I n f o r M a t t March 2017 Welcome to InforMatt, the monthly news-sheet for St. Matthew s, Surbiton. If you would like to know more about upcoming events and church activities, please visit our website www.stmatthewskt6.org or visit us on Sunday mornings at 9.15 or 11am. A warm welcome... Excepting a few teething problems, it is exciting that in future we will be able to offer people a truly warm welcome to, now that our heating system has been installed. Thank you to all of you who have contributed to covering the costs of the heating system in so many different ways. It s a cliché, but we couldn t have done it without you. So we can begin to look forward to the Spring this year without the quite so desperate need for it to bring warmth! Soon the daffodils will be out and we turn our thoughts to Mothering Sunday (March 26th) and then to Easter. But before we get to Easter this year we are going to hold the Church s Annual Meeting on Sunday 2nd April. We will hold just the one service that morning at 10.30am. Children s groups will take place as usual and we will take the opportunity both before and after they go to their groups to worship God and to carry out some of the business of the church. In particular this year I would like everyone to think about who we might vote on as new PCC members. There will be three or four vacancies so it is important that we give prayerful consideration as to who might join the Church Council. For those who don t know much about it we have about 10 evening meetings a year and are responsible for the general running of the church. The post of PCC member is for three years and it is safe to say that in the next three years important decisions are likely to be made about developing the building and life of the church so we would like new PCC members with ideas, energy and commitment to join the talented and dedicated people we already have. We need a diverse representation from our whole congregation and people who are prepared not only to talk but to get stuck in and do the work as well. If you might be prepared to be one of these people then please speak to me or one of the wardens, Paul or Pauline. Or if you have ideas about who you would like to be a PCC member then please pray about it and perhaps have a quiet word with that person or with us and see if the Spirit is urging them as well. Some of the people elected that morning will be on the PCC as our Deanery Synod Reps so will have a role which takes them beyond the boundaries of the Parish as well. If you want to know more about this, there are some leaflets explaining the role so do ask Helen or Jen, our PCC Secretary. At our Annual Meeting we will reflect with thankfulness on the year gone by and on God s goodness to us. We will also be launching a new TRIO campaign to encourage all of us to consider the level of our regular giving to the church. A campaign was run 3 years ago and so it seems an appropriate and necessary time to repeat the process. More details of this to follow. Finally we are having a mini-series on Prayer as we begin Lent and to reinforce this there are two new initiatives. The first is that on Sundays 5th, 12th and 19th March there will be a brief opportunity to share prayer especially for TRIO and the building development between our two services, so about 10.30 10.50. Please try to attend at least one of these. We will also have an hour at the Vicarage each Sunday afternoon (5-6pm) for discussion of the sermon that morning and about prayer more generally. Church, Avenue, Surbiton KT6 6JQ Parish Office 020 8390 5121 The Rev d Helen Hancock teamrector@stmatthewskt6.org and 020 8390 3829. along with St George s and St Paul s is part of the Tolworth Hook & Surbiton Team Ministry
MARCH 2017 1 Wed 11.00 pm Team Ash Wednesday Holy Communion Service at St George's 8.00 pm Reflective Ash Wednesday Holy Communion 2 Thurs 10.00 am Smarties, 35 Queen's Drive 8.00 pm Discipleship Meeting 3 Fri 10.30 am Women's World day of prayer service at St Mark's 12.30 pm Soup Lunch, first of 6 weeks of soup lunches 4 Sat 10.00 am Working Party in Church to restore the pews 5 Sunday START OF ACTION WEEK 1st Sunday of Lent Mini Sermon Series on Prayer (1) 9.15 am Communion Service followed by short time of prayer in Prayer Corner 11.00 am 11 o'clock Service 3.30pm Service for Royal Star and Garter Residents 6 Mon 9.45 am CTiS Lent Group, Chapel 10.00 am St Matthew's Mums' Group Meeting 7 Tue 8.30 pm Ruby