ST. MATThEw’S Epistle A1 The Epistle – January 2017 The Epistle The monthly newsletter of St....

1 The Epistle – January 2017

Th

e Ep

istle

The monthly newsletter of

St. Matthew’s Parish, Pacific Palisades, CA

February 2017Volume 44 No.

please turn to page 4

RECTOR’S REPORTST. MATThEw’S

ANNuAl MEETiNg 2017

At our 2016 Vestry Retreat this last March a draft Mission/Vision Statement was developed. “The mission of St. Matthew’s is to Welcome, Nourish and Serve”.

Obviously, this statement is not a finished product. However, the three categories speak to a deep and abiding call for this wonderful community. In further discussions, the Vestry developed three goals for this year that seem to jump from this statement.

First, the Vestry had a strong sense that we were being called to offer—to everyone who comes to our com-

munity—radical hospitality. This speaks to our desire, as a Church that follows Jesus, to welcome the stranger and share the good news of God’s love and inclusion. At St. Matthew’s, as most of us know, we have a consistent influx of visi-tors. The reasons for this are varied, from young parents wanting to connect with our community and school to others drawn in by our excellent music or youth programs. The Vestry felt very strongly that we must be a welcoming community. Thus, the first goal for 2016 was to strengthen and develop our Newcomer Ministry. In the last year we have created a Newcomer Committee, chaired by Alex Siroky, which meets monthly to support the various sub-ministries that offer welcome to our visitors. One of the sub-ministries, the Greeter Ministry, has seen the rapid growth and provides a presence of welcome on the patio after our Sunday services. Our Vestry also supported the calling of Amy Childress as Membership Coordinator, which includes being staff to our Newcomer ministry. In the next few months we hope to call a lay chair to lead our Shepherd Ministry, which will connect newcomers to “senior” parish members as they enter the parish. Lastly, the call to radical hospitality is a call to all of us here in the St Matthew’s community. In opening ourselves to those seeking a home in this faith community we will find ourselves developing new friendships and in the process identifying more deeply with God’s loving embrace.

The second goal developed by the Vestry was to strengthen and encourage lay leadership in the parish. Surprisingly, this goal was not developed with an impending clergy reduction

in mind! The sense from the Vestry was that there were several areas where lay leadership could bring new life to moribund or non -existent ministries. Once such are was our greeter ministry. Ably


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Staff Directory

weekly Calendar

To reach any of the numbers below:

Dial 310/573-7787, then the extension

The Rev. Bruce A. Freeman, Rector (Ext. 130) [email protected]

Mr. Josh Castellanos, Facilities Coordina-tor (Ext. 108) [email protected]

Ms. Amy Childress, membership Coordina-tor (Ext. 123) [email protected]

Mr. Craig Ehlers, Chief Financial Officer (Ext. 126) [email protected]

Mr. Greg Heidt, Director of Facilities and Operations (ext. 108) [email protected]

Ms. Karen Johnson, Stewardship Secretary (Ext. 100) [email protected]

Ms. Jennifer McCarthy, Director of Com-munications (Ext. 128) [email protected]

Mr. Jeremias Mendez, Special Projects Man-ager (Ext. 133) [email protected]

Ms. Missy Morain, Director of Formation for Youth and Children; (Ext. 139) [email protected]

Mr. Thomas Neenan, Director of Music (Ext. 127) [email protected]

The Rev. Kristin Neily Barberia, School Chaplain (Ext. 125) [email protected]

Ms. Haesung Park, Parish Organist , [email protected]

The Rev. Christine Purcell, Associate Rector (Ext. 129) [email protected]

Mr. Stu Work, Day School Head of School (Ext. 146) [email protected]

Like us on Facebook

To see more about events and activities in our community, be sure to follow “The Parish of St. Matthew” on Facebook!

Sundays8:00 am The Holy Eucharist

(with infant and toddler care available)

10:15 am Choral Eucharist

(with infant and toddler care available)

10:15 am Godly Play

Mondays7:30 pm Contemplative Prayer

Wednesdays10:00 am The Holy Eucharist

MISSION STATEMENTThe Parish of St. Matthew, a community of

faith in the Episcopal tradition, is called by God to love, serve and worship Jesus Christ.

Our mission is to spiritually nourish those who seek unity with God and each other in Christ.

As stewards, entrusted with God’s gifts, we are committed to carrying on Christ’s work in the world.

Sunday Sermons online - Recorded versions

If you would like to listen to a sermon that you heard at Saint Matthew’s, or one you missed for some reason, most of the Sunday sermons are now available online. Just navigate your web browser to: www.stmatthews.com and click on the “Sermons Online” link. Happy listening!

