The Cathedral Church of St Matthew

The Cathedral Church of Saint Matthew

The Mother Church of the Diocese of Dallas

Christ | Compassion | Community

From the Dean's Desk: 20th December, 2007 at 18:36 CST...

Adult Education
We will be offering two classes during Epiphany Season.

Beginning January 13^th, we will offer a four-week Adult Christian Formation series entitled “Last Things”. This series will include the Christian view of death and hope of life everlasting, information about wills and estate planning for all ages, end-of-life decisions, and advance planning for funeral services at St. Matthew’s.

Mother Natalie will be offering a “Building Character.” This class is for parents, grandparents, new Christians and long-time Christians too.

Classes will be in the Great Hall and the Garrett Room at 9:35 each Sunday till Lent.

Presenting the Bread and Wine
With the beginning of the New Year, we started the practice of having families and households bring the bread and wine forward at the presentation as representatives of all our households. Many of you noticed Kay Slaughter and her granddaughter Zoe this last Sunday as they came forward. Presenting the bread and wine is a symbolic and sacramental action. In the early church, the bread and wine for communion came from people’s own table.

In order to get this started, I am assigning this to families of the Cathedral through Easter. Then we will have a sign up form for volunteers. When we go to volunteers, we will have slots for both 8am and 10:30. I do want everyone to participate in this.

Our households are diverse, so too I want our presenters to represent this diversity. Our parish family is made up of married, single, young, and old. While I’ve leaned in the direction of families with children to start us off, I hope that our single members will sign up too.

Adults for Confirmation
Confirmation will be at our Easter Vigil service March 22^nd with Bishop Stanton presiding. Our youth confirmation meets Sunday mornings, and I plan to start a Sunday morning class for Adults beginning the last week in January. This will be during the adult education hour. This will be in introductory class into the basics of the Church, its teaching, ministry and mission. I will be leading the class with help from our other clergy.

I do need to know who would be interested in the challenge of considering confirmation in the Episcopal Church. If you would like to join the class, or know of someone who would, please hit reply and let me know.

Diocesan Ordination
There will be a diocesan ordination of two deacons, Anita Slovak and Marcy Pounders, on Saturday, January 26^th at 10am. All are invited.

I pass this along from Deacon Pam Dunbar Don't Forget!!!

Who: All 9th through 12th grade students, their sponsors and clergy
What: The Bishop's Ball, 2009 - "Fiesta!"
When: Saturday, January 19, 2008, 7:00 - 10:30 PM
Where: The Great Hall at St. Matthew's Cathedral, 5100 Ross Ave., Dallas, TX

Cost: $10 per person plus two cans of food for the St. Matthew's Food Pantry (do not bring money - we will bill your church after the event .... just bring your food. And please don't forget to bring a completed registration form for each student!

Attire: Party wear! Some dress up in prom wear and some come in their Sunday Best.
What happens at the Bishop's Ball: A DJ plays good dancing music, a caterer provides good food (including a chocolate fountain), there are door prizes, the Button Man takes photos and turns them into buttons, and there are some other surprises planned, too. It's lots of fun!

If you know of a youth who wants to attend, hit reply and I’ll get them a registration form.

Next Sunday’s Lectionary – First Sunday after Epiphany – The Baptism of Jesus
Isaiah 42: 1 – 9
Psalm 89: 20 – 29
Acts 10: 34 – 38
Matthew 3: 13 - 17

Dean Kevin

5100 Ross Avenue Dallas, TX 75206 | Tel: 214-823-8134 | Fax: 214-823-1048 | En Español: 214-824-2942