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.

Dear St. Matthew Family,

As followers of Jesus, we are called to live by the law of love. This means loving God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and loving our neighbor as ourselves. The law of love is the foundation for all that we do as a church community.

As Gloria Gaither's beautiful song "I Then Shall Live" reminds us, when we know that we have been forgiven and made right with God, it fills us with joy and the freedom to forgive others. "I then shall live as one who's been forgiven. I'll walk with joy to know my debts are paid. I know my name is clear before my Creator. I am God’s child, and I am not afraid."

With the assurance of God's great pardon for us, we are empowered to gladly obey the law of love, extending grace and forgiveness to one another. This is the way of Jesus, and it is the path we are called to walk together as a church.

As we enter into the final stretch of our country’s political election,  I’m quickly reminded that we live in divisive times. Loving like Jesus can be very difficult with people we have serious disagreement with.  John Wesley’s wisdom is very helpful in these divisive times. “Tho we may not think alike, may we love alike.”  I pray that the love of Christ will continue to shape and transform all of us that we might be a community that reflects the compassion, mercy, and justice of God's kingdom.

You are loved and appreciated,

Pastor Joel

Dr. Ben Furlong presents a fascinating look at a forgotten local archeological site in Tempe: Los Muertos. In the late 1880s, the Hemenway Southwestern Archaeological Expedition set out to uncover the past and reveal important information about the area’s earliest inhabitants. Much of their time was spent among the ruins of 35 adobe structures located in present-day south Tempe and west Chandler. The largest of these was 200 feet wide by 320 feet long and was equivalent to four stories in height. The Hemenway Expedition dubbed the community Pueblo de Los Muertos, the town of the dead. After this project was complete, Los Muertos was forgotten yet again. Some 800 years later, new farmers moved in and rediscovered the gift of this land. 

Admission is free and books are $10. Everyone is invited to attend.

St. Matthew United Methodist Church Sanctuary

Wednesday, September 25, 2024

5:45 PM Book Signing-$10 for each book

6:00 PM Presentation - Free

Uppity Women of the Bible

Join Pastor Joel and fun group of learners in a lively discussion as we explore the issues raised by the stories of Judith, Esther and Ruth. Join us on Thursday’s at 9:30am in the Patio Rooms of the Activity Center. If you would like to be on the weekly reminder with the weekly topic, please email Pastor Joel.

Attention book lovers! Did you know that we have a book club that meets at the church in the patio room on the fourth Thursday of the month? We will be discussing the book Tisha by Robert Specht on August the 22. It is a true story of a young woman who takes a job teaching the wilds of Alaska.

On September the 26, we will revisit Louise Penny's first book featuring Inspector Gamache; it is set in Quebec.

Our meetings start at 10:45 AM after the Pastor’s bible study. If you would like more information, e-mail Lin Leivian at:  lin.leivian@cox.net.

Huruma Israel Bifa is the young lady that we, St. Matthew and Friendship Village, aresupporting in medical school in India, through tuition and housing payments. Huruma has completed a 3 year Bachelor of Science degree in Cardiology with outstanding grades at Parul University in India. She has now been accepted in a 2 year program of Master’s of Science of Echocardiography at JSS Medical College, of JSS Academy Of Higher Education and Research.She begins her studies in the fall of this 2024-25

academic school year in India. It is a highly ranked medical school. St. Matthew and Friendship Village have donated enough for Huruma’s tuition for this coming year ($4,200.00) but will need to raise the cost of housing. We will have the cost of housing in the near future. We will also need to raise at least $4,200 for tuition for the 2025-2026 academic year as well as whatever housing will cost.

If you are interested in supporting Huruma’s tuition and/or housing, please write

checks out to St. Matthew United Methodist Church, Mesa. Include For International Scholarship in the MEMO Line and it will go toward her tuition. That amount will be tax deductible. If you would like to contribute to her housing as well, please include on the memo line the amount toward housing and write non-tax deductible. Thank you for helping us provide a cardiologist to Huruma’s area of Tanzania.

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.

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