On the west side of Chandler, Arizona, just south of the old downtown grid, Saint Matthew's Episcopal Church fills a generous campus on West Erie Street with three Sunday services, a pipe organ salvaged from a Nashville concert hall, stained-glass windows that hide saguaros and roadrunners inside biblical scenes, and a food bank it birthed in 2001 that now feeds thousands of families a year down the road. The congregation describes itself with the phrase it repeats again and again across its materials: Growing as God's Family. It is a sacramental, worship-oriented parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona and the worldwide Anglican Communion, and it makes room for three very different styles of liturgy under a single roof.

Three Sunday Services, One Continuous Eucharistic Life

The Sunday schedule is built around the Holy Eucharist, the principal weekly service of the Episcopal Church, and it offers three distinct entry points for visitors.

The earliest, at 7:30 AM, is a contemplative service with no sung choral music. The liturgy varies with the season, so Lent feels reverent and penitential while Easter feels celebratory. There is no music director leading this hour; the quiet itself is the offering.

At 9:00 AM the sanctuary fills with the traditional choral service. The adult choir, organ, handbell choir, flautists, and other classical instrumentalists lead hymns that range from Renaissance polyphony and Sacred Harp traditions to contemporary sacred choral works and spirituals. This is the service that is livestreamed every Sunday on YouTube, with views intentionally limited during communion so that those at home do not see parishioners approach the altar rail. Lay Eucharistic Visitors are available to bring communion to anyone unable to attend in person.

At 11:00 AM the State of Grace band takes over. Piano, guitars, bass, drums and vocalists lead congregational singing in a style the church calls the most boisterous of the three. The liturgy follows the same order as 9:00, but the feel is different because the music is the music you might hear on Christian radio. Children's Chapel is offered during both the 9:00 and 11:00 services, with children gathering at the back of the sanctuary after the Gospel and returning before communion.

Bulletin papers, prayer books and hymnals are available in the pews. There is no dress code. "God welcomes those in blue jeans the same way He welcomes those in a suit and tie, and that means we'll welcome you too." Children are welcome everywhere, including in the main worship space; the only reason to send them elsewhere is a family's preference. The nursery in room C-2 is open during the 9:00 and 11:00 services for infants through age four.

From Adobe Block to a 2018 Sanctuary

The oldest building on campus is the SMEC Chapel, the parish's original worship space. Construction began on April 4, 1958, when the congregation broke ground at the present address on Erie Street. The little adobe-block church was built by parishioners and nicknamed "Rosie's Cantina." Two major renovations followed. First, the building was secured in concrete block and expanded; later, in 1986, both the east and west ends were removed and stretched to give the chapel its current seating capacity of 220 and to add the Nave and Narthex stained glass.

In 2018 the new sanctuary was consecrated. The 530 square feet of stained glass on its north face were designed by the parish's own stained glass committee and executed by Powers Stained Glass Studios of Scottsdale. The committee traveled Arizona looking at examples, then wove together the Holy Land and the Sonoran Desert: saguaro, ocotillo and cholla appear inside scenes from the Bible, with quail, roadrunners, jackrabbits and reptiles nested throughout canyons, arroyos and sand dunes. The windows were dedicated September 15, 2019 and blessed by Arizona Bishop Rt. Reverend Jennifer Reddall. The left panel reflects Old Testament imagery from Psalm 121, while the right depicts the Good Shepherd from the New Testament. Children love to look for the hidden animals, and the glass shifts color with the natural light through the day. At night, lit from within, the windows become a scenic gift to the surrounding neighborhood.

A Pipe Organ with a Vanderbilt Pedigree

Behind that stained glass sits a pipe organ with a long journey behind it. The instrument is Reuter Organ Company Opus 1297, originally built for the chapel of George Peabody College in Nashville. In 1981 it was reconditioned and enlarged for the Turner Concert Hall at Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music. When Vanderbilt installed a new organ in 2014, the Reuter was retired to climate-controlled storage at the Milnar Organ Company.

A Saint Matthew's committee, formed when the new sanctuary was being planned, found the Reuter, refurbished and enlarged it, and began installation in January 2020. The finished instrument has 26 ranks and roughly 1,500 pipes spread across Great, Swell, and Pedal divisions, controlled by a Peterson ICS-4000 system. The organ was paid for through the generous donations of many parishioners and is believed to be the first pipe organ installed in Chandler. It leads congregational singing at the 9:00 service and is available as a recital venue for the wider East Valley.

Matthew's Crossing: A Food Bank Born at the Altar

In 2001 Saint Matthew's recognized a need for nutritional food for hungry families in the surrounding community. With three volunteers, the congregation started what was then Saint Matthew's Food Bank. By 2005 the effort had outgrown its space, so it became Matthew's Crossing, a separate 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and moved down the road to its own location at 1368 N. Arizona Avenue, between Ray and Warner. It continues to provide nutritional support for children, teens, college students and families, and Saint Matthew's still collects non-perishable food year-round in the blue bin in its narthex and gathers the full spread of Thanksgiving sides each fall. The food bank also packs weekend backpack meal bags for students, and volunteers are needed to sort and record donations, assemble boxes, and pack those backpacks.

