Saint Matthew United Methodist Church

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Category: News

  • A Word from the Pastor

    Mary Teague
    Categories:

    Living in the Ways of the Spirit: Loving Boldly, Serving Joyfully

    This week’s message invited us deeper into the 2026 theme shared by the UMC, the Horizon Texas Conference, and our own church: Serve Joyfully. After four weeks of exploring what it means to Love Boldly, we were reminded that loving God, loving our neighbors, and even loving ourselves is only part of the call—God also invites us to serve with joy.

    Psalm 100 encourages us to “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before Him with joyful singing,” shifting our focus from life’s chaos to God’s steady goodness. Eugene Peterson’s Message translation urges us to “Bring a gift of laughter, sing yourselves into his presence,” reminding us that joy is not a mood but a spiritual posture.

    The sermon acknowledged that joyful service isn’t always easy. Grief, exhaustion, and the noise of the world can distract us from God. Yet joyful practices—praise, gratitude, singing—are gifts God built into us for our healing. As the sermon notes, “Serving God joyfully protects us from the chaos of the world… it keeps it from destroying us.”

    When we choose to love boldly and serve joyfully, we step into the rhythm God designed for our souls. May we walk forward ready to embrace that joy.

    Blessing of the Students

    This Sunday we will offer a special prayer and anointing of our school students. Please bring any and all the students you know for this sacred event. And do not forget our baseball game outing this weekend. Texas Rangers vs the Baltimore Orioles. I have forwarded tickets to those of you with MLB app access. For others, I have your tickets and will meet you at the game to get you into the park.

    We will continue this Sunday with the next discussion of Serving Joyfully. This week we will examine what happens when your mood does not match the joyfulness you want to exhibit. Anyone familiar with this problem? This will be another sermon preached to myself that you get to eavesdrop on.

    Thank you to Shannon, Julian, and Joshua for a beautiful Disney concert last Saturday night. And thank you to Blake and Shannon for creating such a moving musical service on Sunday morning.

    See you this week, my dear friends and family. Wednesday at 10 am for Bible Study or Sunday at 1030am for breakfast followed by worship at 11 am. Love to all, Mary

  • A Word from our Church Family

    Jason Hardy
    Categories:

    A Magical Evening Together

    Thank you to everyone who helped make The Magic of Disney such a special evening for our church family!

    We are especially grateful to everyone who brought food for the potluck dinner. Sharing a meal together after the concert gave us the opportunity to visit, laugh, and enjoy fellowship with friends old and new. Your generosity helped make the evening feel warm and welcoming from the very beginning.

    A heartfelt thank you also goes to Shannon Davidson, Julian Rodriguez, and Joshua Rodriguez for sharing their incredible musical gifts with us. Their performances filled the sanctuary with joy, and the surprise appearance of Crouton, a lovable blue bird puppet created by one of Shannon’s talented friends during “Man or Muppet,” brought smiles and laughter to everyone in attendance.

    Events like these remind us that some of our favorite memories are made when we gather together to share our gifts, our time, and our fellowship. Thank you to everyone who attended and to all who helped make the evening such a wonderful success.

    Would you like to share a word with our church family in a future newsletter? We’d love to hear from you. Email [email protected].

  • Kids’ News

    Jason Hardy
    Categories:

    Behold the Face

    Have you ever looked so carefully at something that you noticed details you had never seen before? Sometimes the more we pay attention, the more we discover.

    This Sunday, we learned that David trusted God to hear his prayers and longed to be close to Him. At the end of Psalm 17, David says, “I shall behold your face.” While we can’t see God the way we see each other, we can notice His presence all around us—in moments of kindness, in the beauty of creation, and in the love we share with others.

    This week, try slowing down long enough to notice where God is at work. The more we pay attention, the more we’ll discover that God has been with us all along.

    Family Challenge

    Choose one moment each day to get everyone’s attention by ringing a bell. Sit or stand quietly for a few seconds. Invite each person to name one thing they noticed that day—a sound, a feeling, a kind act, or something beautiful. Ring the bell once after each person shares. This simple practice reminds us to slow down and notice God’s presence all around us.

    Talk About It

    • What is something beautiful or kind you noticed today?
    • When have you felt especially close to God?
    • How can paying attention help us notice God’s love?

    Read

    Psalm 17:1–7, 15

    Prayer

    God, thank You for being close to us. Help us notice You with us today and every day. Amen.

  • Saturday Evening Concert

    Jason Hardy
    Categories:

  • A Word from the Pastor

    Mary Teague
    Categories:

    Hello, dear church family and friends,

    As we finish our Love Boldly series, I want to share a few ideas I learned in my previous nursing role that have stayed with me.

    First, taking care of yourself includes establishing intentional downtime. Set aside a specific time each day to step away from screens and unnecessary stimulation. Even five to ten minutes of quiet, mindfulness, prayer, meditation, or simply focusing on God’s creation can help your nervous system reset.

    Second, ask yourself, What are the things in my life that are truly meaningful to me? Identify two or three activities that bring you deep joy, then intentionally make time for them.

    Finally, reconnect with hobbies, interests, and relationships that have brought you joy in the past. These recommendations are adapted from an article titled Exiting Survival Mode, published on the Texas Health Resources intranet.

    As we begin our new series, Serve Courageously, I hope you’ll spend a little time thinking about this: service to others is work, but it is also fuel for your soul. I’ll have much more to share with you on Sunday morning.

    I am so grateful to be doing this work with you. By the grace of God and through the power of God’s love, we are building something new at Saint Matthew. I am excited to be walking this path together.

    I also ask for your prayers as you read this, especially if you’re reading on Wednesday. Today marks my final day serving as the Palliative Care and Hospice Program Coordinator at Texas Health Resources. I returned for one day to help with the program’s re-certification inspection and, if all goes as expected, I will officially hand off this role to my successor at the end of the day.

    Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and your prayers during this transition. I look forward to devoting my full attention to the ministry we share here at Saint Matthew.

    Love to all,

    Mary