In A Pastoral Emergency...We want to know about all pastoral emergencies at St. Matthew’s so we can respond as quickly as possible. In such a situation, for example a death, a sudden hospitalization, an accident, or any kind of emergency, please contact our pastoral care hotline (310/573-7787, ext. 199) in order to reach the on-call priest right away. For the fast-est response, please do not call the parish office or clergy cell-phones, as these are often not the fastest way to contact us. Thank you!


Requests for Prayers and Parish Announcements Pr

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need to schedule an event or have an announcement to share?

If you have a meeting or event that your ministry would like to hold at St. Matthew’s, please coordinate its placement on the parish calendar through Jennifer McCarthy. She will also coordinate your announce-ments as possible. Please contact her at 310/454-1358, ext. 128 or [email protected]. Thank you!

Pray the Rosary

All are invited to the chapel to pray the Rosary to-gether at 8:30 am on the first Saturday of the month. This contemplative, spiritual practice takes about 20 minutes and we’ll offer a brief “clinic” for all. Rosaries will be available for those who may not have them!

The Church in the Canyon - On Sale Now

You can still purchase your copy of The Church in the Canyon, The Parish of St. Matthew 1941-2016 on the patio for $25 after church services or stop by the office to purchase a copy. Proceeds go to our many outreach partners!

Please pray for Betsy, Audrey, Jon Bruno, Catherine Jane, Bill & Erica, Elizabeth, Bob Guyett, Jane Halgren, Mathew Hand, Lydia Heston, Jerry, Catherine Jones, Steve Kerr, Carol, Patsy Lanter, Matthew, Betts Rockwell, Joan Sather, Sherry, Nancy Ufkes, Janet, and Molly Wooden.

We also remember those who have died in the hope of Christ’s resurrection: Nicholas Linesch, Anne Carson and William Jeffries. Please know that in addition to your praying for these persons, they are prayed for regularly throughout the week by clergy and by members of our Intercessory Prayer Group.

If you would like to add, keep, or remove someone from this list, please call The Rev. Christine Purcell at 310/573-7787, ext. 129. Prayer requests will automatically be kept on the list for one month only.


Bruce Freeman, continued

managed by Nan Ritenour, the Greeters have made a palpable difference in our Sunday morning experience. The Anointing ministers, who do the laying on of hands at the altar rail in the chapel every Sunday began this last summer. Seeing the need to supplement clergy leadership, the new leader, David Landau, recruited, trained and scheduled a robust number of ministers. David’s calm, spiritual vision has profoundly impacted the spirit of our worship and shown us the rightful place for lay ministry in our parish. These are two examples of lay leadership develop-ment amongst many. There is little doubt that we have a great opportunity to extend the reach of Jesus’ holy love inside and out of the parish through effective lay leadership.

The third goal of the Vestry

for 2016 was to sup-port the development of best practices in our financial management. The result of these ef-forts, and thank you Peter Trepp, Treasurer and Craig Ehlers, Staff finance officer, has been a steady uptick in online giving, both in pledges and gifts. In addition, we’ve supported and encouraged our planned giving team to develop the Legacy Society and the message of estate giving. The Stewardship of our finances is critical for our life together in this parish. We are well on the road in establishing solid and effective financial practices.

In preparation for this annual report I looked back through the last few years of our parish life. It won’t surprise you that I saw a significant amount of transition, especially for our Staff. Our outgoing Vestry members have had to negotiate a shift-ing number of Rectors, Staff and the disruptions this often created. In the last 12 months we said goodbye to our beloved Assistant priests, Lester Mackenzie and George Daisa and to our Associate Rector, Michael Seiler. This was a difficult and poignant transition for those of us at St. Matthew’s who knew and loved them. However, the opportunities for them to grow in their vocation and to serve God in impactful contexts brought satisfaction that we have formed and sent out 3 talented priests to serve God’s Church. Of course, in the last couple of weeks we received the news that our Music Director, Tom Neenan, will be retiring later this year. There is no way to fully express how much Tom means to this parish. His vision for music in the parish community and ability to bring excellence to all of our musical offerings has created a strong culture in this congrega- Please turn to page5

tion that will endure for years. Lastly, it must be noted the Stu Work has announced that he will be retiring as head of School in the summer of 2018. Stu has brought wisdom, grace, good humor and basic kindness to his position. Our parish school is in a very good place as we now consider our school’s future.

