“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

About St. Matthew's Evangelical

As of October 2, 2011, St. Matthew's Evangelical 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 Evangelical is a small, friendly, dedicated community of faith, witnessing to the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and seeking ways to serve Him in Riverside and the surrounding community. We offer a traditional worship service, Bible-based preaching and teaching, Sunday School classes for children and adults, children's church, an active women's fellowship, monthly pot-luck dinners, Vacation Bible School, and other special activities. Our hymnal is Hymns for the Family of God. We are also an Outreach Center for a food ministry, MidAmerica Foods. You will find more information about our activities on this website.

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.

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.

On the Calendar

Every Sunday:

Sunday School 9:30-10:15 a.m.

Worship 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Children's Church: 10:45-11:30

Time of fellowship: 11:30 - (coffee, treats, visiting)

*Communion (the Lord's Supper) and Food Pantry Sunday are the first Sunday of each month. All who have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Lord and Savior and have been baptized are invited to partake in communion. We offer grape juice (white) and wine (red). All food and household items donated to the food pantry will help persons and families in need.

Saturday, February 25, MidAmerica Foods distribution day 6:30-9 a.m.

Sunday, February 26, Lent Begins. We will have Holy Communion every Sunday during Lent, using the shorter format.

The children are working on a special program - date to be announced!

Friday, March 2 - Acoustical Jam, 7-10 p.m.

Sunday, March 18 - pot luck dinner following worship

Wed., March 21 - Women's Fellowship/Quilting 6 p.m.

On Palm Sunday, April 1, we will have concert during the worship hour by Forgiven Quartet, a wonderful Southern Gospel group! After the service we will have our traditional biscuits and gravy meal. Don't miss it! No charge for anything. We will, however, take a free will offering for Forgiven Quartet.

On Thursday, April 5, we will have our Maundy Thursday service at 7 p.m.

Friday, April 6 - Acoustical Jam, 7-10 p.m.

On Easter, April 8, there will be an Easter egg hunt for the kids following worship.

Wed. April 18 - Women's Fellowship 6 p.m.

Sunday, April 29 - Furst Light will bless us with their beautiful music during worship. A voluntary love offering will be taken for Furst Light.

If worship needs to be cancelled due to snow/ice, we will notify the local TV stations and also try to post it here.

Adult Sunday School Lesson Schedule

Our curriculum is the Bible in Life series published by David C. Cook Publishing. We invite you to join us in studying and discussing God's word. For the greatest benefit, read both the lesson and the scriptures before coming, but we will also read and discuss the lesson in class. The 12-13 week studies generally alternate between the New Testament and Old Testament.

On Jan. 22 we began a study of Judges and Ruth. We hope you will join us in this very interesting study.

SOME MISSION OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOU!

You can help by simply purchasing a few extra items when you go to the store, or donating items in good condition that you do not need. Bring them to church for one or all of the following projects.

Micronesia: Some of our members came to the US from the Micronesian islands and have told us of some of the needs there. We are collecting items, such as personal care and household items, school and craft supplies for kids, small toys, and other necessities that are easy to ship, to send to one of the islands. The people there are quite poor and must travel by boat to another island to purchase things. We will try to post a more detailed list of suggested items soon. We will have a collection box marked "Micronesia". The children will have a fundraiser to pay for postage. Whenever we have enough items, we will send a box or boxes.

Shower for ECH/Steppingstones): We will 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.

Food pantry: the first Sunday of each month, bring 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 community.

Acoustical Jam

For 14 years St. Matthew's has hosted an "acoustical jam" on the first Friday evening of each month, October through June, from 7:00-10:00 p.m. Anywhere from 10 to 20 musicians, young and older, come each time to play and sing for the audience to enjoy. Instruments include guitar, fiddle, banjo, mandolin, bass, etc. We hear gospel, bluegrass, country, folk, rock and roll, etc., and have some laughs too. Everyone has a great time. At 8:30 we break for snacks (we always have a wonderful variety of goodies).

We invite you to join us, whether you are a musician or a spectator! The next Jam will be Friday, March 2, 2012, 7-10 p.m. We hope to see you then!

Steppingstone

Steppingstone is a program of the Evangelical Children's Home (now called Every Child's Hope, or ECH) that our church has helped support for many years. Steppingstone serves young people age 16-21 who are at risk, homeless, etc. Steppingstone provides a safe place to live, educational assistance, life skills training, job placement coaching assistance, medical care, individual therapy, and case management. Helen H. is our representative to Steppingstone and she does a lot of volunteer work with them. Please click HERE for more information.

Emergency Assistance

St. Matthew's is a small congregation and has very little resources available to assist with financial emergencies, such rent, utilities, gasoline, etc. We generally refer people with such needs to United Services, Hillcrest Transitional Housing and the Salvation Army. Please click HERE for the Northland Human Services/Senior Services Directory of other resources available through various agencies and organizations.


Friday

Church Improvements

The beautiful plantings that you see in the church photos on this website are the result of the hard work and creativity of Helen H.   In 2008, with the help of Mary Lou B., Helen cleaned out the area under the big stained glass window and planted these beautiful "knock-out" roses and other flowers and plants.  We have enjoyed them every year since then.  The way they set off our red doors is truly stunning!

Some other projects over the last several years that improve the appearance and function of the church building include the repainting of the church, new protective coverings for the stained glass windows that allows the beautiful colors to show through, new chairlift, new front doors (painted red again), a new roof,  new handicap ramp and handrails, new bathroom fixtures, a new concrete pad for handicap parking, paved parking lot, fresh paint and a new ceiling in the fellowship hall next to the sanctuary, and new back doors and improved rear entries.  In the fall of 2010 we installed beautiful new carpeting in the sanctuary.

Our project to renovate the walls in the sanctuary was begun on Monday January 23, 2012 and completed February 2.   The pictures below were taken when the project was finished.  We were only displaced for worship one Sunday,. Jan. 29.  February 5 we were back in our beautiful sanctuary.  Here are some pictures.

A cake in celebration of our "makeover"

The sanctuary on 2/5/2012





didn't get everyone in this pic, but here are some smiling faces
Posted by St. Matthew's Evangelical at 11:59 PM

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