The entrance to St. Matthew's.

The Memorial Garden from the front.

Inside the Memorial Garden - the first wall of niches.

History

St. Matthew's became a congregation of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri in 1956 and is a member of the world-wide Anglican Communion. This tradition reflects the love and fellowship of Christ and is evident in the shared faith journeys of parishioners who gather in sacrament and prayer in fellowship and in caring ministries.

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church started in temporary location. The first service was held in November 1955 at Oakwood School, Kirkwood. By 1956, 32 people were in the congregation, and by 1959, we had 199 people. In celebration of our congregational life, we donated enough silver to have Carroll Lorenez create a Chalice for us. As we grew, we had to move around a little bit. We met at Glendale School, followed by the move to our current home. The first priest at St. Matthew's was the Rev. Robert Black.

July 1959, we broke ground for our new church and in the following January, we moved into our current church. The church has changed some since then. The original entrance was found to be problematic, and as a result, the main door was moved to its current location, next to the driveway. The original entrance is between the Memorial Garden and the staircase.

On October 12, 1962, St. Matthew's had grown enough to be given Parish status and the Rev. Roy Ostensen became our first rector. Over time, the church continued to florish and in 1970, Kris and Alice Gilson were the first girls to serve as acolytes. In 1975 the Reredos was installed in memory of Kenneth Baker.

The main church was expanded and a new sanctuary was added in May 1972. At one side of the addition, an additional chapel was added. In 2005, it was named the St. Cecilia Chapel. The addition included a new choir room and sacristry downstairs. The Memorial Garden was added in 1983 in memory of Harry Stein.

In 1984, we welcomed the first woman rector in the Diocese of Missouri, the Rev. Ann Brewster Jones. Unforunately, she remained with us for only a short time. While she was Rector, another local priest and past interim, Rev. Richard Baker led two trips to the United Kingdom with many from the congregation attending. In 1986, the Rev. Tom Barnett became our Rector.

In 1989, St. Matthew's welcomed the computer age with our first computer. In 1992, David Johns became our music director, preceded by Philip Brunswick as the choirmaster. Philip went on to be the organist and choirmaster at Grace Episcopal Church, Kirkwood.

The Intinction Chalice was presented by Anne and Tom Pellett in 1995. In 1996, Rev. Tom Barnett celebrated 10 years at St. Matthew's. Because we believe children are important, we opened our own Child Care Center. It remained operational for several years.

Under the direction of the Rector, the Rev. Nathaniel Pyron, several important events have occured that have continued to shape our life today. We decided to rent space to different organizations that put into action our christian beliefs. They include Contemplative Outreach (2000) and REBOS (2004).

Our choir made another trip to the United Kingdom in 2006, and sang at the parish Church of Cleve in Dorset, near Bristol. Rev. Nathaniel Pryon retired in 2005, and in November 2006, the Rev. Doris Westfall accepted our call to be our Rector. Her first service was during a power outage in January 2007.

Change is a way of life and at St. Matthew's we are seeing change come our way. As we said good-bye to REBOS in July 2007, we welcomed Gateway Music Together.

Over the years, we have had many rectors, including Interims. The following individuals have been rectors or Interim at St. Matthew's:

• Rev. Doris C. Westfall, Rector: 2007 to date
• Rev. Susan Skinner, Interim: 2005 - 2007
• Rev. Nathaniel Pyron, Rector: 1999 - 2005
• Rev. Steve Lawler, Interim 1998 - 1999
• Rev. Tom Barnett, Rector: 1986 - 1997
• Rev. Ann Brewster Jones, Rector: 1984 - 1986
• Rev. Thom W. Blair, Rector: 1979 - 1983
• Rev. Bob H. Betts, Rector: 1977 - 1979
• Rev. David P. Hegg II, Rector: 1968 - 1977
• Rev. Roy Ostensen, Vicar/Rector: 1960 - 1968
• Rev. Robert Black, Vicar: 1957 - 1959
• Albert Dalton, Chaplain of the City Mission Society: 1955 - 1957

This history was taken from the timeline that was created as part of the search process for the current rector.