Scripture: Luke 5:17-26

"Lord, Teach Us to Pray: Wow!"

 Rev. Kyle Roggenbuck

A celebration of life service for Diane will be held on Saturday, August 20th at 11am. Rev. John Rodgers will be presiding.

We invite all the women of St. Matthew to join a new women's ministry, providing the opportunity for a regular connection time to deepen relationships, foster connections, and inspire meaningful conversations.

August 11th at 7pm at Kenna Anderson's home

Please join us on Sunday, September 11th, after the service for our church picnic!

We will have a bounce house, egg toss, sno-cone machine, popcorn, and a cookout sponsored by the Membership Life committee.

Please bring a dish to pass and an item for our bake sale, which will offset the cost of renting the bounce house and sno-cone machine.

ESSE – Ecumenical Support Services for the Elderly is a not-for-profit organization that provides adult day-care options. ESSE is dedicated to preserving the independence and dignity of individuals experiencing dementia while offering respite for their caregivers. St. Matthew is one of the many local churches that participate to support ESSE’s mission.

ESSE is currently looking for paid, part-time Activity Assistants. A background in activities is beneficial, however training is available.

ESSE has two sites where safe, comfortable, and pleasant interactive day care is provided in Wheaton and Glen Ellyn. The position requires rotation between the two sites which are near the Roosevelt Road corridor. The Centers are open Monday-Friday from 7am-5pm.

Interested individuals please contact Cathy at 630.260.3773.

Our pastoral opening has been advertised on the UCC website since July 12th. We’ve had seven pastors submit their profiles to us and we’ve held a first interview with three of them. We’ve also scheduled a second interview with those three. Please continue to ask us questions, give us input, and keep us as well as the pastors in your prayers.

Sincerely,

St. Matthew Search Committee: Hi Baird, Karen Fenney, Janella Holshouser, Carol Honeywell, Roseanne King, John Kouns, Eric Lindberg, Dorothy Peterson, Emily Sancken, Bernie Tameling

Much like last year's need to refresh our kitchen supplies, St. Matthew would like to refresh some of the furnishings around the church. Right now, at St. Matthew, we are in a period of change and looking toward the future. We want the interior of St. Matthew to be as welcoming as its people.

We would like to replace stained, ripped furniture with some new pieces. Ideally, we would replace chairs in the office, the narthex, and the parlor, purchase a new side table for the narthex, and a larger table for the parlor. Curtains and a bright carpet are on the wishlist for the nursery. 

To accomplish this, we are asking for your help by donating money to St. Matthew, earmarked for furniture. You can leave a check in the Sunday offering (noting "furniture" in the memo), leave a check in the black mailbox outside the office, or donate online and note Furniture in the memo line. 

Please contact Kenna Anderson, Dawn Schubert, or the office with questions. We sincerely thank you for your generosity.

St. Matthew will be hosting a Red Cross Blood Drive on Wednesday, August 31st from 10am-3pm in Dobstaff. 

Click here to make an appointment to donate.

We have a few Sundays left in August when we need some music. It doesn’t have to be fancy, sometimes simpler is better. Individuals, duets, or small groups all work well. There is a sign-up sheet in the narthex or you can contact the office and let us know which Sunday you would like to play.

The nursery is open! We are looking for volunteers willing to be the second adult in the nursery. We hope to have enough volunteers that you would only be scheduled once a month at the most. Please contact Kenna at kenna1@comcast.net or 630.209.5710 if you would like to be added to the list. Thank you!

If you would like to read scripture during the Sunday worship service, please contact Bruce Anderson at bruceanderson5959@gmail.com and he will add you to the list. 

We would like to have greeters welcoming people again. Would you be able to commit to one (1) Sunday a month for a few months? No handshake is needed, just a smile and a "Good morning!" Let Wendy Fanning or the office know if you would like to be a greeter. 

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!