Our Parish At A Glance

St. Matthias is a parish with a long history. Founded in 1896, it has a colorful and storied existence, the details of which are described in the historical narrative in the Profile. However, the current viability of our parish is not based primarily on its history.

We are in a period of transition. The challenges we faced during the Pandemic continued to affect us after the initial onslaught subsided.  Our rector reached the required retirement age of 72 in 2022, and we had to say good-bye to a beloved priest. Though we have experienced a period of mourning, we are in no way reduced in our sense of blessedness as a congregation.

As is stated on the cover of our worship bulletin, “Jesus Christ is the reason we are together. The goals of St. Matthias Church and all its related ministries are to build our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and to build community with the people God has sent to us.”.  We have kept active  most of the ministries that were in place before our rector left.

We have active lay ministries including Stephen Ministry, Pastoral Commission, Episcopal Church Women, Daughters of the King, Worship Commission, a vital Music Program and several groups whose main objective is to encourage our already strong sense of community. Overseeing the organization of all ministries is a very committed, five-person staff and a nine-person Vestry.

Our worship experiences have remained inspiring with the leadership of two talented musicians and powerful Pulpit Supply Priests. We have two services each Sunday at 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. following Rite Two in the 1979 BCP with occasional, less formal services. Our well-disciplined choir sings at the 10 o’clock service, offering a varied repertoire in a mostly classical genre. Our average attendance at 8 a.m. is 20-25. At 10 o’clock we average 40-45, including those who tune in to our live streamed service, currently on Facebook. Our Worship Commission maintains the smooth running of the logistics of all services.

Our high priority ministry desires are discerning ways to bring families with youth and children into our welcoming fold; broadening our growing diversity through drawing LGBTQ+ siblings into our affirming midst; and finding pathways to draw in the Latino community members who surround us. We have a core of lay leaders enthusiastically anticipating the opportunity to collaborate with and support a new rector.

Our major reduction in attendance, yielding a reduction in pledge income, has put us in the position of seeking a part-time, possibly bi-vocational priest. We hope, with collaborative leadership of our priest, to rebuild our worshipping and giving community. We seek a priest with a heart for pastoral care, preaching that is firmly scripture based and relative to daily life, and administrative acumen. Primarily, we seek to be led by the Holy Spirit in discerning our path forward in living out our motto, “Doing the Loving Thing”.