Are you interested in being part of a local youth group? An upcoming event gives you the chance to see what a youth group is like.

St Matthew’s youth group is running a “taster night” on Friday 25th August. It will run from 5.30pm – 7pm, at St Matthew’s, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully.

This event is for young people in Grade 6 and above.

We will run some fun activities, and a free BBQ.

There will also be a session for parents and carers, where our youth group co-ordinator will give some information about the youth group, and be able to answer any questions you have.

This event is FREE. Please RSVP if you can.

Please download a flier here. You can also find some more information about the youth group here.

To get in touch, or ask more questions, please contact Dave Fagg on 0421 764 699, or email dfagg@godfoodpeople.org.

It is free, and open to anyone. Enjoy a slice of wood-fired pizza, slurp some hot chocolate and stand around a fire.

Date: Saturday 22nd July
Time: 5.30pm – 8pm
Location: St Matthew’s Church, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully.

No RSVP necessary, just come along.

Community Christmas Carols

This is organised with the Long Gully Neighbourhood Centre. It’s on Wednesday 21st December, and starts at 5pm, with carols to sing along to, plus 2 local choirs. We’ll also enjoy free wood-fired pizza, and a bbq. See the Facebook event for more details. No cost.

Christmas Eve Service

This Christmas Eve, we invite you to join us to celebrate the coming of God in Jesus. Everyone is welcome, whether you consider yourself religious or not. Also, children are very welcome! It is on Saturday 24th December, from 7pm. No cost.

Youth Group Activities

1. BEACH TRIP: this is on Wednesday 18th January.

2. MOSAIC WORKSHOP: this is on Wednesday 25th January.

For these youth group activities, get in touch with Dave Fagg for details on 0421 764 699. There will be a small cost for the Beach Trip. You can also find more info about the youth group here.

Church Services

Our Gully Gathering church service will take a break after Christmas Eve. We will re-start on Sunday 22nd January, at 5pm.

People’s Pantry

The People’s Pantry always takes a break over the holidays, and will re-start on Tuesday 31st January. For more details on the People’s Pantry, see here.

Date: Saturday 6th August
Time: 4 – 6pm (4.30pm: official proceedings)
Location: St Matthew’s Church, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully
Cost: Free

During the COVID-19 crisis, many people in our neighbourhood will be feeling isolated, and some may be seriously sick. Many will need practical support to get by. We need to rally together to help each other, and build stronger relationships.

We shouldn’t feel ashamed of asking for help right now. We’re all going to need it. You might need things like:

• Someone to get some groceries for you, or make a trip to the chemist
• A phone call just to feel less lonely
• Someone to water your garden
• A cooked meal

St Matthew’s Church has set up 2 ways that you can connect with others who may be able to help you, or others you know. 

1. Facebook Group – “Long Gully Neighbourhood Sharing”

Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/LongGullySharing/, and put your request up in the group. Others in the group may be able to offer help, and then you can communicate with each other to sort things. You might also want to offer help to others, like cooked meals or running errands.

2. Offline Support

If you don’t have Facebook, please call the church on (03) 5442 2659, or email dfagg@godfoodpeople.org. Leave a message with your name, phone number, and a short message about what you need. We will let our database of volunteers know about this, and hopefully one of them will be able to help.

Need more info?

Contact the St Matthew’s community worker (Dave Fagg) on (03) 5442 2659. Leave a message if you need to. Or email at dfagg@godfoodpeople.org.

Service: 5pm
Meal:     6pm

2nd and 4th Sundays of the month

We invite you to celebrate the coming of Jesus in a Christmas Service at St Matthew’s Church, Long Gully.

Date: Tuesday, 24th December

Time: 5pm

There’ll be carols, the Christmas story and a meal afterwards, from 6pm.

All welcome.

The Happiness Lab is a short course to explore what makes us happy. Over 6 weeks, you will explore themes of patience, gratitude, looking after yourself, friends and family, and practicing acts of kindness.

You’ll meet others in a warm and supportive group, and journey together as we explore what happiness looks like for all of us.

Sign up or ask a question: dfagg@godfoodpeople.org, or call 0421 764 699.

Dates: the course begins on Thursday 28th February, 2019. It runs for 6 weeks.

Time: 12-2pm, including lunch

Location: St Matthew’s Church, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully.

Cost: Free

Child Care available

Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve got kids. Can I still come along?
We provide onsite childcare, with experienced volunteers, all of whom have Working With Children Checks.

I notice it’s run by a local church. Is it a religious course? Do I need to be a Christian?
The Happiness Lab is run by St Matthew’s, a local church in Long Gully. The course is not religious in content. It is designed to be open to people of any faith, or no faith.

I’d like some more information about the course
To find out more details, we suggest you go to this website. It is created by the people who designed the Happiness Lab, and contains a course overview and videos from people who’ve done the course before.

Date: Friday 25th May

Time: 5.30 – 8.00pm

This January, in partnership with Common Grace, Australian Churches are invited to hold ecumenical services of acknowledgement, lament and prayer as we approach January 26th – a day of mourning for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters.

The concept for these services was developed by Aunty Jean Phillips, one of our great Aboriginal Christian Leaders.

 These services are a way that non-Aboriginal people can come to learn and acknowledge the true history of our nation, to lament the present day disadvantages and injustices facing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters and to pray to our great Creator Spirit, Lord God, Papa Jesus, for “a nation built on truth, justice, love and hope”.

This is also a way to acknowledge, regardless of the politics of “Australia Day”, the importance for non-Aboriginal Australians to acknowledge that Aboriginal peoples are hurting, grieving and mourning on this day, and as Christians we must love our neighbour as ourselves.

For more information on these services, see the Common Grace website.

We invite you, and any of your church members, to join with us at St Matthew’s.

Date: Thursday 25th January 2018

Time: 7.30pm

Place: St Matthew’s, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully

]]> 749 davefagg