"Shout for Joy"

Scripture: Psalm 98

Rev. Erin Wyma

Click here to sign up for Sunday service volunteer opportunities (reader, greeter, acolyte, or usher)

We are looking for some friendly folks to volunteer to greet people on Sunday mornings before church. Contact the office if you would like to be a part of welcoming people to worship!

Sunday, May 5th, is the first Sunday of the month, which means it time for our monthly All-Committees meeting. This is a time for all of our participating committees and ministries to hold their regular meetings. It’s also an opportunity for interested members to sit in on meetings. Light lunch will be served.

Come celebrate St. Matthew’s take on Cinco de Mayo on Sunday, May 5th, after church in Dobstaff.

Please consider bringing your favorite pie for all to enjoy.

No contest, no prizes, just yumminess!!

Pastor Erin will use Walter Brueggemann’s book, “The Psalms and the Life of Faith,” to lead a discussion on four community worship themes in the Psalms as it relates to our lives of faith.

We will discuss part one of this work and focus on these themes: prayer, grief, praise and politics. You do not have to read the book to participate. We will meet each Monday in May at 7pm in the smaller meeting room off of the narthex.

Questions contact Pastor Erin pastor@stmatthewucc.org

Registration is open for our 2024 Vacation Bible School!

Tuesday, June 4th - Thursday, June 6th, 9-12am

Cost is $35 per child. Scholarships available.

Registration Deadline: May 11th

Click here to register!

Graduation Sunday will be celebrated on June 2nd.

If you have a 2024 high school, college, or post-college graduate, please send their name and information to the office by May 15th.

The month of May is when the ensembles of St. Matthew strive toward an exciting conclusion to the music year before a well-deserved rejuvenating break over the summer months. This year, our Music Appreciation Sunday is an aMAYzing Music Appreciation month! We have extended music appreciation across two Sundays, with three events.

On May 12th, the choir and Praise Band will be recognized.

On Friday evening, May 17th, St. Matthew will be hosting the Fox Valley Chapter of the American Guild of Organists for an exciting organ concert by organist Dan Miller, who has been artistic and musical director for Rodgers Instruments (manufacturer of our organ) for 25 years. His program will really show off our organ and will include Fanfare for the Common Man by Aaron Copeland! All are invited to this free concert.

Our extended music appreciation concludes on May 19th with our Handbell ensemble.

Because we extended music appreciation, Pastor Erin decided to extend it to the entire month by doing a Psalm-based sermon series, aMAYzing God. Be ready to sing joyfully all month long!

The music season this year actually gets extended a bit further because June 2nd will be Confirmation. We couldn’t welcome this wonderful expression of faith without having Band and Choir there to uplift our joy and thanks for our youth’s faith journey.

We look forward to joining our hearts with yours as we make a joyful noise unto God!

We need an adult volunteer in the nursery every week. Dates are available through August. 

Volunteers needed on: May 12th (Mother's Day), May 19th, and May 26th (Memorial Day weekend)

Click here to volunteer

ESSE Adult Day Services is again participating in the 5th annual Giving DuPage Days, a community-wide fundraiser that enables over 100 charities to raise much-needed funds for their organization, and this event is ESSE's main fundraiser in 2024.

We would be so grateful if you could support us by going to https://www.givingdupageday.org/ and donating. Any amount will be most appreciated. Please visit the site above anytime during that 3-day period (May 1st-3rd) and make your donation. Thanks for your support!

Tuesday, May 14th, 8:45—11:30am

The Mission committee received a request from Marian Park to assist with their quarterly donation from the Northern Illinois Food Bank. Marian Park receives a donation of frozen foods from the food bank which they distribute to the resident families and seniors. They need assistance to set up tables, unload the frozen food boxes from the truck, and help pass out the food to the residents as they visit the tables. If you are interested and able to help, please let Stu Blake know or contact the office. 

Join the Men’s and Women’s Fellowship on Thursday, May 16th, at 7pm to tour the SCARCE facility in Addison.

SCARCE is a non-profit organization dedicated to creating sustainable communities. The founder, Kay McKeen, will give us a tour of the facility and educate us on all the things they do and opportunities for us to get involved. If you haven’t had the chance to experience Kay McKeen in action, it is a real treat!

Sign up in the narthex and indicate if you plan to meet us there or would like to be part of a carpool.

Contact Patti Woods or Joyce Miller with questions. 

Membership Life has planned a fun night at the ballpark on Thursday, July 11th, at 6:30pm, to watch the Kane County Cougars.

Tickets are $24 each, which includes 1 box seat and $10 in food vouchers. Parking passes and Kids’ Zone options are also available.

Click here to purchase tickets!

Are you great at planning events or just want to help make the 65th anniversary celebration special? We are looking for volunteers to help plan our anniversary celebration on October 27th.

Contact Pastor Erin or the office if you would like to help!

Sunday, June 30th, is a 5th Sunday and the Chicago Pride Parade!

St. Matthew has teamed up with the Chicago Coalition of Welcoming Churches and we will be marching with them in the parade. All are welcome to attend! More details to come.

We are working on a written and visual history of the church up until our 65th anniversary, which will be in November of 2024.

If you are a longtime member and want to submit stories, documents, or pictures, please email them to the office or drop them by the office or send them via email to Pastor Erin at pastor@stmatthewucc.org.

If you are a newer member, what would interest you to know about the history of St. Matthew? Send any thoughts or questions directly to Pastor Erin at pastor@stmatthewucc.org.

We have a few extra St. Matthew t-shirts available for purchase, sizes M, L, and XL. They are $20 each. Contact the office if you would like one!

Download the Instant Church Directory app from the Apple® App store in iTunes®, Google Play™ store and the Amazon Fire App Store. Simply search for “Instant Church Directory” to get the download. 

You will need to use your email address as listed in our directory to create a log-in the first time you use the directory online and via the mobile app.

To view the directory online, go to members.InstantChurchDirectory.com and follow the prompts under “Sign In” to “Create a login now.” Please remember, you must confirm your email address before you can sign in.

Contact the office with questions.

Pastor Erin would like to engage with you in person about involvement in this beloved community. Reach out to Pastor Erin via email to setup a time to chat or contact the office. 

For coffee after church, please consider bringing a treat on the following weeks:

Last names A-C, 1st Sunday

Last names D-H, 2nd Sunday

Last names I-O, 3rd Sunday

Last names P-Z, 4th Sunday

Anyone, 5th Sunday

Please contact Wendy Fanning if you are able to set up or clean up coffee hour. Thanks for your help.

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!