The Thanksgiving sides food drive is now a recurring rhythm: brownie mix, cranberry sauce, green beans, mashed potatoes, stuffing, turkey or chicken gravy packets, and yams for a goal of 300 meals. Monetary donations support the same effort.

Music: A Choir, a Band, and a Youth Bell Ensemble

Music is one of the most visible ministries of the parish, with separate ensembles for the two large Sunday services and a children's program.

The adult choir leads congregational singing at 9:00 and sings anthems ranging from Renaissance polyphony to contemporary choral works, with additional appearances at Advent Lessons and Carols, Christmas Eve, and Holy Week. Rehearsals are Tuesday evenings from 6:45 to 8:30 PM August through May, plus a Sunday morning warm-up at 8:30. The handbell choir uses four octaves of Malmark handbells and three octaves of Malmark choirchimes, rehearsing on selected Saturdays at 2:00 PM.

At 11:00, State of Grace, the contemporary band, rehearses every Monday at 6:00 PM. Instruments include piano, guitars, bass and drums, sometimes accompanied by additional musicians, and vocalists lead the congregation in singing.

For younger musicians, Youth Ringers is a spring ensemble for students in grades 3 through 8 that practices twice a month at 11:00 AM in the Parish Hall. Youth Choir is a fall program for children in grades 1 through 8 led by the music director, with singers sharing their music on selected Sundays at 9:00 and 11:00. The Music Ministry's licensing is covered by ONE LICENSE #A-730846 and CCLI streaming license 20518164.

Children, Youth, and Families

Family, Children and Youth ministry at Saint Matthew's is led by Amy Trias, Director of Family and Children's Ministry, and Kadi Strong, Director of Youth Ministry. The framing the parish uses is direct: children are not only the future of the church, they are the church.

Children's Chapel is offered at both the 9:00 and 11:00 services, with children leaving after the Gospel for a special lesson and prayer before rejoining their families at the Peace. Sunday School meets at 10:00 AM on most Sundays during the school year for children ages 4 through 6th grade. The nursery in room C-2 is available from 8:45 AM to 12:10 PM for children four and younger. Special offerings include a beloved Christmas Pageant, Vacation Bible School, religious education classes, and seasonal craft events during Lent and Advent. A children's Lending Library with Bibles and faith-based books is available in room C-1.

During the school year, Middle School (6th through 8th) and High School (9th through 12th) youth groups meet on Sundays from 12:15 to 2:00 PM with lunch provided. Summers are more relational and event-oriented: volunteering for Vacation Bible School, community service on selected Sundays, a week-long mission trip or pilgrimage for high schoolers, and gatherings like pool parties, lunches, and coffee meetups. The youth ministry has also offered a summer trip to Chapel Rock Summer Camp.

Adult formation is anchored by the Thursday Mob, a Thursday morning Adult Bible Study that meets from September through May in the Parish Hall from 10:00 to 11:30 AM. The Mob completed year one of a two-year study of Acts of the Apostles in May 2026 and continues into Isaiah and the Old Testament prophets in September. Faith Formation, guided by Rev. Monica, adds small group book studies and an introductory class on Episcopal beliefs and practices using the book Walk in Love. A new men's ministry called Matts Men is laying the foundation for faith formation and fellowship among the men of the parish. Seasonally, the parish offers retreats for spiritual renewal and reflection.

The Becoming Beloved Community Work

The Becoming Beloved Community (BBC) group follows the Episcopal Church's call to address injustice, with a particular focus on affordable housing and reconciliation. Members collaborate with other Valley Interfaith Project (VIP) congregations to develop relationships with elected officials, conduct research actions, develop leaders, and mobilize for public action. Recent work has focused on increasing the supply of accessible workforce and senior housing. BBC also convenes "Deepening Community Sessions" during coffee hour, small facilitated conversations of six to seven people that last about 40 minutes and are designed to move members beyond superficial acquaintance. The group meets monthly, typically the second Monday evening.

Saint Matthew's also takes part in the Diocesan Borderland Ministry and Hispanic outreach, a part of the Outreach Committee that supports migrant communities and Episcopal Church ministries in Latin America. The Council for Native American Ministry is another diocesan partner the parish lifts up.

Indigenous Land Acknowledgment and Reconciliation

Saint Matthew's has built ongoing relationships with Indigenous neighbors that have shaped parish life. The church's official statement acknowledges the Akimel O'odham, Piipaash, and other Indigenous peoples as original stewards of the land and commits itself to working alongside Indigenous people for reconciliation and justice as it lives into its Baptismal Covenant.

