The History of St. Matthew’s
On October 19, 1958, the Rev. Malcom Riker held St. Matthew’s first service at the St. Andrew’s School Chapel. Quickly outgrowing a rented house on Highland Terrace West, the congregation moved to its first permanent location at 4400 Ridge Oak Drive in June 1960. In April 1973, the church called its fourth rector, the Rev. Chuck Huffman. The church and school thrived for many years, but once again ran out of room to grow. In October 1977, ground was broken at our present campus in the heart of Northwest Hills. Early in 1979, what is now Huffman Hall served as the sanctuary building, but continuing growth led to the planning of further expansion.
In March 1987, our current sanctuary was built and since then, worship, Christian Education, and public events in that building have served thousands of people. In the last 10 years, our congregation has supported new construction and desired improvements. This has included new lighting in the Sanctuary; the repainting and carpeting of the entire Sanctuary basement, including renovation of the bathrooms; the transformation of B-14 into a small worship space in memory of the Rev. George Wilson; the replacement of the roofs on Huffman Hall and the office; and the placement of pavers in the west parking lot. The Memorial Garden walls have been completed, parts of the garden replanted, and new benches and a deck were installed. The biggest project, created in partnership with the Day School under the 2007 Building on Our Sure Foundation capital campaign, was the construction of the Youth Building and improvement of the Mesa parking lot. In 2010, the church significantly upgraded the kitchen and Huffman Hall. This was costly but important, as we developed a high-quality commercial kitchen with much greater capacity. In addition, this kitchen renovation gave us an opportunity to refurbish Huffman Hall and to rebuild the bathrooms to accomplish handicap accessibility. More recently, the church held its Gratitude Together campaign which has resulted in significant improvements in landscape, lighting and safety throughout the campus.
The people and clergy of St. Matthew’s earnestly desire to be good stewards of the campus we have inherited and have worked to maintain and improve it the last 37 years. But this is not for the sake of bricks and mortar, but for the sake of God and his steadfast love for each of us. It is in these spaces we baptize, share communion, share life’s joys and tragedies, receive God’s forgiveness, teach, preach, learn, nurture children and youth, care for the elderly, shepherd a fantastic Scouting program, support the needy, and have fun and fellowship. And it is from this campus that we are “sent forth into the world, rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit”.
Our Campus
Our campus is designed with serenity and peace in mind. Nestled among large trees and wide walkways are the Day School offices, Education Building, Church Offices, Parish Hall, Sanctuary, Bell Tower, Charlotte Gray Chapel, Krystow Memorial Garden, and the Kinney Outdoor Chapel. We have two parking lots, a small lot on Mesa Dr. and a larger parking lot in back of the church off Steck Avenue. Parking on Sunday morning is also available across the street at Anderson High School.
The Church Office is located in the breezeway between our Education Building, which houses our Day School, and our Parish Hall. The Parish Hall, also known as Huffman Hall in honor of our Rector Emeritus Chuck Huffman, is where we host most of our social gatherings and where the Sunday morning Family Service is held. Church services are primarily held in the Sanctuary, located across the campus from the church offices. The lower level floor of the Sanctuary building houses our classrooms. East of the Sanctuary is our peaceful Memorial Garden and Kinney Outdoor Chapel, a quiet and peaceful place for prayer and meditation.
We invite you to come by the office to meet us in person or visit us at one of our Worship Services. Call 512-345-8314 or drop by the church office Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Meet our clergy and staff, who will be happy to talk to you about St. Matthew’s.