MESSAGE FROM THE RECTOR
Dear and Beloved Friends,
Oh St. Matthew’s—what a wonderful church you are!
In the pages that follow, you will see abundant evidence of this. It’s glorious. In a year when pretty much everyone everywhere was trying to figure out what it means to do church after the pandemic, you just dove right in and did what needed to be done. You gathered for worship. You loved well. You served often. You kept on learning (so important!) You gave big. You faithfully kept our mission going, knowing and sharing God’s love with such joy and enthusiasm!
YEAR IN REVIEW
26,690
2022 Total Attendance
& Service Views
9,488
In-person Attendance
(Sundays & Special Services)
17,202
Online Worship Attendance
(within 24 hours)
240
Compline Services
13,849
Diapers Donated
$25,000
Total Raised in 2022
to feed children in Haiti
689
Bags of Food Donated
(Easter, Thanksgiving & Care
Response Team Combined)
"The body of Christ, what does this mean? The physical body of Jesus that lived and breathed and turned water into wine and died on the cross? The body of Christ as given to us in the Eucharist? It's US. WE are the body of Christ"
-Rev. Mary Margaret Winn
2023 Vision with Fr. Rob & Sr. Warden, Sara Warnick
2022 Financial Report with Dan Robertson & Miriam Turner
2023 Student Connections Vision with Ron Whitt
2022 Year in Pictures
ANSWERS FROM OUR Q&A SESSION:
Can you tell us more about the debt the church holds?
We currently have fixed-rate loans (at very good rates) for both the Argonne house and the main building mortgages. The balance on the Argonne house is $143,000. We’d love to have a group of people who would be willing to think and make a plan to pay off the Argonne house balance so that we would have more money available for ministry.
Can you tell us what the 25% increase to the Outreach budget will be used for in 2023?
Kristin Drummond, who has done a fantastic job over the past two years of organizing, identifying, and training new leaders, and building our Outreach program answered that in years past, the Rector’s discretionary fund was often tapped to provide additional resources for Outreach such as providing for the gift cards which are added to the Easter and holiday bags. This year the vestry voted to add the actual amounts needed to the budget clearly identifying this as a spending priority.
Will we have a seminarian in 2023?
We do have someone who may be interested in being our seminarian in 2023. We are currently awaiting additional information.
How is the current strategic plan being reworked/revised/adapted in light of the pandemic?
This is an ongoing question. To this point, we have found the basic principles, values, and structures hold. That adaptation occurs in areas of emphasis, particular focus, and application.
Questions are always welcome at St. Matthew’s. Please contact the church office if you have questions that are not answered in the Annual report or from the Question and Answer section. office@stmtts.org