As a United Methodist Church, St. Matthew continues the proud tradition of functioning through potlucks and committee meetings. In addition to the usual committees, St. Matthew has some less-obvious opportunities for service. If you are interested in any of these ways to serve God and the church, please contact the chairperson or call the church office at (480) 838-7309.
Opportunities to Serve on Sunday Mornings
Communion Stewards
Our Communion Stewards purchase and prepare the Communion elements (bread and grape juice) for worship services. If you are interested in helping to prepare or serve Communion, please contact us! Chairperson: Billie Snell worship@stmatthewmesa.org
Greeters
Our greeters welcome people with a smile, a handshake, and a friendly greeting as they enter the church Sunday mornings. You are invited to volunteer to greet people and welcome them to St. Matthew. You may sign up for one Sunday a month, one specific Sunday, or a month of Sundays. We will welcome you as welcomers! Chairperson: Billie Snell worship@stmatthewmesa.org
Liturgists
Every Sunday, we have lay people (people who aren’t pastors) stand up at the front of the church to read from the Bible and lead congregational prayers and responses. We’d be happy to have you serve in this way! Contact the church office for more information.
Multimedia Ministry
Both our 9:00 traditional and 10:30 contemporary services utilize a projection system with slides to show words to songs, hymns, prayers, and liturgy. Services in the Worship Center are also streamed online. The Multimedia Team creates a slideshow for each worship service, controls the sound, lighting, and projection systems, operates the cameras in the Worship Center, and shares the 9:00 service through DVDs taken to shut-ins and via Livestream and YouTube.
Sign Language Interpretation
Our sign language interpreters sign everything that is spoken during our worship services. If you have interpreting experience and are interested in volunteering as an interpreter, or if you would like to contact our interpreters with a question or a request, please contact the church office at office@stmatthewmesa.org.
Ushers
The ushers assist people in the congregation to have a comfortable and safe worship experience. They prepare the Sanctuary before people arrive Sunday mornings, distribute bulletins, collect the offering, guide people through Communion, assist the leaders of worship as needed, and provide aid when a medical emergency arises. If you would like to do any or all of these things, please come be an usher! Contact: Wayne Douglas ushers@stmatthewmesa.org
Music Ministry
Our adult choir, children’s choirs, handbell choirs, adult and youth sign language choirs, and Praise Band offer every person in our church family an opportunity to serve through music. In addition to providing music for our weekly worship services, Music Ministry groups participate in concerts, cantatas, and other special events and worship services throughout the year. Several of our groups reach out to other churches and community events with the Christian message. There is a place for YOU in the Music Ministry of St. Matthew! For more information, contact a specific director or our Director of Music.
Hospitality Group
The mission of the Hospitality Group is to make every visitor to our campus feel welcome, find the resources they are looking for, meet the people they want to meet, and mostly feel God’s presence while they are at St. Matthew United Methodist Church. We meet the 1st Monday of each month at 5:30 p.m. in C4. We welcome all interested persons to join us. Contact: Bob Yager
Leading Sunday School
We are always happy to welcome people who choose to serve through leading children’s Sunday School classes or Children’s Church, through leading adult classes, or by assisting the youth group. If you are interested in starting another adult class, please contact the pastor; if you would like to work with youth, please contact the youth director; if you would like to work with children, please contact our Children’s Ministries coordinator.
Opportunities to Serve through Committees and Work Areas
In general, people serve on our committees for three years; however, terms can be shorter if necessary, and new faces are always welcome. Show up at a meeting and find out what we’re all about!
Church Council
Our Church Council consists of representatives from every committee of the church and elected officers. It sets church policies, makes long-range plans for the church, and coordinates communication among committees. The Council meets the third Tuesday of each month at 6:30 p.m. in C4; all people are invited to attend Church Council meetings. For information about the upcoming agenda, please contact the chairperson. Chairperson: Denise Allen
Christ-Centered Living Group
This new group encourages personal focus on Christ-centered living. It seeks to strengthen the congregation by creating ideas for focusing our lives on Christ-like living. Contact: Ginny Smythe
Communications
The Communications Committee is responsible for communicating news about the church and church activities to the congregation and to the community. They arrange for outside advertising, oversee the church newsletter and website, and try to improve communications within the church. If you want to help us spread God’s message, or if you’ve noticed any mistakes on the website, come join us! Chairperson: Marion Ritchotte
Endowment and Memorials
This committee accepts endowments and memorials given to the church, oversees the disbursement of memorial contributions, and manages the St. Matthew Endowment Fund. If you would like more information on our endowment program, or feel the call to minister through this program or through this committee, please contact us! Chairperson: June Hanson endowmentmemorial@stmatthewmesa.org
Evangelism
The Evangelism Committee seeks to draw persons not presently involved in a church into St. Matthew. They make visitors feel welcome and raise awareness of opportunities for them to become involved, with the ultimate goal of winning persons to Christ through this congregation. Chairperson: Dennis Tinberg evangelism@stmatthewmesa.org
Finance
The Finance Committee plans and manages the budgets of St Matthew United Methodist Church. They ensure funds are available to pay recurring bills, keep track of all expenses of the church, and ensure that designated contributions are appropriately used for their intended purpose. Chairperson: Callie Miller financecommittee@stmatthewmesa.org
Missions
Our Missions Committee coordinates the mission work St. Matthew provides in the Phoenix area and around the world. St. Matthew is part of the Mighty Methodist Coalition, a partnership of local United Methodist churches that raises money and builds homes through Habitat for Humanity. We prepare and serve meals every Friday evening at the UMOM New Day Centers, Arizona’s largest shelter for homeless families. St. Matthew also sponsors a missionary team in the Dominican Republic and is starting the process to sponsor a student at Africa University. The Missions Committee plans mission trips from the church across the country and arranges other service projects around the Valley. Serve Christ by helping Christ’s children all over the world! Chairperson: Ben Furlong missions@stmatthewmesa.org
Staff-Parish Relations
Staff-Parish is our “human relations department.” They oversee the paid staff of St. Matthew, advertising for open positions, interviewing candidates, performing background checks, writing job descriptions, providing support to the staff, and acting as a liaison with the staff, the congregation, and the District Superintendent. As with a corporate HR department, the business discussed by the committee is necessarily confidential, so SPRC meetings and their content are generally not open. If you have a general or a specific concern you would like SPRC to address, please contact the chair. Chairperson: Debra Landry sprc@stmatthewmesa.org
Trustees
Our Board of Trustees is responsible for the church’s facilities, including the land, the physical buildings, church-owned equipment, and the safety of anyone using the facilities. The Trustees regularly host All-Church Work Days to help maintain the site. [Note: While anyone may participate in the Trustees’ meetings and help maintain the facilities, only duly-elected adult members of the church are legally permitted to serve as official members of the Board.] Chairperson: Patty Ek trustees@stmatthewmesa.org
Worship
The Worship Committee works with the pastors and Director of Music to plan the format and organization of worship services. They decorate the Sanctuary and the altar, prepare the elements and plan Holy Communion, and coordinate the different groups involved in presenting worship each week. They are always looking for volunteers—you do not need to join the committee to help decorate or to prepare or serve Communion! Chairperson: Billie Snell worship@stmatthewmesa.org
Page last updated 10/16/15 12:40 p.m.