You are invited to join us for these upcoming events and to participate in these ongoing ministries..
Church News & Announcements
Food Box Program
Next 7:30 am distribution dates:
April 27, May 11, 25
St. Matthew is proud to serve families who are in need of food assistance by giving out non-perishable food boxes from 7:30 a.m. every other Saturday. Each box is given on a first come, first serve basis and feeds a family of four for 3-4 days. Most of the food is picked up from the Midwest Food Bank through a partnership with them.
We have all felt the effects of our current inflation. Unfortunately it has also impacted the donations we receive for the food box program and we have some empty shelves that could use your help. How can you help: Canned vegetables or fruit, canned tuna or chicken, and small jars of peanut butter. Midwest food bank rarely provides us with these items. They can be dropped off at church in the shopping cart in front of the church, or between 5-6pm on the first and third Wednesdays of the month in the East side pull through. Please help if you can, one or two of the listed items per person will make an impact. If you would like additional information please contact Steve Childs, Virginia Hughes or Rosemary Glithero."
Join the Food Box Crew
The Food Box crew could use a couple of volunteers to join our team on Thursday mornings every other week. We could use one or two people to help pack the food boxes from 8:00-10:30, and/or someone with a truck to pick up our order from the Midwest Food Bank at 8:20 and deliver it to St. Matthew.
If interested, please contact Virginia Hughes at hugvirginia@gmail.com. We’d love to have you be a part of our team!
Thanks again for your continued support of this important mission.
Steve Childs
Food Box Coordinator
Food Box Program News
The St Matthew UMC food box program has been blessed with a one year food grant from "The Bishop's Storehouse". This will help fill gaps in our food box program due to cutbacks by Midwest food bank. The Bishop's Storehouse is run by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. St Matthew's association with the neighborhood LDS church, specifically the "Interfaith Day of Service" held in September for the last several years, has helped build connections with the LDS church and we are grateful for their assistance with our food box ministry.
On a different note, several of our food box volunteers have plans for the summer and will not be available to help with the food boxes. If you would like to volunteer for a few months during the summer we would welcome your help. It would be once or twice every other week. Our biggest need is helping receive the order from Waste Not on Friday's between 9-12 noon. The other need is helping to pack the food boxes on Thursday mornings between 8-10am. If you're interested please contact Virginia Hughes or Steve Childs for additional information.
Food insecurity in Arizona is at 11%, and with a population of about 7.3 million that means approximately 800,000 people who have to make a decision between paying for rent, gas, medical bills, or putting food on the table. St Matthew’s food box ministry is one of the important ways we can help make a difference in the lives of those who receive food here every two weeks.
~Thank you, from the Food Box Crew.
If you're looking for ideas of what non-perishable items we can use, we still need small jars of peanut butter, canned tuna or chicken, and canned pasta sauce.
All Daughter's Luncheon
Save the Date! for the All Daughters Luncheon on May 11th, 2024.
Entertainment will be by the "Cordially Yours Singers." Doors open at 11:00 AM.
Tickets will be sold on the Patio on April 21st, and April 28th for $15, and $5 for 10 and under.
No tickets will be sold at the door on May 11th.
Hands of Joy Sign Language Choir Spring Concert
Why do you praise Him? Is it His healing love, His unfailing strength, His amazing grace? Come as we share songs of faith that praise Him for all He has done for us.
Join us on Sunday, May 5 at 3 pm in the sanctuary. Bring a friend and share the joy as we think about His love and why we choose to believe.
~Hands of Joy Sign Language Choir
Church Pictorial Directory
Say Cheese!
It’s time to update the church pictorial directory, but it’s a little different...
This Sunday, each person/family is invited to get their picture taken by one of our youth in the chapel (the room behind the sanctuary sound booth). No signups needed, just come and go before or after the service. Because we are doing this “in house,” these pictures will only be used for the directory. You will also be able to update your contact information if anything has changed. You will have several Sunday’s to get your picture taken, but early participation is requested.
Pastor's Bible Study
Join us every Thursday at 9:30 AM in Patio Rooms.
A New Leaf East Valley Men's Center
A New Leaf's East Valley Men's Center is a safe haven for men facing homelessness as they re-integrate in the community.
EVMC accepts homeless men 18 years of age and older, providing up to 120 days in emergency shelter, during which time they work with case managers to find permanent housing options. Residents are required to pursue employment and to save a majority of their income.
We provide 96 sack lunches about 20 times per year. We make lunches on Sunday mornings after worship and deliver. Each lunch contains 2 ham sandwiches, chips, Rice Krispie treat, an apple and a bottled water. The cost per lunch is about $2.00.
We do have some donations from our volunteer team to defray cost. We have been doing this for over 10 years. Donations are greatly appreciated. Checks can be made to St. Matthew UMC and marked for EVM lunch program. Thank you so much for your support.
Men's Bible Study
The men's Bible study meets at 6:45 am Thursdays in the patio rooms (C6-7). The group is studying the book of Acts. Coffee, juice and pastries are provided. Information: Greg Beihl, 480.839.1269
St. Matthew Music Ministry
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New directions for Livestreaming at St. Matthew UMC
Our Vimeo/Livestream will change to a new look on January 7, 2024. The CLICK HERE FOR WORSHIP
LIVESTREAM link on our website homepage (https://stmatthewmesa.org) will take you to the new site.
Also, the WORSHIP LIVESTREAM PAGE link on our Weekly Announcements email will direct you there.
To hear sound, you may need to click or tap either the speaker icon on the play bar or an unmute
prompt in the player, as most browsers mute autoplay videos by default.
If you prefer not to chat, you are ready to watch services.
If you want to chat during the service, go to https://vimeo.com/stmatthewumc prior to January 7 to
register. You will need to complete five steps:
1) At the Vimeo site click JOIN. Note – on some devices you will click on the button to find JOIN.
2) Enter your name and email address.
3) Choose and enter a password.
4) Click JOIN WITH EMAIL.
5) They will send you an email. Click the VERIFY button in that email.
Racial Justice Library
The Racial Justice committee has installed a small library in the cabinet in the chapel (sanctuary). We have included publications that we thought would interest our congregation:
- Several excellent publications from the Southern Poverty Law Center
- Book: River of Fire by Sister Helen Prejean
- Book: Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson
- DVD: Just Mercy (2019)
- DVD: Slavery by Another Name (PBS – 2011)
Please stop in to see if there is material you’d like to check out!
Just sign your name, publication title and phone number on the form next to the publications.
Celebrating Black History Month
The Racial Justice committee has added a few items to our Racial Justice library, located in the chapel in the sanctuary. The items include:
- Southern Poverty Law Center's 2023 calendar, "Vision for a Just Future" which notes events as interest to those who are interested in racial justice topics
- A copy of Learning for Justice magazine
- SPLC's publications "The Year in Hate" and "Hate and Extremism in 2022"
Why not go to the chapel and check out all the offerings in honor of Black History Month? They are in the large cabinet, behind the glass doors.