St. Matthew’s Church

* Address: 2300 Ford Road, Newport Beach

* Telephone: (949) 219-0911

* Web site: www.stmatthewsacc.com

* Denomination: Anglican Catholic Church

* Year established: 1982

* Service times: Family Holy Eucharist is at 9 a.m. Sunday. At

the beginning of the service, children in kindergarten through fourth

grade go to “The Flock,” Sunday school classes with curriculum

designed especially for those ages. Older children leave for their

own age-appropriate “Upper Room” Sunday school classes after they

receive Communion. A choir sings at the 9 a.m. Eucharist. High Mass

is at 11 a.m. each Sunday. A cantor sings at these Masses. Evensong

is at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday; Holy Eucharist is at 9:30 a.m. Thursday;

morning prayer is at 6 a.m. Friday.

* Senior pastor: The Rev. Stephen C. Scarlett

* Pastoral staff: The Rev. Richard L. Stapp; The Rev. Robert

Blythin; The Rev. David Brounstein; Raymond H. Clark, organist and

choirmaster

* Administrative staff: Donna Spell

* Size of congregation: 120 families

* Makeup of congregation: Members come from throughout Orange

County and range in age from preschool children to senior adults.

* Child care: Child care is provided for the 9 a.m. family

Eucharist.

* Type of worship: Services are traditional Anglican forms of

worship, using the Book of Common Prayer. The worship is liturgical,

a fixed order of worship that involves participation by the

congregation.

“The literal meaning of the word liturgy is ‘the work of the

people,’” Scarlett says. “The liturgy makes it possible for a body of

believers to worship in common and enables greater individual

participation.”

* Type of sermon: Sermon topics generally follow the Bible

readings for the day or the themes of the seasons of the church year,

such as Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, Pentecost,

Ascension and Trinity. Scarlett says the sermons “generally aim at

conversion of the heart and spiritual growth.”

* Recent sermons: The account of Christ cleansing the temple in

Matthew 21:12 and at the meaning of the wedding garment in Matthew

22.

* Dress: Business casual to business dress

* Building design: The church completed a major construction

project and moved into its own buildings at the Ford Road site in May

this year. The new facilities include a church/parish hall, an

administration and classroom building, as well as a Montessori

Preschool. Future phases of the building project will provide the

congregation with a larger church building and more classrooms.

* Mission statement: “To follow Christ, to worship God every

Sunday in his Church; and to work and pray and give for the spread of

his kingdom.”

* Visitor information: Visitors may sign the church’s guest book

if they wish. Anyone who would like more information about the

church, as well as those who would like prayer or assistance from the

church, can make those requests when they sign the guest book. A

pamphlet on the Anglican Catholic Church is made available to

visitors and the Sunday bulletin provides information about the

church’s weekly activities. Coffee and refreshments are served after

worship for members and guests in the congregation.

* Church programs: The church conducts a regular series of

inquirers classes, which is designed to teach the faith and to answer

questions for those who are new to the faith. These classes meet at

6:30 p.m. Monday nights. There is a Sunday morning adult Bible study

and three weekday adult Bible studies. All of these classes are open

to the public.

On Tuesday evening, there is a dinner and Bible study at 7 p.m.

This class is studying the book of 1 Maccabees, from the Apocrypha,

which tells of events prophesied in Daniel, events that provide the

background for the Jewish celebration of Hanukkah.

A Wednesday noon-hour Bible study is studying Matthew 24. On

Thursdays at 10:15 a.m., a group is studying “Jesus, the New Way,” by

N.T. Wright. An adult class that meets on Sunday mornings is studying

“The Confessions of St. Augustine.”

The Sacrament of Anointing, for healing, is administered at both

the 9 and 11 a.m. services on the first Sunday of each month. The

church choir welcomes new members.

* Outreach programs: The congregation supports several outreach

programs. In cooperation with the United Way’s Friends in Service to

Humanity-Harbor Area program, church members provide food for the

hungry in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Food can be dropped off at

the church any weekday during office hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

At Christmas time, the congregation donates toys for the needy.

The church helps provide medical care for pregnant women who

otherwise could not afford it through LivingWell Medical Clinics, a

network of Christian-based women’s prenatal centers. Spiritual

counseling regarding the sanctity of human life, as well as

post-abortion counseling, is also provided by the LivingWell Clinics.

The congregation provides support to the Prison Fellowship

Ministry, an organization that offers financial and spiritual support

for prison inmates and their families, especially the children of

prisoners.

The church sends financial support to St. Mary’s School for

orphans in India, which was founded in 1994 with 50 students in one

brick structure with doorways, but no doors and no glass windows.

Electricity was installed at the school 1997. St. Mary’s now has more

than 1,100 students in nursery school through 10th grade and a staff

of 15 teachers.

* Interesting note: The church will begin a Christmas tradition

of midnight Mass this year. The Mass will start at 10:30 p.m. on

Christmas Eve.

-- Michele Marr