Scripture: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23

"Are We Alike Before the Lord?"

Rev. Allen Mothershed

NO Sunday School this week.

Masks are now required for everyone while indoors at St. Matthew, regardless of your vaccine status.

Click here to read St. Matthew's Updated COVID response guidelines. 

Click here to read about Pastor Allen's updated retirement plans.

Join us on Sunday, September 12th, for “Come Together” Sunday (formerly Rally Day). This will mark the official Fall kick-off to our exciting year at St. Matthew UCC. We will gather together following church to enjoy coffee and an ice cream sundae bar. Ice cream at St. Matthew is always a kid favorite -- and a favorite for the kid-at-heart, too!

https://www.ucc.org/appeal-severe-storms-2021/

Several southern states are reeling from the impact of Hurricane Ida with significant power outages and other wind and water damage. The storm’s remnants continue to march northward.

What’s the best way to help now? Send money. UCC Disaster Response and Recovery Minister Lesli Remaly said of Hurricane Ida, “For a storm this size, money makes good sense as we know long-term recovery and rebuilding will be necessary.”

This is a gentle class, suitable for beginners, those over 50, or anyone looking for a slower-paced yoga class. Yoga can be practiced with a chair, if needed.

If you can breathe, you can practice yoga! 

Marla welcomes all members and friends to sign up for the series, Thursdays at 10am September 9th, 16th, and 23rd. Cost is $10/class. 

Masks will be worn, and we have plenty of space to social distance. For questions or to sign up, contact Marla Mothershed at 630.441.5963.

https://stmatthewucc.org/yoga-in-the-sanctuary/

The nursery will not reopen as scheduled on September 12th. We are committed to keeping our kids healthy during COVID so we do not feel it is wise to reopen at this time. Please feel free to bring your child to the nursery and stay with them or you are welcome to gather toys from the nursery and sit in the narthex so you can enjoy the service. We will reopen the nursery as soon as we feel it is safe.

DuPagePads Run 4 Home will have opportunities for both virtual and in-person this year! Walk or run as an individual or family. Virtual is from September 15th-30th, and in-person will be at the College of DuPage on September 26th from 12-5pm. Join the fun to support DuPage Pads this September. For more details or to register, please see the website at http://www.padsrun.org.

Membership Life is planning to have brunch after church on Sunday, October 3rd, at The Courtyard Banquets, located at 3S200 State Route 59 in Warrenville (the west side of Rt. 59 between Batavia and Butterfield Roads). The price is $12.95 per person (plus tax and gratuity) and includes coffee. 

Click here for the Sunday brunch menu. 

Look for the sign-up sheet in the narthex and let us know you’re coming!

The Mission Committee is organizing a Feed My Starving Children event on Columbus Day, October 11th from 11:30am-1pm. Children should be off school this day so this is a great volunteer opportunity for families. This is in addition to our annual Feed My Starving Children event on Martin Luther King Day. Please contact Erin Walsh (edbreit@hotmail.com or 630.660.4651) or Alex Johnson (alexanderjohnson30@yahoo.com) if you are interested in attending or have any questions. We have 30 spots available.

Beginning with Come Together Sunday on September 12th, St. Matthew is hoping to bring back some of our long-time activities.

• With indoor church services back, it would be nice to once again have a volunteer greeter/greeters at the base of the stairs at the church entrance.
• When the after-church coffee time returns, we will need a volunteer to set up the coffee, etc. and another couple of volunteers to tend to the clean-up afterward.

In the past, volunteers have signed up for one Sunday a month for a period of 6 months. Will this work for us again? It all depends on how many of YOU are willing to help!

Please notify the church office (office@stmatthewucc.org) if you/your family is interested in being a greeter or kitchen helper or call/text Wendy Fanning at 630.453.7057 with any questions or to volunteer.

Looking forward to the church year ahead!

Even though our trip is canceled, we would still like to send Walmart gift cards as a donation. Any amout is appreciated. Walmart gift cards in any amount. Gift cards can be dropped off at the church office. You can also mail them to the church, leave them in the black mailbox hanging outside of the office doors, or place them in the offering plate during church.

Click here to read the updated guidelines. 

Masks are now required for everyone while indoors at St. Matthew, regardless of your vaccine status.

Please do not attend if you are sick or have recently been sick. As always, everyone's health and safety is important to us and we will adjust plans as necessary.

Please send prayer requests via the following link and we can share them (or keep them private, if you prefer). You can also email them to the office.

You can make a prayer request here: https://stmatthewucc.org/contact-us/

The St. Matthew worship service will be streamed every Sunday at 9:30am. The service will be available on our website after the service.

Access the service through the St. Matthew YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/StMatthewUCC

**Once you are on YouTube, you have the option to turn on closed captioning and resize the font. Once the video is playing, click on the setting wheel in lower-right of your screen, choose Subtitles/CC, then choose English.**

You can also go to the St. Matthew homepage (stmatthewucc.org) to access the online service. 

Go to our website for instructions on how to donate to St. Matthew. Thank you!