Hey there...you won't see the entire Messenger unless you CLICK HERE!

The Messenger October 2026

Edition 72

Dear St. Matthew's Family and Friends,

Dream with me, will you? Open your faith, heart, mind, and strength to God’s dream for St. Matthew’s, and let our imagination inspire us to dream a community of hospitality and hope for all.

In the coming weeks and months, I invite you to join the vestry and me in celebrating who we have been in the past, where we are today, and where we want to be in the next 1, 3, 5 years.

This is my dream for our prayer life and spiritual growth…

This is my dream for our loving and caring for one another…

This is my dream for our commitment to our community…

This is my dream for our parish…

Let us begin to dream together what/where/how/why St. Matthew’s will be in 2027, in 2030, in 2032 because God is calling St. Matthew’s yesterday, today, and tomorrow to invest, invite, and involve ourselves in spiritual growth, care of each other, and the community.

I Dream a World, by Langston Hughes

I dream a world where [hu]man

No other [hu]man will scorn,

Where love will bless the earth

And peace its paths adorn

I dream a world where all

Will know sweet freedom's way,

Where greed no longer saps the soul

Nor avarice blights our day.

A world I dream where black or white,

Whatever race you be,

Will share the bounties of the earth

And every [hu]man is free,

Where wretchedness will hang its head

And joy, like a pearl,

Attends the needs of all [hu]mankind-

Of such I dream, my world!

In Christ, Fr. Joe

Fall Potluck with Speaker. Don't Miss it!

Wednesday, October 21

6:30 pm

PTL House

Nobody does a potluck like St. Matt's, so make a plan to join in the fun and bring a friend or neighbor plus a covered dish to this autumnal meal. We will hear from Elaine Freund who volunteers with Street Church, about this amazing ministry, one that has been going on behind the scenes for many years, blessing those who serve and who are served. Dessert will be provided in the form of pumpkin pie. (What? Of course there will be whipped cream.)

Cookie Ministry Sends Love to Prisoners

Once again, St. Matthew's will participate in the KAIROS Prison Ministry, a 4-day event at the Marion Correctional Institution where trained teams share the love of Christ through personal testimony, group activities, and gifts of cookies that feed the prisoners, staff and guards. Here is how you can be part of this amazing experience.

BAKE COOKIES: Only "oven-baked" cookies are accepted to demonstrate that effort and prayers went into them. View the guidelines list HERE. Bring your cookies to Sunday service on October 11, and Glenn Myers will see that they get to the prison in time.

ATTEND CLOSING CEREMONY, Sunday, Oct. 25: Would you like to see your efforts in action? The final gathering of Kairos is a moving event where those who went through it testify what it meant to them. THIS FORM MUST BE FILED BEFORE October 2 to be approved to attend.

Contact Glenn Myers for further information.

EQ Café Series Offered

November 1: Reconnecting with Self

November 8: Reconnecting with Community

November 15: Reconnecting with Purpose

12:15 pm,-1:30 pm Otterbein Chapel

Right after the 10:30 am worship service, we will be joined by Liz Adamshick, of 6Seconds.org-certified practitioner, assessor, and facilitator for another emotional intelligence series focusing on reconnection in three areas of our lives: self, community, and purpose.

Reconnecting with Self ( Nov. 1) begins by listening inward. As we get busy, we move quickly, solve problems, and take care of others, often without pausing to notice what we’re feeling or what those feelings are asking of us. This EQ Café offers space to slow down and reconnect with yourself, not by fixing or judging emotions, but by listening to them.

Reconnecting with Community (Nov. 8) In a time of rising polarization and uncertainty, a natural reaction is to pull inward—to protect ourselves by disconnecting from others. But community is built through connection, not isolation. When we reconnect with the people around us, using emotional intelligence to listen, support, and co-create, we build the kind of resilience that no one can build alone.

Reconnecting with Purpose (Nov. 15) We are taught to look for purpose out there—in the right job, the right cause, the right plan. And when the world doesn't cooperate, purpose starts to feel like something we've failed at. But purpose doesn't begin as a plan. It begins as a feeling. In this session you’re invited you to follow your own emotions to what matters most to you. Drawing on the emotion–needs model from Joshua Freedman's new book Emotion Rules, we'll discover that our feelings—including the uncomfortable ones—are signals pointing toward needs. And the largest cluster of all points toward meaning.

Then we'll do something practical: we'll look at where we'e been locating our sense of purpose and move it somewhere we can actually reach it. You'll leave with a first draft of your own Noble Goal—a short statement of purpose you can practice today, not someday.



Mrs. Rutherford and St. Matthew's:

The Story Behind the Connection

You may have noticed that from time to time St. Matthew’s collects classroom supplies for Mrs. Lee Rutherford at Blendon Middle School. But have you ever wondered how that relationship began?

