Ministries, Studies, Missions, and Small Groups
At St. Matthew, ALL of our ministries, missions, groups, and activities are open to ALL people in the community.
No matter
who you are,
where you’ve come from,
where you’re going,
whom you love,
your beliefs,
your doubts or questions,
your skin color,
your abilities and limitations,
your skills,
your education level,
your religious affiliation,
your political views,
your gender identity,
your socioeconomic status,
your age,
your citizenship status,
or
your personal history,
God loves you. You are welcome here!
Lay Ministries within St. Matthew
If you're looking for a way to serve St. Matthew, click on the link above! (Social work, potlucks, and committees...yep, we're a United Methodist church!)
Local Missions of Love to the Community
St. Matthew has always been proud of its music program. Everyone is invited to join--you don't even need to know how to read music! If you're interested, we will teach you to ring!
Sanctuary Choir is open to 9th graders through adults. We are an SATB choir singing (typically) modern church choral music with occasional classical pieces. We rehearse at 7:00 p.m. Wednesdays during the school year and 8:15 a.m. the first Sunday of each month in the summer. We will soon start rehearsals on our 2025 Christmas cantata, Pepper Choplin's Night of the Father’s Love. Contact our director, Ben Shafer, if you're interested—or just show up on Wednesday night!
Bells of Joy handbell choir is open to all ages. We are a 5-octave choir currently ringing with 3+ octaves, and we're always looking for new ringers—no experience necessary! We rehearse at 7:00 p.m. Thursdays during the school year. (Psst—this is a great way to keep your mind and your arms active!) Contact our director, Anne Kelley, for more information. Come join the fun!
If you have musical talent you'd like to share, but you can't commit to weekly rehearsals (or you're not a vocalist), please reach out to Ben Shafer, our Director of Music; he'll find a place for you! We always love to hear soloists and ensembles!
Youth Calendar (grades 6-12)
All activities are in the Youth Room unless noted otherwise. Every youth is welcome to attend our activities. We'd love to have you come! Please contact Pastor Ann if you have questions or if you're interested in joining the Confirmation class!
It's New - Student Fellowship Time!
Beginning in April, middle school/junior high–high school students are invited to their own fellowship time in the Youth Room. Grab a snack from the Activity Center and gather in the Youth Room for conversation, fellowship and a short devotional!
| Mar. 29 | 5 p.m. |
Confirmation Class – The Promise of the Resurrection |
| Apr. 5 |
6 a.m. |
Easter Sunrise Service Youth are leading the service; setup time will be earlier than 6:00 a.m. |
| Apr. 12 |
10 a.m. |
Student Fellowship Time |
| 5 p.m. |
Confirmation Class – What's Yet to Come | |
| Apr. 19 | 10 a.m. |
Student Fellowship Time |
| 5 p.m. |
Confirmation Class – Talking with God | |
| Apr. 26 | 10 a.m. |
Student Fellowship Time |
| 5 p.m. |
Confirmation Class – The Church: Partnering with God's Mission |
Youth in Worship
Youth are always invited to participate in worship as ushers, liturgists, Communion servers, or by joining the Sanctuary Choir (gr. 9-12) or Bells of Joy.
St. Matthew UMC provides Christ-centered learning activities for children aged 4-11 years old. Special fellowship opportunities are available for youth aged 12-18. All youth and children are welcome to join us in a judgment-free environment where doubts can be expressed openly and questions are celebrated!
In addition to fellowship, youth at St. Matthew are encouraged to participate in the music program, in our community ministries (such as food boxes or missions), in Bible studies, and in any other work area to help further the ministries of the church.
Sunday School is offered for children each week during our regular Sunday service. Children are invited to sit in the pews with a parent or guardian, then leave with their class for Sunday School after the Children's Moment.
Baptism and Confirmation - Children or youth interested in being baptized, and youth interested in being confirmed (taking classes and formally joining the church), may talk to Pastor Ann to ask questions and learn more about the process. We will be starting a Confirmation class in Lent (Spring 2026).
Girl Scouts - St. Matthew has been proud for many years to support a multi-age-level Girl Scout troop that meets on our campus weekly. Girls learn leadership and life skills through earning badges, performing acts of service, camping, going on summer trips, and (of course!) selling cookies. If you want to add excitement and adventure to your life, just ask our troop leader and we'll hook you up!
Summer camps - St. Matthew is part of the Desert Southwest Annual Conference, which is blessed to have two camps: Mingus Mountain (north of Prescott Valley) and Potosi Pines (southwest of Las Vegas, Nevada). Children and youth from St. Matthew and their friends may go to either camp. Register soon--our camps fill up fast! (Financial assistance may be available; please contact Pastor Ann.)
Mingus 2025 summer camps
Potosi Pines 2025 summer camps
From the weekly email 5/8/26:
Pastor’s Bible Study Begins a New Journey—Join Us!
Our Pastor’s Bible Study has started a new book that takes on one of the most honest and difficult questions of faith: Why? Why do suffering and tragedy exist in a world created by a loving God?
We’ll be reading Why?: Making Sense of God’s Will by Adam Hamilton, a thoughtful and accessible guide that invites us to wrestle with these questions together. Rather than offering easy or simplistic answers, this study opens space for meaningful conversation about God’s presence in the midst of life’s hardest moments. It reminds us that while God does not cause suffering, God walks with us through it—and can bring hope and healing even in the darkest times.
The study meets on Thursday mornings at 9:30 a.m. in the Patio Rooms, and participants are also welcome to join via Zoom. Whether you’ve been part of Bible study for years or are just beginning to explore your faith, you are warmly invited to be part of this conversation!
Books are available for $15, and everyone is welcome--members, friends, neighbors, people who have never been to church but are curious.
