To all the sisters, brothers, and friends of Saint Matthew Church:

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

We are faced with a great external crisis; a crisis that threatens the health and life of each person.

In view of this national emergency we, the people of Saint Matthew Church, hereby suspend all public services and/or liturgies until further notice. Please note the following as we navigate through this time. It is important to stay connected and to be spiritually fed. Below are some of the ways that we can do just that.

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Community Agenda Items:

– We will be offering remote access to a recorded church Mass Service via the Saint Mathew’s website and Facebook page so our community can hear the Mass/Scripture readings and hear a homily from the safety of their homes every Sunday going forward until we are able to resume “live” liturgies; [Update: these videos can be watched on our Videos page]

– We will be offering communion to those that would like to receive it at their homes via our Deacons/Priests/Eucharistic Ministers to those who request it and dependent upon geographic logistics and availability of a Deacon/Priest/Eucharistic Minister. Please email your request to me at my email address listed below;

– We will be offering other sacraments as we are able, as well as daily pastoral messages from Bishop Peter;

– Individual pastoral care will be made available either by phone, ZOOM, or other means, to anyone who may need to counsel with a priest, a deacon, myself, and others;

– Depending upon the length of this crisis, Bible Study may be added via remote (ZOOM) access as well and we will send out the ZOOM Meeting information to anyone that may be interested;

– I will be communicating with the community every week via email/Facebook page/website, as to whether we will be offering a “live” Mass or a “remote” Mass, so do please check your emails, and/or our website/Facebook page daily/weekly for updates;

– The church will be sending out a “tutorial” link as to how to set-up ZOOM on your personal computers, if you don’t already have it;

– Our Unity Mass will be postponed until the last Sunday of May. Of course this will depend on what is going on in our country by then;

– Check with Kathryn and/or Kelly for office hours and availability prior to coming to the office;

– The community can send their suggestions and/or thoughts to my email: bishoppeterelderhickman@gmail.com

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Watch for future announcements and pray for the wellbeing and health of yourself and all those you love!

We appreciate your understanding during these trying times and ask that you pray for the community as we pray for all of you. As mentioned, please look for our Sunday Mass to be posted on our Facebook page and website.

In the Love of Christ,

Bishop Peter Elder Hickman

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View this letter as a PDF: Important Announcement from Bishop Peter – 3/17/2020