Housegroup 8 Wed 8.00 pm CTiS Lent Group 9 Thurs 10.00 am Smarties, 35 Queen's Drive 10 Fri 12.30 pm Soup Lunch 11 Sat 12 Sunday 2nd Sunday of Lent Mini Sermon Series on Prayer (2) 9.15 am Communion Service followed by short time of prayer in Prayer Corner 11.00 am 11 o'clock Service 13 Mon 9.45 am CTiS Lent Group, Chapel 11.00 am Holy Communion for residents of Milverton Care Home 14 Tue 7.30 pm TRIO Workshop and PCC Meeting 15 Wed 2.00 pm A Chance to Chat, Sitzler Room 8.00 pm CTiS Lent Group 16 Thurs 10.00 am Smarties, 35 Queen's Drive 17 Fri 12.30 pm Soup Lunch 18 Sat 9-12 pm Alpha Morning in Church 19 Sunday 3rd Sunday of Lent 9.15 am Morning Prayer followed by short time of prayer in Prayer Corner 11.00 am 11 o'clock Service with all-age Communion 20 Mon 9.45 am CTiS Lent Group, Chapel 10.00 am St Matthew's Mums' Group Meeting 11.00 am Bourne House Communion 21 Tue 2.30 pm Holy Communion for RS&G residents 22 Wed 8.00 pm CTiS Lent Group 23 Thurs 10.00 am Smarties, 35 Queen's Drive 10.30 am Project Team Meeting 24 Fri 12.30 pm Soup Lunch 25 Sat 7.00 pm Desert Island Discs Fundraising Event in Church 26 Sunday 4th Sunday of Lent MOTHERING SUNDAY 9.00 am Said Communion Service 10.30am All-age Service for Mothering Sunday
27 Mon 9.45 am CTiS Lent Group, Chapel 28 Tue 29 Wed 8.00 pm CTiS Lent Group 30 Thurs 9.30 am School Easter Service 10.00 am Smarties, 35 Queen's Drive 31 Fri 12.30 pm Soup Lunch APRIL 1 Sat 2 Sunday START OF ACTION WEEK 5th Sunday of Lent ANNUAL CHURCH MEETING 10.30 am Joint Service incorporating Annual Church Meeting 3.30pm Service for Royal Star and Garter Residents Church Surbiton Sunday 2nd April Annual Parochial Church Meeting Please try to be there! Monday 10th April 7.30pm Ave Surbiton KT6 6JQ Experience the thrilling and deeply sonorous sound of traditional Russian church and folk music sung by this much-acclaimed St Petersburg choir Refreshments available Free entry retiring collection HOSTED BY MR IAN DAVIES Saturday 25 th March at 7pm at Church. Join us for an entertaining evening of music and chat with refreshments Is this something you could be involved with to support the chuch? Please speak to Helen or one of the Church Wardens if you would like further information Suggested Dress Code: Something tropical! There is no charge but there will be a retiring collection in aid of the SEVEN WHOLE DAYS DEVELOPMENT FUND
Prayer Calendar March 2017 Please pray on the specified day for the whole family of the member and for the topic below. Please include the church s development plans regularly in your prayers ; that we may be obedient to God s will. Sun 26 th Mon 27 th Tues 28 th Wed 1 st March Thurs 2 nd Fri 3 rd Sat 4 th James & Dylan & Susan Mark & Jessica Les Nichols Pat Norrish Nigel & Heather Joanne Georgina Miller Murphy Nelligan Palmer Parkinson Businesses in the Parish Justin Welby Archbishop of Canterbury Tolworth Primary School Seven Whole Days! Discipleship Meeting Women s World Day of Prayer Woodbury Care Home, residents & staff 5 th 6 th 7 th 8 th 9 th 10 th 11 th Neil Parsons & Jason & Harriet Stephen & Asta Podgornaja David Popey & Ed & Sarah Carol Pratt Janet Holloway Pennington Amanda Perry Penny Fox Power Royal Star & Garter Home, CTiS Lent Groups Ruby Housegroup Tolworth Nursery & infant School Smarties Derek Chambers Reader at St Paul s Government, Local Authorities & all in Power 12 th 13 th 14 th 15 th 16 th 17 th 18 th Penelope Reale Peter & Toya Chika Ripley Simon & Sarah Margaret Russell Reisinger Rowe Nicolas & Lisa Proton Chris & Alex Sage Rev Helen Hancock & her work in THiS Team Milverton House Nursing Home, Home Businesses KCAH Peacemakers in the Middle East Tony Geater Reader at St Matthew s Seven Whole Days! 19 th 20 th 21 st 22 nd 23 rd 24 th 25 th James & Sally Sephton Chris & Jo Simmonds Greg & Katalin Simmonds Lee Skyrme & Julie Usher Richard & Julia Spiler Miles & Katherine Stewart William Louise Tassell Children s Group Leaders Alpha Course at the CornerHOUSE Kingston Food Bank Langley Court Rest Home, Project Team Meeting Susan Kang Training to be a Southwark Pastoral Auxiliary 26 th 27 th 28 th 29 th 30 th 31 st Stephanie Taylor Noel & Niluma June Thomas Sarah Thomas Gemma Tickel Leo & Charlotte Tharumanayagam Townsend Desert Island Discs Event Mothers everywhere Kingston & Tolworth Hospitals Rev Victor Cuthbert NSM at Rosclare Nursing Home, residents & staff Primary School, staff & puplis Yourhealthcare Offices in Hollyfield Road