Ministries
ESL
EVANGELISM
PASTORAL CARE
LECTORS
ENGLISH AS A SECOND
LANGUAGE (ESL)
Many
St. Matthew’s parishioners have discerned a “call” to teach
English to adults in the C-2 school district who may be
grappling with a new language. (We all know that the
English language is the first step to full inclusion in our
community as productive citizens.) More than a third of
our active parishioners are anxious and excited to participate
in this educational outreach ministry!
English as a Second Language (ESL) classes began on Monday,
September 17th, and is held every Monday and
Wednesday from 6:30-8:30pm from mid-September through mid-May.
Borrowing from our experience with Micah Ministries, we expect
that the number of students will probably start small and grow
when the word is shared with friends and neighbors. We are offering classes for adults, with
accompanying nursery care for children 5 and under, and a
tutoring/mentoring program for older children who might need
help with their homework or just a safe (and fun!) place to be
while their parents learn English.
The response has been terrific we continue to add additional
folks that want to take advantage of this opportunity to improve
their ability to communicate effectively by becoming more
proficient in the English language.
EVANGELISM
Evangelism can be summed up with Psalm 96, 1-3:
1. Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to
the Lord, all the whole earth.
2. Sing to the Lord and bless his Name,
proclaim the good news of his salvation from day to day.
3. Declare his glory among the nations and his
wonders among all peoples.
We are always working to reach out to others to
bring them to Christ.
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PASTORAL CARE
COMMISSION
St. Matthew's concern and care is expressed by
lay ministry which extends from Nursery care for infants and toddlers
during services and some parish events to help for families who have
suffered the death of a loved one.
"TeleCare" is a carefully organized method of
keeping in touch by telephone with members to see if there is a need
which the Parish might be able to meet, whether for prayer, a ride to
Church or assistance in keeping a medical appointment.
"Caring Community" papers are sent to home-bound
persons, containing the Sunday Gospel reading and a reflection similar
to a sermon. Our members are very helpful to each other in their
efforts to keep in touch with each other by visits, telephone, and
daily prayer.
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LECTORS
The worship of God is our most important work
when we gather as God's people. While most worship is led by clergy,
many lay people, adults, children and youth, participate in every part
of the service on a regular basis.
A portion of our worship is hearing and
responding to the Word of God through the Holy Scriptures from the Old
and New Testaments. St. Matthew's has an excellent and dedicated cadre
of Lectors, both adult and youth, who are responsible for this portion
of each service. It is the responsibility of the Lector to study,
understand and prepare the assigned reading so that he/she may
communicate with the congregation the intellectual, emotional and
aesthetic meaning of the scripture being read.
Lectors scheduled to read during a given month
assemble the first Saturday of that month at 10:00 a.m. at the church
for practice in a congenial group, each member giving support and
advice to help each person read the Word of the Lord in the best
possible manner.
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