THIS CHURCH HAS BEEN SERVING GOD IN RIVERSIDE, MO FOR OVER 170 YEARS! YOU ARE INVITED TO COME AND WORSHIP WITH US!

“I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God's hands, that I still possess.” - Martin Luther

Monday

SCHEDULED EVENTS


EVERY SUNDAY at ST. MATTHEW'S:
Sunday School 9:00-9:50 a.m. (classes for children and adults)
Worship / Holy Communion*, 10:00-11:00 a.m.
We have Children's Church Activities during worship for Kindergarten and younger.
Time of fellowship: 11:00 (coffee, treats, visiting)

*All are welcome to receive the Lord's Body and Blood who are baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and believe that Jesus Christ, crucified and risen, is truly present in, with and under the forms of bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins, life and salvation.


On the first Friday of each month, 7-10 pm, we host Acoustical Jam. Join us for music and fun w/ guitars, violins, banjos etc., singing, fellowship and snacks! Bluegrass, folk, country, gospel and rock 'n roll!  Musicians and spectators welcome! 

 The current adult Sunday School class Bible study is "Wisdom for the Walk" - Job, Ecclesiastes & Song of Songs. Please join us at 9 am each Sunday!



Friday, August 5, Acoustical Jam, 7-10 pm
Wed Aug 17, Consistory, Women’s Fellowship, 6 pm
Sunday, Aug 21, potluck meal following worship
Week of Aug 22 – 25 new flooring scheduled to be installed downstairs.

Fri. Sept. 2, Acoustical jam, 7-10 pm
Wed. Sept. 14, Consistory 6 pm
Sat. Sept. 17 GREAT PLAINS MISSION DISTRICT annual convocation at St. Matthew's.
Wed. Sept. 21, Women's Fellowship, 6 pm
    Other congregations meeting at St. Matthews:

     Ebenezer Oromo (Ethiopian) Evangelical Church of Kansas City (a mission congregation of the NALC). Worship at 12 noon each Sunday. Pastor Faisa Atomsa. Services are held in the Oromo language.

     Missouri Micronesian Church (a new mission congregation of the NALC). Worship at 3:00 p.m.each Sunday. Pastor Phillip Istaro. Services are held in the Chuukese language.

    Also check out our Facebook page!

    Click HERE for May 2016 issue of the NALC Newsletter.

    Click on NALC Newsletter for past issues.

    Click HERE for the July 2015 issue of the NALC Newsletter. It includes an article about Pastor Atomsa and the Ebenezer Oromo church!


    Posted by at No comments: Links to this post
    Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)
    AT ST. MATTHEW'S, WE DON'T CHANGE THE MESSAGE - THE MESSAGE CHANGES US!

    About St. Matthew's Evangelical

    St. Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran is a member congregation of the North American Lutheran Church (NALC). The NALC is "Christ Centered", "Mission Driven", "Traditionally Grounded", and Congregationally Focused".

    St. Matthew's is a small, friendly, dedicated community of faith, witnessing to the truth of the Gospel in Riverside and the surrounding community. We offer a traditional worship service, Bible-based preaching and teaching, Sunday School classes for children and adults, an active women's fellowship, monthly pot-luck dinners, Vacation Bible School, and other special activities. St. Matthew's was founded in 1844, on the same spot where it now stands, and is one of the oldest churches in continuous existence in the Kansas City area. You may read more about our history HERE.

    OUR BELIEFS: We subscribe to the NALC Confession of Faith, which accepts the Lutheran Confessions found in the Book of Concord (the Unaltered Augsburg Confession, Luther's Small Catechism, Luther's Large Catechism, the Ecumenical Creeds, etc.)

    Whether you are a new resident of the Riverside area or are just seeking a church home, we invite you to worship with us at St. Matthew's and participate in our activities.

    Our Staff

    Pastor Bud Elliott has been Pastor at St. Matthew's since July of 2003. He has been in ministry for over 37 years, was a Chaplain in the US Army Reserve for 9 years, is currently a Police and Fire Department Chaplain in Eudora, Kansas, where he lives, and is a member of the International Conference of Police Chaplains.

    Pastor Faisa Atomsa pastors the Ebenezer Oromo Evangelical Church of Kansas City (an NALC mission congregation that worships at St. Matthew's on Sunday afternoons) and is also assistant pastor at St. Matthew's! Faisa was ordained into the NALC in October, 2013. See pictures of this event on the NALC page.

    Joyce Hisel is our Director of Music and also works with the children of the church. She recently retired as vocal music instructor at Platte County R-3 High School where she led her students to many top awards over the years. She is a life-long member of St. Matthew's.

    MICRONESIAN AND OROMO CONGREGATIONS MEETING at ST. MATTHEW'S

    There are three member congregations of the North American Lutheran Church meeting at St. Matthew's! Praise be to God!

    Chuukese is the native tongue spoken and sung at the services of the Missouri Micronesian Church (NALC) that meets at 3 pm on Sunday afternoons at St. Matthew’s. Phillip Istaro is the pastor.

    Chuukese /tʃuːˈkiːz/, also rendered Trukese /trʌˈkiːz/, is a Trukic language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. There are communities of speakers on Pohnpei and Guam as well. Estimates show that there are about 45,900 speakers in Micronesia. The language is also known as Chuuk, Lagoon Chuukese, Ruk, Truk or Trukese, and is spoken by about 48,000 people on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. Missionaries devised a way to write Chuukese using the Latin alphabet during the 19th century. In the 1970s linguists modified the missionaries' system with the addition of some accented letters.

