Dear Saints, Greetings in the name of our crucified, risen and ascended Lord and coming Savior Jesus Christ!

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1 St. Matthew s Staff Rev. Orin Cummings Rector Sherry Minzey Admin. Assistant Ron Stockton Music Director Jim Minzey Sexton Officers PATTI MCGILL Senior Warden ROBYN WILLIAMS Junior Warden David Macey Treasurer Linda Gerding Secretary Dave Chullino George Miller Clerk of the Works Service Times 8:00 a.m 11:00 a.m. Sunday Service Rite II Dear Saints, Greetings in the name of our crucified, risen and ascended Lord and coming Savior Jesus Christ! I am greatly encouraged to share with you the good news that Sunday School has resumed at St Matthew s. I can t begin to tell you how grateful I am that and Zella Forsythe have given themselves to teaching our kids about God s love for them in Jesus Christ. Also, I am overjoyed that there are more children in Sunday School than initially anticipated and the delight this puts on the faces of the teachers. The restart of Sunday School goes beyond the saying, where there s a will, there s a way. Our spiritual ancestors had this in mind when establishing this parish. This goal was implied though not plainly expressed in the vision: We are a community that seeks to serve Christ in all people through God s forgiving love. To serve Christ, means that we are NOT a social club. Members do not gather to meet each other because of common interest or occupation or enjoy leisure activities. St Matthew s Parish was established as a faith community based on God s forgiving love through Jesus Christ. Therefore, we meet in response to Christ s call. As members of the household of faith in Jesus Christ, each of us understands what it means to be called a steward of the faith. Stewards are servants who give of their time, talent and treasures in service of Christ. Sunday School is one among many services offered to strengthen and encourage each other and to worship, pray and grow in Christ as expressed in our Mission Statement E. 65 th Street, Raytown, Missouri Phone: stmart@sbcglobal.net 1 Continue on page 2

2 Continued from page 1 In small churches like ours, we participate in more than one ministry such as ECW, COC, DOK, Altar Guild, Choir and more recently Prayer Meeting (another good news to share). Owing to our love for Christ, encouragement of fellow believers, and especially the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we take stewardship seriously. We do not anticipate reward or applause for what we do, but simply serve Christ. And because of who we are, we invite others to do likewise with the words of St Paul, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as though you were working for the Lord and not for people (Colossians 3:23 GNT). In Christ s service, Fr. Orin Linda Batson DOK Chapter, The Light of Christ My Prayer for Victims of Natural Disasters Lord of Heaven and Earth. We know not why the wind stirs up the water into a frenzy. But we know your Holy Spirit can stir our conscience to be ever mindful of the needs of those who are frightened or angered or grieve the losses caused by the violent winds and water. Help us to remember them in prayer and help us to know what you would have us do through our Rule of Life - How and when and where to pray, serve and share the Good News of God's Love. Amen. Installation of Zella Forsythe into the Daughters of the King. June Paul Zella Forsythe & Linda Batson Left-Right: Ann Corbin, Kay Gutierrez, Linda Batson, Zella Forsythe, Jo Miller, Virginia Sembower 2

