Scripture: Psalm 103:8-14

“Fishing for My Father"

Tom Fate

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

Tom Montgomery Fate is a professor emeritus at College DuPage in Glen Ellyn, where he taught creative writing and literature courses for more than 30 years. He is the author of six books of creative nonfiction, including The Long Way Home: Detours and Discoveries, a travel memoir (Ice Cube Press, 2022), Cabin Fever, a nature memoir (Beacon Press), and Steady and Trembling, a spiritual memoir (Chalice Press). A regular contributor to the Chicago Tribune, his essays have appeared in the Boston Globe, Baltimore Sun, Orion, The Iowa Review, Christian Century, Fourth Genre, River Teeth, and many others. Dozens of his essays have also aired on NPR, PRI and Chicago Public Radio.

He is excited to be amongst this beautiful community this Sunday, August 20th, while Pastor Erin is on vacation.

We captured the blooms in all their glory this week!

Special thanks to Rod Irey for planting, watering, and maintaining the flowers this year. 

Goal: A written and visual history of the church up until our 65th Anniversary which will be in November of 2024.

Who is leading this endeavor?

Marilyn Giese has agreed to be the “Editor in Chief”.

We reached out to many of our longtime members and these folks have agreed to be on the editorial board: Carol Honeywell, David Mook, David and Joyce Boyd, and Jim and Wendy Fanning. If anyone else wants to be a part of this, let Pastor Erin or Marilyn know!

What we need from you:

If you are a longtime member and want to submit stories or documents or pictures, please email them to the office or drop them by the office (Sundays or Monday-Thursday, please call first during the weekdays) 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.

Save the Date for the next Men's Social Group event:

Trivia Night at Warren’s Ale House (51 Town Square, Wheaton) on August 22nd at 7pm.

For more information on the group or to sign up for an event, interested men can contact Bruce Anderson or Brian English.

Pastor Erin is leading a mandatory parent and student meeting for all confirmands on Sunday, August 27th, from 4-5pm. Class schedule and expectations will be covered.

The Women’s Fellowship group will be assembling snack packs to donate to kids at DuPage PADS housing during the next gathering on September 21st, at 7pm, in Dobstaff Hall.

We are collecting monetary donations to go toward purchasing items for these snack packs — items like juice boxes, Goldfish crackers, fruit snacks, etc. Each snack bag costs approximately $10, and any donation amount is welcome!

Our goal is to pack 50 snack bags. This effort will help kids at PADS enjoy snacks just like their school friends. Please place your donation in the mailbox outside the office, noting the donation is for PADS snack bags, or donate online via this link and put ‘PADS snack bags’ in the Memo field.

Our Biloxi mission trip is right around the corner and the Mission Committee is asking for donations of Walmart gift cards (any amount is appreciated) for the group to take down in October. These gift cards are greatly appreciated by  Back Bay Mission as it allows them to stock their food pantry that will help the clients they serve. You can order them through the Raise Right gift card program, which will also benefit St. Matthew! See Edie DeBoard to order. The gift cards need to be ordered by October 1st. The Mission Committee thanks you for your ongoing support and generosity!

Sunday School will be on hiatus for a few weeks (July 30th - September 3rd) and will resume on September 10th, Come Together Day. We hope to see you and your kids at our services, including our outdoor services on July 30th and August 27th.

We will not have nursery care for the rest of August. Our nursery care will resume on Come Together Day, September 10th, with our new nursery attendant, Nicole Poglitsch. If you need nursery care during those few weeks, please contact Kenna Anderson.

We will have outdoor worship services on the last Sunday of the month, weather permitting, June—September.

August 27th and September 24th. Please bring your own chair.

There will not be a nursery caregiver on outdoor worship Sundays. We encourage your children to stay with you outside. 

We will not have coffee after outdoor services. 

Let's kick off the new school year with Come Together Day on Sunday, September 10th. 

During church, we will have the Blessing of the Backpacks. All students and teachers are invited to bring their bags for a special blessing.

After church, join us for some fun, family, and fellowship! We'll have a Bounce House, egg toss, games, and the all-church picnic! RSVP for the picnic in the narthex or click here! 

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 them in the box in Dobstaff and Karen Fenney bring them to the DuPage Convalescent Center. The residents really appreciate them!

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!

It's that time of year again, when our dedicated music ensembles take a much-deserved break and reenergize over the summer for a return in the fall.

We invite all musically inclined folks to consider sharing your talents with us this summer by signing up for a Sunday (or two, even) to offer special music. It doesn't need to be long or elaborate and doesn't need any more of a theme than to be joyfully presented. If you sing or play an instrument and need accompaniment, talk with Brian.

The sign-up sheet can be found in the narthex. 

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!