    Oromo is the native tongue spoken and sung at the services of the Ebenezer Oromo Evangelical Church of Kansas City (NALC) that meets at St. Matthew’s at noon each Sunday. Faisa Atomsa is the pastor.

    Oromo (Afaan Oromo / Oromiffa / ኦሮምኛ) Oromo is a Cushitic language spoken by about 30 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Egypt and is the 3rd largest language in Africa. The Oromo people are the largest ethnic group in Ethiopia and account for more than 40% of the population. The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) is the second largest Lutheran body in the world, with over 6 million members.

    St. Matthew’s Evangelical Lutheran also has some members who are from the Micronesian Island of Kosrae! They speak the Kosrae language.

    Resources for Bible Study and Devotions

    Adult Sunday School. We invite you to join us in studying and discussing God's word at 9 am each Sunday. We are currently studying Ephesians and Galations, and will soon start a study of Job, Ecclesiastes and Song of Songs.

    On-Line Bible (Bible Gateway) Look up scriptures in various translations and languages.
    Our Daily Bread devotional from RBC Ministries. We also have free copies of Our Daily Bread in print.
    Proverbs 31 Ministries (for the ladies)

    NALC Information

    Go HERE for NALC information.
    See also our NALC page, where you will find information about the North American Lutheran Church, the Great Plains Mission District, and other news and information.

    THRIVENT ACTION TEAMS

    Here is information about how you can do some great things for your church or community through a Thrivent Action Team! You are eligible if you are a member of Thrivent Financial for Christians (formerly Thrivent Financial for Lutherans). If you have no Thrivent financial or insurance products you can still join as an Associate Member and will then be eligible to apply for an Action Team grant. Grants are in the form of a $250 debit card to be used to purchase supplies and other items for a fundraiser or other type of project that you and your team want to do. Thrivent furnishes various promotional material and up to 25 free t-shirts for each project. Your team may consist of family members, friends or fellow church members (they do not need to be Thrivent members).

    St. Matthew's renovated the church nursery in 2014 and had a School Supplies for Micronesia project in 2015 using Action Team grants. There is more info HERE, or you may contact Mrs. Elliott at 913-636-4100.

    SOME MISSION OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU!

    You can help with some of these by simply purchasing a few extra items when you go to the store, or donating items in good condition that you do not need.

    St. Matthew’s Kids Camp Fund: Each year we send several children to Riverside Lutheran Bible Camp in Story City, Iowa. The kids have some fundraisers to help with the cost. So far this year they have raised money through their “Cows ‘n Camp Soup Supper” (2 cows were purchased for Samaritan’s Purse and the balance went to the Camp fund) and by volunteering at Woofstock (they were given $100 in appreciation for their work). Depending on the weather there will also be a car wash, but donations are also needed. We have a collection jar on the treat table. Where we fall short, the Camp can provide some “camperships”. In 2016 we have children going to camp the weeks of July 24 and July 31.

    Coupons for Military Familes: bring any coupons you aren't going to use. Rogean C. will see that they are delivered. Military personnel can use them at PXs 6 months after their normal expiration date.

    Bessie's House: We have a list of items that are needed by Bessie's House, a wonderful ministry in Kansas City that ministers to underprivileged people. See more info on the Women's Fellowship Page.

    Shower for ECH/Steppingstones): Periodically, we collect household items for the young people in group housing and for those who have graduated to their own apartments. Some examples are twin-size bedding, pots and pans, dishes, flatware, kitchen towels, bath towels, wastebaskets, lamps, etc. We will have a collection box marked "Steppingstones". See Helen H. with any questions.

    Christmas Mitten Tree: The last 2 Christmas seasons we have collected mittens, gloves, hats, etc. In 2015 those items were donated to the Salvation Army and ECH (see above).

    Food/Supplies pantry: the first Sunday of each month, bring nonperishable groceries and non-food personal and household items (things that can't be purchased with food stamps) to be shared with those less fortunate in our church/community.

    Micronesia    : Some of our members came to the US from the Micronesian islands and have told us of some of the needs of people living on the island of Kosrae, in the small village of Walung (on the SW part of the island shown above). This island is more than 6,600 miles westward from Kansas City (over 1/4 of the way around the globe)! The people engage primarily in subsistence fishing and farming. There are no stores to purchase goods in Walung. In 2013 we shipped over 130 t-shirts, personal care items, and school supplies. The children sent us many wonderful thank you letters when they received their school supplies. Early this year we sent 10 boxes of bags, totes and personal care items for the women and clothing for children 0-5 years old, and again received a large envelope of thank you notes. More recently we collected 9 boxes of school supplies, as an "Action Team" project through Thrivent Financial. Thrivent provided $250 to help fund this project. We will likely have other similar projects and will post them when we do.


    Missionaries of the NALC

    Click HERE for information about the Missionaries of the North American Lutheran Church. The NALC has missionaries in China, Mongolia, India, South Sudan and soon the Belgian Congo. Ecuador is now closed to us.

    How to Find Us

    Traveling south on I-29, take NW Gateway-Riverside exit (just south of 56th St exit). We are about 1/4 mile on the left side.

    OR: From Vivion Rd & Gateway (Corner Cafe, Quik Trip), go north on Gateway about 3/4 mile.

    OR: Go to MAPQUEST and enter: 5047 NW Gateway, Riverside, MO for a map of the area.

    St. Matthew's Constitution and Bylaws

    Click here to read the current constitution and bylaws for our church.