am - after the service.
  • June 22 and 29, July 13 and 20: Book Discussion of Living Without Enemies, 7:00pm in the parish library.
  • Project Home begins at St. Matthew's in August - Sign Up Online!
  • Tidings e-news summer schedule: June 12, 26, July 10, 24, August 14, 28 
 
Please share your news and photos with us: tidings@stmatthewsmn.org 

Visit our website for the prayer list, calendar and sermons