"What Do We Do When Believing is Really Hard?"

Scripture: John 6:56-69

Rev. Thom Parrott-Sheffer

Outdoor Service, weather permitting

No coffee hour or nursery service.

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

August 25th

September 22nd

Bring your own chair.

Weather permitting. In case of inclement weather, we will move the service inside.

The nursery will be closed on Outdoor Worship Sundays.

NO coffee hour after outdoor services. 

Fall Kick-off Sunday (formerly Come Together Sunday/Rally Day) is on September 8th. Students and teachers are invited to bring their school bags and backpacks for the Blessing of the Backpacks. 

Stay after church for some fun activities! We will have food, fellowship, and a Bounce House. Membership Life will provide hot dogs.

Click here to RSVP and sign up to bring a side or dessert.

Thanks to those who donated socks for the Marian Park picnic/back- to-school sock drive. We collected 428 pairs of socks and distributed 310 pairs to the Marian Park residents. They were very grateful and had fun picking out the socks and playing the game we brought along. 

The remaining pairs will be donated to PADS for their clients in need. Also, thanks to those helpers who oversaw the sock distribution and monitored our game.

This September we will be meeting at church to discuss the weekly topics from the our Fall sermon series, Be Anxious for Nothing, on Mondays at 7pm. We will meet for four weeks, beginning on September 2nd and going through the 23rd.

We will talk about our emotional health and God’s desire for us to be open to a big life but also be anxious for nothing. Our discussion time will focus on sermon topics from the Book of James, as well as the popular newer book, The Anxious Generation, by Jonathan Haidt. If you are a podcast listener, there are some good counter-discussion challenges to Haidt’s book on the June 25th episode of the podcast “You’re Wrong About,” called “Phones are Good, Actually.”

Topics:
Week 1 - James 1:17-27  An Anxious Generation
Week 2 - James 2:12-26  Are Phones Really the Enemy? 
Week 3 - James 3:9-18    How to Influence the Influencers
Week 4 - James 4:11-17  How Faith Communities Can Help Families Thrive 

All are invited on Thursday, September 12th, at 7 pm, in Dobstaff Hall. Several people have expressed interest in this activity as a way to come together for fellowship and action. Together we’ll fill out 400 “Postcards to Swing States” that will get mailed to households in swing states, encouraging them to get out and vote in the November election. Our current batch of postcards will go to Arizona. No specific candidate is endorsed or mentioned; however the mailings do tend to go to progressive-leaning households.

Hope to see you there for conversation and this opportunity to be active citizens together. 

Feel free to invite a friend, and consider bringing a snack or beverage to share. 

Postcards will be provided — feel free to bring your own pen!

Questions? Go to: https://turnoutpac.org/postcards or contact Joyce Miller or Dorothy Peterson.

Do you receive calendars for the next year from vendors or charities that you just don't use or need? We'll take them! Drop the 2025 calenders in the box in Dobstaff, and Karen Fenney will bring them to the DuPage Convalescent Center in December. The residents really appreciate them!

St. Matthew will be sending a group of work campers to Back Bay Mission this November 10th-16th. Our time there will include working on housing rehabilitation projects, serving in the Micah Day Center, working at the BBM food pantry as well as serving at the local Loaves and Fishes.

Many of our participants carpool together to and from Biloxi, while some travel by air. There is a $250 charge per participant for accommodations at the mission.

If you are interested in joining us you can notify the church office, sign up in the narthex, or reach out to Jeannine Adams. You can learn more about the great work done at Back Bay by visiting their website at https://thebackbaymission.org/. Please join us in a rewarding and fun-filled week.

We need an adult volunteer in the nursery every week.

Slots are available through the end of the year.

Click here to volunteer

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!

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!