3 Flying Solo: St. Matthew s Flying Solo group met on Saturday, September 16th, for a movie at the B&B Theater in Lee s Summit, followed by dinner at The Filling Station in downtown Lee s Summit. Our movie was Going Home starring Reese Witherspoon, which seemed to be a hit with all of us. If you ve never been to The Filling Station, give it a try great barbecue! Zella Forsythe, Linda Gerding, Kay Gutierrez, Charles and Mary Cease, and attended. Our next dinner and movie event will be Saturday, October 14th, to see Kingsman: The Golden Circle, followed by dinner at Waldo Pizza nearby, so save the date! Prayer Group Our first Group Prayer group met September 19th, 6:30 pm, at the church and, I must say, it was a wonderful experience praying with and for each other in a casual and lightly structured format. Each person made two or three prayer requests on behalf of themselves, their family or friends, or matters of general concern to them. After a request was made, we prayed, some of us out loud and some silently, for whatever resolution the spirit prompted us to pray for. We covered health issues, accidents, general welfare, personal problems, and other issues that weighed upon us. Thank you to Linda Gerding for giving rides to those who needed one. We decided to meet on Wednesday nights going forward, so our next group prayer night will be Wednesday, October 18th at 6:30 pm at the church. We hope you can make it! Evangelism Sunday, September 17th was the first day of Sunday school after a successful Vacation Bible School held just seven short weeks ago. Our first day brought seven children including Madison Arroyo, Dominic Brookes, and five of Madison s cousins, including Payton, Isaiah, Diamond, Joslyn and Julia (Ju Ju). Ages ranged from 2 to 12 years old. Our class grew to ten children the following Sunday with the addition of Nicholas Turlin, Gracie Seese (Linda Gerding s granddaughter) and another of Madison s cousins, Amani. It was wonderful to have everyone in class. Madison, Dominic and Gracie were with us at Vacation Bible School this summer and it was great to see them return for weekly Sunday school. Kudos to parents Christine and Jason Brookes, Tish and Carlos Arroyo, Carl and Marci Turlin, and Joy Seese for making the commitment to bring their children to class, and double kudos to Tish and Carlos for bringing their nieces and nephews! Zella and I have lots of good lessons and activities planned for the coming year and look forward to seeing all the kids each Sunday. 3

4 THE 36 TH ANNUAL CROP WALK ST. MATTHEW S TEAM - ENDING HUNGER ONE STEP AT A TIME Sunday Oct. 8, 2017 ~ 2:00 p.m. Every year, the Second Sunday of October is designated as World Hunger Day. It has been the tradition at St. Matthews to raise funds to alleviate world hunger by walking in Kansas City s annual CROP WALK. The CROP (Communities Responding to Overcome Poverty) WALK is sponsored by Church World Services who has made its motto ENOUGH FOR ALL. The route will be the same as last year and starts at Central United Methodist Church, and follows part of the beautiful and historic Harry Wiggins Trolley Track Trail. So, on Oct. 8, 2017 beginning at Central United Methodist Church, a contingent of St. Matthew s parishioners will set out on a 3.5 mile trek, participating with hundreds from other churches in the Kansas City area, to walk in solidarity with those who are hungry. 25% of the funds raised support local agencies like: Bishop Sullivan Center and the Raytown Summer Lunch Ministry. 75% of the funds support Church World Service and other International Agencies for disaster relief and selfhelp development throughout the world, including the United States. Those of you interested, please Save the Date and mark your calendars. This event is an opportunity to wear and show off our HERE I AM LORD T-shirts. The Service and Outreach Commission will keep you reminded. Please contact either Linda Gerding or Christina Brooks, both of whom have pledge sheets, OR sponsor a walker and make a pledge! Carpooling from St. Matthew s will also be available. An alarming statistic is that a child dies from hunger somewhere in the world every 3 seconds. By supporting the Crop Walk, St. Matthews has another opportunity to do outreach ministry and help with the MDG s. The #1 Millennium Development Goal: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Blessings, Linda Gerding/Christina Brooks Crop Walk Co-Chairs-2017 Service & Outreach Commission 4

5 Join your fellow St. Matt s parishioners Saturday, October 21 for an allchurch evening at Raytown s 8th Annual Pumpkins on Parade at Cave Springs Park, Gregory and Blue Ridge. The trails will be lined with over 1,000 lit pumpkins, and there will be games for kids, food trucks, fire trucks and more. Bring the kids and grandkids, or just bring yourselves for a nice pumpkin-lit stroll in the park. We will meet at 5:30. Let Judy know if you would like a ride ( ). BRT members are invited too! See you there. NOVEMBER MESSENGER/CALENDAR DEADLINE OCTOBER 18 VOLUNTEERS NEEDED SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7 AT 9:30 A.M. On Sunday, October 29, we will we celebrating the 500 th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation and BRT will host United Worship Service at 9:30 a.m. followed by Potluck featuring Medieval Meals (surprise us). No Dessert please because BRT will provide one special dessert for the occasion. LOAVES & FISHES COUNT FOR REAP AUGUST THANK YOU! 5