What to Expect | St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Fairbanks

Whether you are new to the ways of worship in the Episcopal tradition, or if you’ve been an Episcopalian ‘forever’ – we are glad you are with us!

We use the Book of Common Prayer (BCP) for our liturgies – most regularly using Rite 2, with the more contemporary language. You can find an online version of the BCP at www.bcponline.org, if you’d like to check out our service before you come (the ‘usual’ Sunday service begins on page 355 of the BCP). You’ll find that almost 80% of the BCP content is from Holy Scripture.

We welcome all – regardless of age or family status; and we welcome all – regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual identity, race or… We are glad YOU are willing to give US a chance.

We love hearing children as we worship – it’s one way of knowing that we are alive! So come alone – or with your significant other(s) – with your children, or grandchildren … You will be welcome here!

We are a diverse congregation – comprised of young and old…and everything in between! We tend to be ‘Alaska Casual’ in our dress and in our conversations…we especially love having visitors join us!

We may invite visitors to stand and introduce themselves during Announcements … but this is TOTALLY voluntary. Part of our diversity is in having extroverts, introverts and everything in-between! So, while we are eager to welcome you…we will not pressure you to be more ‘involved’ than you want to!

We can be a quirky bunch – one of our ‘traditions’ is giving a can of Spam to the visitor who has come the farthest…something to nourish them on the way back home!

Come… See… Know You are Loved…

We hope you’ll join us… it just won’t be the same without YOU!

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St. Matthew’s has been part of the life of Fairbanks since 1904, and is housed in a historic log building, near downtown Fairbanks, just across from the Chena River.

We offer a Holy space to rest for a bit and engage with our diverse congregation, worshiping in the Episcopal tradition.

Welcome – Wander around our website – Come worship with us in person or online!

What to Expect What is the Episcopal Church

During the summer months we hope to be doing Mass on the Grass as long as the weather cooperates. When the weather is not so great we will go inside the Church with. Our beautiful building is old and has no air ventilation, therefore all indoor services at this time will require masks to be worn.

When we are inside for worship we are live-stream our services. Please join in our worship opportunities.

Love God, Love Your Neighbor...Practice Kindness, it's contagious... and... wash your hands. We will return to our regular worship when it is safe to do so.

We are grateful, at St. Matthew’s, to have parishioners who speak languages other than English.

Some of our Indigenous members have volunteered through the years to lead the Lord’s Prayer or the Nicene Creed, for example, in the language of their hearts – perhaps the first language they learned as babies…the language spoken in their homes…

We invite parishioners to pray in the ‘language of their hearts’ – which may be English, or Koyukon, or Gwich’in, or French, or Spanish, or... Hearing the familiar words prayed in a language other than our own, simultaneously, brings a sense of fullness, that enhances our worship.

THANK YOU to all who continue to support the life and ministries of St. Matthew's. With your generosity, we are able to continue our ministries of, among others, offering cold-weather gear to those who need, offer food for the hungry, upgrade our ability to offer live-streamed services, and offer support and 'connection to many in Fairbanks and beyond!

Stewardship is how we nurture St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church and our worshiping community. It is how we carry forward a faith community that was given to us by those who came before, and that we are responsible for handing off to future generations. Click the button below to read the 2022 Stewardship Letter or you can simply click the pledge now button.

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