St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
2136 Carter Avenue
(the corner of Carter and Chelmsford Avenues,
two blocks west of the St. Paul Campus of the University of Minnesota,
across from College Park. Click here
for a map)
645-3058
(handicapped accessible)
Schedule of Worship Services:
Sundays:
At the University Episcopal Center, 317-17th Ave. S.E., Minneapolis
(adjacent the U. of M. campus)
Wednesdays: (at St. Matthew's)
The Vision and Mission of the Parish:
St. Matthew's is a neighborhood church with an international community.
We seek to nurture Christian faith and character in all our members, so
that we can fulfill our baptismal covenant and provide leadership for the
common good of the world, the community, and the church. We are an Episcopal
Church guided by the Anglican tradition of the Christian faith. We value
worship, learning, community service, and stewardship for the good of all
creation.
Parish Life:
St. Matthew's is a growing church of 370 members, of which 100 are under 18 years of age. We are handicapped accessible. We have an excellent Sunday School for children and youth. Children learn about their faith through the use of "Godly Play". Godly Play is an adaptation of the work of Maria Montesorri for religious education. Our strong youth program uses the "Journey to Adulthood" curriculum. Our youth are actively involved in diocesan youth activities and regularly participate in our Sunday services. Adult education is available on Sunday mornings at either the adult forum or the Bible study. There are also other learning opportunities for adults at other times of the week.
Music plays a major role at St. Matthew's. We have both an adult and a youth choir. The choirs offer special Christmas and Lenten concerts, and the adult choir offers evensong services on Sunday several times a year.
Worship at St. Matthew's is eucharistically centered. The word `eucharist' comes from the Greek word, `eucharistia', meaning thanksgiving. That word, in turn, is a translation of the Hebrew word, `berakhah'. For us worship is a joyous thanksgiving for God's grace and a wrestling with holy scripture and Christian tradition using our God-given gift of reason in order to receive the inspiration we need to do God's work in our lives and in our world today. All baptized Christian are invited to receive communion in the Episcopal Church.
St. Matthew's has an active mission outreach. We raise money for the Hanna Family Refugee Scholarship Fund to provide funds for higher education for refugees and their children. We serve the hungry through participation in "Loaves & Fishes" at the Dorothy Day Center, Minnesota Food Share, and the St. Philip's Food Bank. Our members are active on the boards of Episcopal Community Services, the Episcopal Church Home, the Sheltering Arms Foundation, the St. Paul Area Council of Churches, and Episcopal House of Prayer. Also, many of our members are offering leadership for the common good of their communities, and we encourage that.
St. Matthew's encourages good stewardship on the part of all its members. We try to help each other identify and apply our talents, time, and resources as is best for us, our families, the church, and our communities.
Parish History:
St. Matthew's came to St. Anthony Park in 1888. We became an official corporation in 1889, and a mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota in 1890. Our first rector was Dr. C. Edgar Haupt, son of a famous Civil War general. He organized St. Matthew's and oversaw the construction of our first church building. That first building was on what is now Langford Place, right across from where the Methodist Church now sits. In 1914 Dr. Haupt encouraged the congregation to build a larger church building at its present site on Carter Avenue across from College Park. For many years St. Matthew's was the home parish for the Breck School, which was originally situated in the second house on Carter west of Raymond before moving to the present site of Luther Seminary. The Breck school is now located in Golden Valley. In the 1950's St. Matthew's ran a diner at the State Fair. That helped the parish raise the money to build the "new" addition in 1960. In 1970, on Easter evening, a fire broke out in the church. There was major damage to the sanctuary of the church requiring several months of worship in the undercroft while repairs were made.
Our present rector, the Rev. Grant H. Abbott, came to St. Matthew's in 1981. He has overseen the rebuilding of the parish community. Today the parish is in the process of adding a second floor to the "new" addition to the church.
If you would like further information about the church and its activities,
please call the parish office, 645-3058. Thank you for taking the time
to learn about the life and work of St. Matthew's. Grace and peace to you.
Ministers of the congregation:
All are baptized members of the congregation!