Youth Formation
Coming Soon!! We are currently in the process of revamping our Youth Formation here at St. Matt’s.
Looking ahead we are designing a yearly schedule of once a month teaching time and once a month service to our community and world. We are also planning some cool future trip for our youth.
Come on out to our Game Nights especially this October meet our new youth leaders and help design your ministry.
Meet our Youth Leaders
From Karla (left side of photo)
Hello - My name is Karla Knowles & I am so excited to be one of your new Youth Leaders here at St. Matthew's. You might not recognize me because I usually attend the 8:00 AM service, but I am thrilled to connect more with the whole church family. To tell you a little about myself, I love reading, hunting for treasures in antique stores with my wife Emily, and taking photos. I am also a proud grandmother to two beautiful grandsons. The Episcopal Church's wonderful tradition of welcoming everyone is what brought me here. My goal is to make our youth group a safe, fun space. I want our youth to feel free to ask big questions, serve others & our community, and grow in their faith. If you have kids, grandkids, or just love supporting our younger generation, please come say hello after the service. I would love to meet you!
From Anthony (right side of photo)
Anthony enjoys smiling, singing, dad jokes, and all kinds of nerdy theology topics. He recently started attending St. Matthew’s in January, where he felt really connected with the parishioners and Father Bruce’s teaching style. Anthony looks forward to serving in youth ministry because of his heart to make the scriptures and faith understandable to the younger generation. He also had many questions in his teen years that were unanswered. His prayer is that he can be a blessing to everyone that he serves.
During the Service:
One of the questions we consistently get when new families inquire about our church is “What is it like for children during your service? I have children that are sometimes noisy, is that okay?” We always answer “YES! Absolutely!” (really, we mean it!) With the music from our choir combined with the word of Jesus, our 10:15am service is very beautiful and enjoyable and children in attendance only remind us of the love of Jesus. Although children attend both services, the 10:15am service typically has more children in attendance. There is a children’s sermon during that service typically, and the children also participate in the service as acolytes, ushers, presenting the offering, or even participating with the musicians.
Sunday School:
Families are encouraged to send their children for Sunday School instruction from 9:15-10:00am between our services. Currently, our class is made up of mixed ages of youth and is led by the very kindhearted Ms. Lee! Our lessons include weekly prayer, Bible stories, extensions of our lessons through art activities and crafts, as well as service projects.
*St. Matthew’s is very serious about making church safe for all of God’s children. All lay leaders are required to be certified with Safe Church Training through Praesidium Academy.