If you would like to participate by Zoom, please contact the church office or Pastor Ann to receive the link.
Come with your questions, your curiosity, and your faith—there is a place for you at the table!
From the weekly email 5/18/26:
A Summer of Faith, Hope, and Renewal
There is so much to look forward to in worship in the months ahead! This summer and early fall, we will be exploring a series of meaningful and timely themes designed to deepen our faith, strengthen our community, and help us rediscover the beauty of following Jesus together!
We begin with Pentecost and Trinity Sunday in a short series called God Poured Out, celebrating the Spirit of God moving among us—not as something distant or abstract, but as a living presence that empowers, inspires, and calls us into partnership with God’s work in the world. These services will be filled with energy, hope, and a reminder that the church is still being created anew through the Spirit.
Beginning in June, we will enter a series titled Almost Christian? From Distortions of the Faith to Recovering the Way of Jesus, based on Michael A Beck’s work on distortions of the faith. Together we will explore some of the ways Christianity has been misunderstood, distorted, or disconnected from the life and teachings of Jesus—and how we can reclaim a more authentic, grace-filled, and transformative faith. These messages will be thoughtful, honest, and deeply hopeful as we ask what it means to become “altogether Christian."
We will finish the summer and head into the fall with a new series called Becoming Who We Are: A People of Joy, Belonging, and Purpose. As a congregation, we will reflect on our mission statement and who God is calling us to be together. Through themes of discipleship, belonging, joy, justice, service, and mission, we will celebrate the kind of church we are becoming: a community where all are welcomed, all are valued, and all
are invited to Christ’s table.
Along the way there will be special worship services, guest preachers, Communion Sundays, meaningful music, and opportunities to connect more deeply with God and one another.
Whether you have been part of our church family for years or are simply curious and looking for a place to belong, this is a wonderful season to join us in worship. We hope you will come and see what God is doing among us!
United Women in Faith
(formerly United Methodist Women)
(formerly United Methodist Women)
The United Women in Faith (previously known as UMW) is a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.
Our vision is to turn faith, hope, and love into action on behalf of women, children and youth around the world.
Membership in United Women in Faith is open to all women. We are a Christian organization that welcomes spiritual women of all faiths.
If you have questions or would like more information, ask our UWF contact, or check out our UWF webpage. We'd love to have you join us!
2026 Monthly Mission Focus
One way that St. Matthew tries to help our neighbors is through collecting donations for organizations in our own neighborhood. Each month, we focus on a group outside the church. This year, we plan to assist
(January) Habitat for Humanity: collecting funds, signing up to donate our time and energy;
(March) a family shelter program: providing lodging and meals;
(April) Justa Center;
(June) Washington School (our neighborhood elementary school): collecting school supplies;
(July) City of Mesa Hydration Campaign: collecting bottled water;
(August-September) the 9/11 Day of Service: collecting clothing and non-perishable food;
(October) a family shelter program: providing lodging and meals;
(November) Washington School: collecting pies to be given away to students;
(December) Angel Tree families and the St. Matthew Food Box ministry: collecting gifts and "Advent Boxes" of food
(March) a family shelter program: providing lodging and meals;
(April) Justa Center;
(June) Washington School (our neighborhood elementary school): collecting school supplies;
(July) City of Mesa Hydration Campaign: collecting bottled water;
(August-September) the 9/11 Day of Service: collecting clothing and non-perishable food;
(October) a family shelter program: providing lodging and meals;
(November) Washington School: collecting pies to be given away to students;
(December) Angel Tree families and the St. Matthew Food Box ministry: collecting gifts and "Advent Boxes" of food
Donated items can be brought to the church Sunday mornings or dropped off in the office during the week. We are always collecting food for the food box ministry, even if that isn't the focus of the month.
Thank you for your generous, ongoing support!
Sponsoring a medical student
St. Matthew UMC, along with residents of Friendship Village, have found an opportunity to provide a village in Tanzania with a cardiologist! We are sponsoring the education of a young woman from Africa who is attending medical school. She has completed her Bachelor’s degree in medicine, and is now working on her Master’s, specializing in cardiology. She expects to finish in August of 2026! If you wish to contribute toward her education or living expenses, please contact the church office for more details.
Habitat for Humanity
A few times a year, St. Matthew joins other United Methodist Churches (the Mighty Methodist Coalition!) in constructing a house for Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona. There are many ways to help the team, even if you don't want to put on a hard hat yourself! Click here for more information about our Habitat ministry!
“...for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me...”
—Matthew 25:35 NRSV
Food Boxes
Everyone needs a little help from time to time, so St. Matthew collects and shares food for families in our neighborhood needing a temporary hand up. With donations from church members and partnerships with Midwest Food Bank, Waste Not, and the local Bishop's Storehouse of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, St. Matthew fills boxes with food to feed a family of four for 3-4 days. An enthusiastic group of volunteers—many of them past recipients of food boxes themselves—hand out boxes to upwards of 60 families every other Saturday.
Click here for distribution dates and more information about food boxes!
Sack Lunches
For over ten years, St. Matthew has created sack lunches for the East Valley Men's Center in Mesa. Volunteers shop, make sandwiches, pack 96 lunches, and deliver them to the shelter on the 2nd and 4th Sundays of each month. The Center provides a temporary place to live to men who make the commitment to become self-sufficient and move back into the community. Donations of food, money, or time are always appreciated!
Family Promise
St. Matthew partners with Family Promise of Central Phoenix and other churches to provide living spaces for unhoused families. Every few months, Family Promise brings a group of families with children to the church for a week, where we share rooms to sleep, an evening meal, and friendly conversation. If you would like to visit with our guests or help prepare a meal, please contact Rosemary. We'd love the company!
Page updated 5/14/26
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