Episcopal Church in Snellville, GA
What do you get when you combine horses, good food, games, and St.Matthew’s parishioners? A Kentucky Derby party that what! While we had a smaller gathering for this year’s Derby party, it didn’t stop those from attending from having a great time. The Roca family won three gift cards for their style. We had quite a few winners who selected the right horse to win the race.
Saturday, April 13 was a busy day at St. Matthew’s! About thirty parishioners of all ages pitched in to work on sprucing up the campus grounds and gardens and doing various needed indoor jobs. Lunch was served by our wonderful Brotherhood of St. Andrew. Altogether, the members accomplished the following:
Thank you to all who contributed to this busy day!
Do you follow pop culture, U.S. presidents, current events, and enjoy great fellowship? The St. Matthew’s Men’s Trivia team holds a long streak of having a great time while dominating the place with our knowledge of useless information.
Join us every first and third Wednesday of the month at McCray’s Tavern in Lawrenceville in a battle of wits (and the witless) in team trivia. Contact Levi Livermont and Jay Jones for more information.
Seven youths and 10 adults from St. Matthew’s were part of the Confirmation Sunday service held at St. Philip’s Cathedral on March 17.
Bishop Rob Wright said during his sermon, “There is something about being with us, and now, you are us, and I had the high privilege of formalizing that. What a gift.”
Bishop Wright noted that service in the Prayer Book concluded for those being confirmed or reaffirmed with “Amen.” Wright said he wanted to add more to the amen.
“If they wanted a friendly amendment – the ones who wrote the Prayer Book – I would say it shouldn’t stop at amen. It should stop at welcome home,” Wright said. “For you who are being received, I say welcome home. Welcome home because, in this sin-weary world, it sure is nice to find a home.”
Confirmation is a modern adaptation of an ancient church tradition by which those deemed adults were prepared to enter the Christian faith and life.
Today, the Sacrament of Confirmation has a two-fold purpose. For those baptized as infants or children, it provides an opportunity to affirm their baptismal vows as adults. For adults, Confirmation is the sacrament through which persons reaffirm their baptismal vows and, by sacrament, deepen their commitment to the Episcopal Church.
Be sure to notice the meditative landscape created by our St. Matthew’s Flower Guild this Lenten season. This altar display uses possible symbols associated with Lent. Added: a purple cloth draping the arms of the cross to symbolize sacrifice/repentance. Purple represents blood (red) mixed with a heavenly goal (blue). Purple also denotes sadness, mourning, hard labor, and torment.
Look for these and other symbols each week as the meditative landscape changes during the season. If you have questions or comments about the display, speak with Janis Williams or Beth DiGiovanni.
“Happening” – What It’s Like
by Emelia
Happening to me was a very inclusive space where you could just be yourself and no one would judge you. Throughout the weekend we talked about God‘s unconditional love. The talks given by the team members helped me to better understand our theme “graves into gardens”, and that even in my darkest moments that God is with me and will show me the light. It felt amazing to be a part of something bigger and by the end of the week, I felt so loved that I did not want to leave and return to reality. Life is hard and at Happening there’s an escape and you can just be with God.
Our annual Spring Parish Workday is next Saturday, April 13, from 8:00am-2:00pm. We will spend the morning and early afternoon cleaning and doing work projects around the campus as we prepare for spring and Easter (don’t forget Easter is March 31 this year). The Brotherhood of St. Andrew will provide lunch. Sign up to participate, even if you can only come for a few hours. The workday will be an excellent opportunity to share fellowship with other parishioners and meet new people as we care for our beautiful campus.
Our youth are venturing down to The Home Depot Backyard to participate in the 40th Annual Hunger Walk for St. Matt’s Team supporting the SE Gwinnett Co-op and the Outreach committee is locating a virtual location near our church in case you don’t want to venture downtown. Will you be walking with our youth, partaking in the run, be part of St. Matts team as a virtual walker or maybe just donating?
Coming Soon! Watch for the link to register for the event under the St. Matthew’s Team.
What a great time everyone had at Saint Matthew’s First Annual Mardi Gras Party this past Sunday. We had approximately 90 people attend. Everyone feasted on red beans and rice, hot dogs, hamburgers, chips and King Cake. All who found the baby Jesus in the King cake should know that the tradition is that they are now responsible for holding a party for next year’s Mardi Gras. The shoe box floats were spectacular. Amelia Furman and Jessie Hurst taking first and second place for the youth and Dallas LeDuff and Warren Drury taking first and second place for the adults. A special thank you to Nicole, Mackenzi and Tommy Hallmark and Lisa and Dallas LeDuff for their hard work in providing authentic Cajun food and drink and organizing the party. They also brought some of their own personal decorations for the parish hall to give it that special flare. Additional thank you to Becky Olbon for purchasing decorations and supplies, Clay Olbon for the party music, Cecilia Billingsley, Judy Hobbs, Janice Milton, and Paula Pownell for assisting in setting up and cleaning up after the party. Happy Mardi Gras!
