Recently Baptized

We have had two recent baptisms:

• Jeff Fuller (husband of Erin and father of Casey and Tyler)
• Jessica Briggs

Celebrate!

New on Thursday at St. Matthew's

Beginning January 10, the regular weekly Bible study returns (10:30 AM). We will also begin a mid-week Eucharist service Thursday evenings at 5 PM.

Memorial Service Laurel June Andersen

There will be a memorial service for Laurel June Andersen, who died recently in Colorado, at St. Matthew's on Saturday, July 7 at 11 AM. A reception will follow at the Clubhouse at "The Meadows at Pheasant Run Townhouse Community" (1035 Deer Crossing in Ashland).

Free Concert

Kechi Okwuchi — You may remember her from the 2017 season of "America's Got Talent" — will be at St. Matthew's Saturday evening, July 7 and Sunday morning July 8 for our Sunday service. Kechi is a young Nigerian woman who sings like the angels.
Saturday, July 7

• 4:00 to 5:00 pm: Kechi will share her story and answer questions.
• 5:30 pm: Light supper will be provided
• 6:30 pm: An evening of testimony and praise

Sunday, July 8

• Kechi will be with us for our regular 10:00 am worship service

Joanne Is Back

Long-time member, friend, and organist Joanne Fessenmeyer was back on the organ bench this Sunday. Health problems, including some shoulder surgery, had kept her away for several weeks.

Lay Preaching College Attendees

Curt Allen and Dawn Peters attended the diocesan Lay Preaching College at the Church of the Redeemer, Lorain, on May 11 and 12. The purpose of the college is to prepare and oversee people in each parish for the task of preaching and teaching. With lay preachers available, the parish priest can occasionally take a Sunday off from preaching, and the parish gets to hear other voices as well.

There's more to the process than a two-day seminar. Before being licensed, the lay preacher must preach a sample sermon, be critiqued, and be recommended to the diocese. After becoming licensed, there is a series of continuing education events to keep the preacher's skills fresh.

Ann Shelly and Sister Nadine are already licensed preachers, so we will now have four lay preachers.

Youth Group Thanks

Thanks to the youth group for weeding and planting flowers. The two pots of flowers on the steps to the Parish Hall are their creation.

The youth group meets every other Thursday at 4 PM.

Our organist is moving on

Kevin Jacque has been one of our organists for the last ten years. He was still in high school when he began and has played for us through college, veterinary school and now as a professional veterinarian. Kevin and his wife, Ashley, will be moving to Seattle, Washington, in June because Ashley has found a new job there.

Kevin's last Sunday at St. Matthew's will be May 27th. We will miss him greatly as he has been a valuable resource and a good friend.

New Torch Bearers

Three of our youth have been trained as torch bearers for Sunday worship. Thanks to Casey, Rylie, Kylee, and Emily.

Passing of Kathy Mambourg

Former member and dear friend Kathy Mambourg passed away on March 12, in Columbus. While she was at St. Matthew's, she contributed on all levels: as a choir member, member of Vestry, gardener, and organizer of the youth group.

Here is a link to her published obituary.

Passing of Rev. Ransom

We have recently heard of the unexpected death of the Rev. Charles W. (Chuck) Ransom last week from an aneurysm. The funeral service will be held on Saturday, February 24th at 1:00 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, 100 E. High Street, Mount Vernon, Ohio. A reception will follow in the Parish Hall.

For additional information, you may contact St. Paul's or the Rector, the Rev. David Kendall-Sperry.

Please hold Chuck, his wife, Daryl, and their family in your prayers. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Passing of Carolyn Young's Father

Carolyn Young's dad, Brig. General James Eddy Young, passed away on Feb. 11th 2018.

Carolyn is a fairly long time member of St. Matthew's church. She has been residing in NJ taking care of her parents for the last 8 or more years. However, she has remained a member of St. Matthews and has helped support both our church through pledging and giving to the Capital Funds (which has allowed a lot of our recent upkeep on our building and grounds). Carolyn hopes to return to Ashland and St. Matthew's after everything is settled in New Jersey.

The vestry will let you know about contributions to our memorial fund in memory of her mom and dad.

Passing of Loretta Gibbs

Loretta Gibbs, mother of David Gibbs, passed away at about 11:30 on Monday night, August 7. The memorial service was held Friday at the church.

MAC Thanks

Along with seven other churches, we are part of the South Central Mission Area Council (MAC). Recently, we were able to distribute funds to respond to several requests for grant money. Here is a thank-you we received from Mount Vernon:

Your very generous donation to St. Paul's Hot Meals program in Mount Vernon will provide the matiching funds requited to purchase a processed steer, which will supply beef for about five months of meals.

Program changes at Mid Ohio have made meat virtually unavailable to us. This gift is a God-send!!

Sincere Thanks,
Sharon Blaydes

New Church Website

Today, after about a week of intense work, the new church website went live. I got started on this project when I realized that some of the web links in the old version didn't work any more. Then a visitor commented that she liked the welcoming language, but it was extremely wordy. Then a friend commented that the whole color scheme of the old one was very dreary, especially the picture of the church exterior. Then I realized that the thing simply didn't work on most cell phones.

It's going now, and my main worry is that Google will have trouble indexing it. (That's a common issue.) The main aim of the site is to introduce newcomers to our church, and I think the new design is more appealing.

Rev. Kay's Sabbatical

Rev. Kay has been our Rector for seven years now, and (as provided in our original Letter of Agreement with her) she will be taking a three month sabbatical from May 15 to August 15. She certainly deserves it.

A Spiritual Growth Team, headed by Senior Warden Mike McKinley, has been making plans for these three months. We will have four different priests coming on Sundays to preach and celebrate Holy Eucharist, and we will have Morning Prayer with sermons by our own Lay Preachers.

Three special Saturday programs, focusing on Prayer and the Hymnal, Ignatian Prayer, and Drama will provide high points for the parish this summer.

While Rev. Kay is gone, Sister Nadine will be the Pastoral Associate, so any special needs should be addressed to her.