Announcements

The Attic is open!

St. Matthew's youth group, "The Attic", is open to grades 7 to 12, and meets on Sundays at 12 noon. This is a group for getting to know each other, hanging out and having fun. So whether you spend Sunday morning in Church or in the 7Ups class, whether you are confirmed or not, The Attic is for you! If you'd like more information, or if you think you might not be on our email list, please call the church office.

Ladies and Gentlemen: The Altar Guild Needs You!

If you attended any of the church services, you surely must have enjoyed the majestic beauty of the church as well as the beautiful music and services. The Altar Guild is responsible for all the flower arrangements and the changing of the vestments and Altar decor. The Festival Se, which is used only during Christmas and Easter services, is one of the many items under the care of the Altar Guild.

Special talented people are responsible for the beautiful flower arrangements. The flowers are donated by parishioners as memorials, or as thoughtful gifts for the beauty of the church. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Altar Guild needs your help. The number of members has dwindled considerably over the years due to people moving out of the area. Won't you consider volunteering your special talents to this particular ministry? For more information, please email Sonia Warfield, Directress, at Altar Guild.

Speakers Series Ministry

The Episcopal Church of St. Matthew welcomed Patrick Hunt, archaeologist, author, composer and Stanford teacher to our church on Sunday, December 7th at 9:00 in JBH. Patrick Hunt was our second speaker in our newly established Speaker Series Ministry. Mr. Hunt’s discussion follows on the heels of Bishop William E. Swing’s visit and talk in September about The United Religions Initiative.

Patrick Hunt shared his thoughts on the significance and relevancy of some of the world’s most incredible discoveries that have made the greatest impact on archaeology and history. These include the Rosetta Stone, Pompeii, Nineveh, Troy, King Tut's Tomb, Machu Picchu, Thera-Akrotiri, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Olduvai Gorge starting with the Leakey Era and the Tomb of the Ten Thousand Warriors in China. Mr. Hunt wrote about these discoveries in his 2007 book titled Ten Discoveries that Rewrote History. He’ll specifically talk about the importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nineveh's Assyrian Library both of which have meaningful biblical significance.

The Speaker Series Ministry is a new forum in which invited speakers will share their insights and areas of interest and expertise for the dual purposes of nourishing as well as growing our parish.

We look forward to seeing you on December 7th at 9:00 a.m. and stay tuned for information and details regarding additional speakers in 2009.

About Patrick Hunt: archaeologist, writer, composer, poet and art historian.

Bishop Swing Visits ECSM as Our Speaker Series Ministry Kicks-Off

Sunday September 14,2008 The Episcopal Church of Saint Matthew welcomed with joy and enthusiasm Bishop William E. Swing, the Seventh Bishop of the Diocese of California of the Episcopal Church. As the inaugural speaker for St. Matthew’s new Speakers Series Ministry, Bishop Swing enthralled his audience with an inspiring talk about his work founding the United Religions Initiative (URI), his travels globally, and his experiences with world religious leaders.

Bishop Swing founded The United Religions Initiative in 1996. URI was inspired to bring people of diverse faith into cooperation for peace exemplified by the work of nations of the world through United Nations. The founding of URI in 1996 culminated in the signing of the United Religions Initiative Charter in 2000. The purpose of the URI is to promote enduring daily interfaith cooperation, to end religiously-motivated violence, and to create cultures of peace, justice and healing for the Earth and all living beings.

For nearly an hour, and in his informative, warm, and witty style, the Bishop treated his audience to personal, and often funny, stories about the process of founding URI. He illustrated URI’s recent history and current momentum with anecdotes from his various encounters with religious leaders who, despite politics and violence, want to open up discussions about how the world’s faiths and religious traditions can work together for the betterment of all. He spoke of the unique challenges involved in getting URI up and running, and how it has grown to include nearly 1 million members in over 65 countries representing more than 100 religions, spiritual expressions, and indigenous traditions.

This was a very exciting kick-off to our new Speaker Series Ministry, a Ministry designed to engage, unite and educate our community and to provide a forum for open discussion and dialog. The turnout was impressive with over 70 people gathered in JBH to welcome Bishop Swing and his wife Mary, and to enjoy fellowship with each other.

We are grateful to Bishop Swing and Mary for coming to ECSM, as well as to all of you who attended and supported this first event in our Speaker Series Ministry. For further information about URI, visit www.uri.org.

Candle Light Taize Service

All St. Matthew parishioners, family members and friends are warmly invited to attend a candlelight service of prayer and chant. Taize Services are held the first Tuesday of each month at 7pm in the Chapel of the Church of St. Matthew.

Taize is an ecumenical monastic community in France dedicated to spreading the message of peace and reconciliation among all people of the world. St. Matthew Chapter of Daughters of the King has arranged this service as a way of carrying this Gospel message into our neighborhood. Everyone is invited to attend....this would be a beautiful way to introduce your friends to our church community.

Lectionary Circles

Please join us for a discussion centered on the appointed readings each Sunday in the Rector's Office.

Calling All Angels

St. Matthews has started a new outreach program called "Angel Network". We are a group of angels that reach out to our parishioners that have immediate and important needs and do not have a way to expedite those needs. For example: you need a ride to a doctor appointment or grocery shopping. Check out this month's Tau Cross for more details if you would like to be an angel, please call Darlia Clerico.

eMail Sign Up or Update Information

Information Update Form

Please fill out this form to update your email address or to make any changes to your mailing information. We ask that you sign up to receive the Tau Cross by email. You will receive your Newsletter faster this way, and help also to keep costs down. Your email address will be used solely for emailing church announcements and news.

Picture Gallery

We've added a new feature to the website: a Picture Gallery containing images of St. Matthew's - including old historic photographs of the church built in 1865, images of capturing the beauty of the church today, and snapshots from church events. Come check it out!

Help raise money for our Sunday School by registering with eScrip. You simply register your Safeway Club Card and/or credit cards with eScrip at 1-800-592-0942 or online at www.escrip.com.

Our Group ID is 137107192. Each time you shop using these cards, our Sunday School receives a percentage of your purchases.

If you have already registered with eScrip, please add St. Matthews to your list of supported organizations. You can support up to three organizations with your eScrip account.

NOTICE TO THOSE eSCRIP MEMBERS WITH SAFEWAY CARDS: Safeway is requiring all eScrip supporters to renew their commitment to Safeway on an annual basis by registering your club card number or phone number by November 1st. call 1-800-801-4973 and you will be asked for your Safeway Club Card Number.

Visit www.escrip.com and click on the "Yes Renew" check box. this is a better alternative if you don't have your club card number as you can provide your phone number instead.

If you have any questions about eScrip, please contact Church Operations Manager.