With all of this transition, we have also seen the arrival of new Staff. Last summer, we welcomed Greg Heidt as our new Director of Facilities. Greg brings extensive education and work experience to this important role in our parish. Our campus is an important part of our communal identity. It is the setting in which we live in community and is a source of spiritual inspira-tion. The truth is that we have much deferred maintenance on our building and grounds. Greg, Jeremias Mendez and our new

assistant Facilities Director, Josh Castel-lanos, provide us with a sturdy leadership group to address our maintenance issues and the capacity to look forward towards future projects. As mentioned above, we have the great fortune to have been able to call Amy Childress as our Member-ship Coordinator. Amy will support our Newcomer Ministry, the administration of all our pastoral transitions and our membership directory. In addition, I know that I speak for most of us in saying that the presence of Christine Purcell as our Associate Rector has brought great warmth, intelligence and grace to our parish. Christine’s experience and obvious call to leadership here in west

L.A. has brought energy and vision to our Pastoral Care and Adult Formation ministries. I am deeply grateful that God has led Christine to St. Matthew’s. Finally, we will be welcom-ing Dwayne Milburn as our next Director of Music later this summer. Another thanks must go to Tom Neenan for making Dwayne’s call to St. Matthew’s possible. God is good.

One quick thank you: to our outgoing Vestry members. Later today we will give thanks for these five strong leaders. Bill Greene, Sr. Warden, Greg Cortese, Jr. Warden, Joan Sumpter, Clerk of Vestry, Elizabeth Keatinge and Shawn Silletti have been Vestry members during the heart of the transition period of the last 4-5 years. They have brought a faithful, calm, com-mitted and loving presence to our leadership. Their witness has allowed us to negotiate all of the transitions these last few years and provided the foundation for the positive direction in which we are headed.

What is God doing in parish as we move into 2017?

First, God is calling us to celebrate. This is our 75th year and we need to lift up our Godly inheritance and have

some fun. On February 12th we will have historical services,

gOD iS CAlliNg uS TO CElEBRATE. ThiS iS OuR 75Th yEAR AND wE NEED TO

liFT uP OuR gODly iNhERiTANCE AND

hAVE SOME FuN.


women’s Retreatworshiping as we might have 75 years ago. Please dress up in 1940s style, enjoy a very old fashioned but familiar service and then join your friends for a reception afterwards. There are a series of such celebrations during the next few months. Thank you to Kathy Volz and David Hansen, chairs and their com-mittee for all of their work to make this a rich year.

Last fall, the Vestry voted unanimously to begin prepa-ration for a Capital Campaign. At this time we have formed a Campaign committee, chaired by Jamie Montgomery and have begun preliminary work on the elements of this effort. The focus of our work will on revitalizing our side of the campus. It desperately needs it. We hope to make all of our buildings acces-sible to all, greatly upgrade our meeting spaces, group our Staff in one area, renovate the columbarium, rebuild the caretaker’s house on Bienveneda and make our outdoor landscape more sustainable and beautiful. We are hoping to create in all of our spaces a feeling engendered by this wonderful sanctuary we’re in right now: a clear sense of an open, welcoming and inspirational community rooted in a loving and inclusive God.

We have been given an amazing community. As stewards of St. Matthew’s, here and now, may we move into the future trusting in God’s faithfulness and love.

In Christ,Bruce

A good retreat has a way of seeping into the soul, leaving the participant forever changed.

On the afternoon of Jan. 13, thirty-four women from St. Matthew’s gathered at Serra Retreat Center, in Malibu, for the annual Women’s Retreat weekend. The subject was compelling: “Compassion: Grace and Discipline”. Our retreat leader was Rev. JoAnn Leach, Associate Priest at Grace in the Desert, Las Vegas, and former Episcopal Chaplain at both the University of Utah and Princeton.

In the serenity of the hilltop space overlooking the ocean, we explored Compassion’s many forms. We began by reading scrip-ture filled with the message of God’s loving compassion towards us. Saturday we considered the importance of Lovingkindness (Metta) towards ourselves--meditating, listening and praying--as ways to practice mindful self compassion. Once grounded in God’s compassion towards us and self compassion, Rev. JoAnn guided us through practices offering compassion toward others including family members, friends, elders, difficult people in our lives, the community, the nation, and the world. Worship and music sanctified parts of every day. Between sessions there was time for walking, reflection, creative activity, sharing meals, and fellowship.

Seeds of compassion were planted, practices for nurturing compassion so it grows and blooms were shared. Keep watch for the scattering of more seeds of compassion, the grace to receive it and the discipline to share it, as time passes.