The story goes back to 2019, when St. Matthew’s was looking for new ways to reach beyond our walls and serve our community. At the time, we had a close relationship with Triumphant Church of God and its pastor, the Rev. Vaughn Bell. Our congregations had worshiped and met together, and the Triumphant choir had even used the PTL House for rehearsals.



Pastor Vaughn, who had joined the Westerville School Board in 2018, suggested that St. Matthew’s consider reaching out to local schools. We explored a couple of possibilities, including a tutoring program that ultimately didn’t work out. But another opportunity did.

Mrs. Rutherford was preparing for her first year teaching sixth-grade English at Blendon Middle School and was essentially starting her classroom from scratch.

Pastor Vaughn sent St. Matthew’s a list of things she needed. And so, in 2019, we began helping. Mrs. Rutherford is really the face of a larger effort. She works with three other middle-school teachers at Blendon. Before giving us a supply list, she checks with them about what their students need, and the supplies St. Matthew’s provides are shared among all four teachers and their classrooms.

We have continued to use Mrs. Rutherford’s name because ministry becomes much more meaningful when we can connect it to a person rather than simply a list of needed supplies. Mrs. Rutherford has even visited St. Matthew’s so that we could meet the teacher, and the person, behind this ministry!

Six years later, that first collection has become a relationship. And perhaps that is the most important part of the story. - Glenn Myers



Small Changes Make Services Even More Meaningful and Welcoming

There have been a few changes in our Sunday experience over the last few months. None of them is especially dramatic on its own, but together they reflect something important: we want St. Matthew’s to be a place where longtime members and newcomers alike feel welcomed, comfortable, and able to focus on worship.

One of the most visible changes was simply turning the chairs around! We now face the chapel’s beautiful stained-glass windows, allowing the color and light to become part of our worship each Sunday. We’ve also added banners and greenery to make the chapel feel warmer. Even some less glamorous improvements, like having the carpet cleaned, have helped make the space cared for.

We’ve made changes to the rhythm of our service as well. The timing of things such as announcements and the Passing of the Peace has been adjusted so that we can enjoy these important moments of community while also having a reasonable expectation of how long our Sunday service will last. The goal isn’t to rush worship. It is to make our time together feel intentional and meaningful.

And our time together no longer ends when the final hymn does. Coffee and refreshments after worship have become another part of Sunday morning. They give newcomers an easy opportunity to meet people and give the rest of us a chance to catch up with each other.

We are paying attention to what it feels like to walk through our doors for the first time. We hope these small changes are helping St. Matthew’s feel even more like what we want it to be: a place to Pray, Think, Love, and belong. - Donna Wyatt, Junior Warden



Bake Cookies for KAIROS

The Kairos Weekend at the Marion Correctional Institution takes place this month, and Glenn Myers is leading the effort once again to provide a LOT of cookies to share. See the above article about this ministry and the guidelines for donating oven-baked goodies. DEADLINE TO DONATE: Sunday, October 11!

________________

Street Church in Franklinton

St. Matthew's will be serving a wonderfully hearty meal of chicken fingers and roasted potatoes to our guests at street church on October 11. Jeni Jerrell organized this opportunity to provide something a bit different. We will also provide fruit as well as our to go bags. If you are interested in helping to make up the to-go bags, provide hard boiled eggs or serving, contact Marsha Adkins at 614-477-9122. A list of specific requests is available at the front table during Sunday services. For more information, email Vicki Lloyd.

________________

Start Bringing in Donations for Mr. Rutherford's Class

• Scissors (sharp point, not blunt safety scissors)
• Glue sticks
• Tissues
• Wooden #2 pencils

Glenn M. will be delivering the donations Sunday, October 18.

________________

Donate Shelf-Stable Breakfast Items to Promise House

Food items, hygiene products, and fresh produce are always needed, but St. Matthew's has been a constant help in providing breakfast items. Bring your items to the PTL House during office hours or to church on Sundays labeled "Promise House".

The Bishop's Visit

Street Church

Donna W. and Marsha A. presenting the awarded Diocese' grant money to WARM.

Marsha A. listening to Sara Acocks, Director of Development for WARM.

Liberia is divided geographically and politically into 15 counties, unlike the USA into 50

states. With the 11 new sponsors, PIMIL will establish history by supporting students in all

15 counties as of the 2026/2027 academic year; before then, PIMIL was shy in doing so of

three counties! Congratulations, PIMIL sponsors and supporters. Thank You! Let’s keep

the sponsorship going!

Quick Links

St. Matthew's Website

St. Matthew's Facebook Page

The Diocese of Southern Ohio

Fr. Joe's Blog

Rick Kohut's Substack Page

Donate to St. Matthew's via PayPal

St. Matthew's Partners

Brave Young Voices

Coming Out Christian Podcast by Love Boldly

Good Medicine

Love Boldly

Partners in Mission in Liberia

Pause and Paint

The Westerville Queer Collective