Outreach Thank you

From Todd Schafer, President and CEO of GAIA (Global AIDS Interfaith Alliance):

Thank you for your gift to GAIA given in support of GAIA’s Villages Program. GAIA is honored to work with the warm people in Malawi, Africa, to carry out the good work your gift will allow. Returning orphans to school, comforting the suf-fering in hospice, and treating the eminently treatable, we are truly making a difference. Zikomo, St. Matthew’s!”

From John Maceri, Executive Director at OPCC/LAMP Community:

OPCC and Lamp Community has received the generous grant from The Parish of St. Matthew to help support com-prehensive care for the homeless across Los Angeles County. Thank you for your ongoing support and dedication to the most vulnerable members of our community. Through your partner-ship we are able to provide the support and services necessary to better meet the needs of thousands of homeless individuals all over Los Angeles County. Thank you for your generosity.”


February 22 - Homeless Essentials - Winter Wear Collec-tion • St. Matthew’s is collecting winter coats and other clothing for adult guests in the Cold Weather Shelter at the Armory. Please donate new or gently used items for men or women to the bin at the church entrance. To help deliver clothing on Feb. 22 or for more info, please contact Jocelyn Cortese, 310-454-1424. You can also check out the Amazon Wish List on our website!

February 4 - Pray the Rosary • All are invited to the cha-pel to pray the Rosary together at 8:30 am on Feb. 4 - and on every first Saturday of the month. This contemplative, spiritual practice takes about 20 minutes and we’ll offer a brief “clinic” for all. Rosaries will be available for those who may not have them.

St. Matt’s 101 - Feb. 5, 12, 26 and Mar. 5 • This series will introduce you to St. Matthew’s with some history of our tradition, Episcopal worship, and what being a disciple of Jesus at St. Matthew’s might look like for you. We will meet at noon on four Sundays and include lunch! This class will also prepare you for confirmation into the Episcopal Church on Apr. 23, if you desire. Child care will be available but must be reserved in advance. Please contact Christine to reserve: [email protected].

February 12 - 75th Anniversary Historical Service • Come dressed in period clothing from the mid-1940s and experience Sunday service as it was enjoyed 75 years ago. We invite you to bring simple foods from the era (think jello molds, deviled eggs, ham sandwiches). If you can bring food, please contact Sarah Peterson at [email protected].

upcoming EventsFebruary 28 - Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper • Get ‘em

while they’re hot! Yummy pancakes with all the fixin’s at our Annual Family Pancake Supper in celebration of “Fat” Tuesday - the night before Lent begins (Ash Wednesday) in the Parish Center. Adults: $10; Children (over 6): $5. Questions? Contact Courtney Sheldon: [email protected]!

March 4 - Ravi Verma’s Spiritual Direction Lenten Pro-gram: 9am-1pm • Ravi teaches spiritual direction at Stillpoint, an organization that has has aided seekers in their journey of spiritual discovery and transformation for more than thirty years. He also works with corporations, retreat centers, and non-profits on issues of spiritual development. Please join us for this unique and formative experience!

March 6 - Lenten Labyrinth Walk • Walk a sacred path on your Lenten journey this year. We will meet in St. Timothy next to the Labyrinth at 7 am for the six Mondays of Lent: March 6,13, 20, 27 and April 3 and 10. Come join us in preparing our souls for the miracle of Easter and experience St. Matthew’s Labyrinth for yourself.

March 10 - Alleluia Book Deadline • Easter is always special at St. Matthew’s with our annual “Alleluia Book” devotionals. We would love to hear your “Alleluia Moment” to share with the parish, whether it’s a special poem, narrative or illustration… or a retelling of an experience that was a meaningful “Alleluia Moment” to you. Your submission will be published in our Easter Alleluia publication! Send all submissions to alleluia@...

March 24-25 - Stern Lecture • We are delighted to an-nounce that we have rescheduled Dr. Walter Brueggemann for the Stern Lecture on March 24-25! Please RSVP now to ensure our catering count: [email protected].

Baroque and Beyond 2.0 Extravagant Music from Venice, Paris and Tin Pan Alley

• Masterpieces for multiple choirs from the Venice of Gabrieli and Monteverdi

• Chansons from turn-of-the-century Paris by Debussy

• Jazz masterworks made famous in post-war New York City by George Shearing, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and more

Join us in some musical time travel as we sample great music from 16th century Venice, turn-of-the-century Paris and New York, circa 1945. The concert brings together twelve of Los Angeles’s finest choral singers, members of The Chamber Orchestra at St. Matthew’s, and the renowned Jennifer Leitham Jazz Trio (pictured).

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