The parish observes Indigenous Peoples' Day on the second Sunday of October, using a liturgy approved by the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona in 2019 whose language and prayer style are rooted in the relationship between God's people on this land and God the Creator. In October 2026 the parish hosted the Arizona premiere of Listening & Healing Pilgrimage: Stories from Arizona Indian Boarding Schools, a 95-minute documentary following the Diocese's 2024 pilgrimage across Arizona, with screenings also held in Sedona and Tucson on September 30. Rev. Monica serves on the diocesan Council for Native American Ministry and contributes to the Listening & Healing Pilgrimage.

Memory Cafe: An Oasis in the Parish Hall

In December 2023, after more than a decade of setbacks including a pandemic and a rector search, Saint Matthew's opened the Chandler Memory Cafe on the first and third Fridays of every month from 10:00 to 11:30 AM in the Parish Hall. The cafe is a relaxed, supportive environment for individuals experiencing memory impairment and their care partners, offering coffee, pastries, music, dance, crafts, painting, guided reminiscence exercises, brain teasers, and conversation. It was the dream of parishioner Shafeeka Brown, who learned of the model from Dr. Jytte Lokvig in Santa Fe after her late husband George lived with Frontotemporal Dementia and ALS. The cafe is open to the entire community of the southeast Valley, and it has been featured on Uplifting Arizona on ABC15.

Health, Wellness, and Pastoral Care

The Health and Wellness Ministry promotes holistic well-being through education, support, and community engagement, and has offered a recurring Life and Legacy Planning series covering funeral planning, advance directives, healthcare power of attorney, mental healthcare power of attorney, and prehospital DNR directives. The parish partners with the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry and has partnered with Rebuilding Together Valley of the Sun and Dignity Health Center for Faith Health Ministries.

Pastoral care runs through the TeleCare Ministry, whose members reach out to parishioners listed in the parish directory in the spring and fall to check on well-being and prayer needs, meeting quarterly on Zoom for training and coordination. The Comfort Ministry creates handmade blankets, prayer shawls, and other items that are available year-round in the narthex for anyone in need. Eucharistic Visitors, overseen by Deacon Sally, are trained parishioners who bring communion to those who are homebound, in a rehabilitation center, or hospitalized. The Daughters of the King is an order for women that reaffirms the promises made at Baptism and Confirmation through a life-long program of prayer, service, and evangelism.

Matthew's Crossing, Helen's Hope Chest, Valley Bloom, and Habitat

Beyond the food bank that bears the parish's namesake, Saint Matthew's is a sustained supporter of several East Valley and regional ministries. The parish collects Thanksgiving sides for Matthew's Crossing each fall and provides gift card donations for teens in foster care through Helen's Hope Chest each November, taking advantage of Arizona's Qualifying Foster Care Organization tax credit. A spring partnership with Valley Bloom supports an all-volunteer nonprofit thrift shop whose proceeds buy new clothing for children in need, fill Care Kits for first responders, and provide companionship for seniors.

Saint Matthew's also responds throughout the year to the evolving needs of the Chandler CARE Center, hosting supply drives for items that are not typically available at food banks but are vital for daily well-being, like full-size laundry detergent, shampoo, and body wash. The CARE Center provides free medical services, counseling, and social support for local families.

Since 1998, Saint Matthew's has helped fund and build homes through the Episcopal Habitat Coalition, a partnership of about 15 Episcopal congregations across the Valley. The coalition typically sponsors two Habitat homes a year and over the years has helped build 84 homes, 49 locally and 35 internationally, raising over $2.1 million and contributing more than 18,650 volunteer hours. No experience is needed; volunteers receive training in safety, tools, and construction processes at the start of each workday. Sign-up happens through vhub.at/episcopalco.

Creation Care and the Wider World

The Creation Care program has been active at Saint Matthew's since February 2021, a result of the Diocesan convention of October 2020. The group meets every three months and by email, striving to decrease the parish's campus footprint. Their monthly Good News letters share sustainability news, from water conservation in Gilbert to community gardens in North Philadelphia to a Recycling City composting program parishioner Gina Bowers has used for three years. In May 2026, the parish joined congregations across the Anglican Communion in marking Honoring God in Creation Sunday and received a visit from the Rev. Canon Patience Nyaoga of the Companion Diocese of Upper Southern Nyanza-Kisii in Kenya, who preached and presided and shared the ministry taking place there. A special offering was taken up for the companion diocese.

The Memorial Garden and the Long Memory of the Parish

The Memorial Garden is a place of interment and remembrance on the Saint Matthew's campus. The parish keeps a careful public record of those who have been interred or memorialized, organized by decade from the 1940s to the present. The 2020s include names like Mary Dale Fairbanks, the Wimbishes, the Downeys, Morgan Rose Turner, and Leo Horn. The 2010s carry forward Page McDonald Jacobs, the Moy family, Marcia Wilke, Robert Baker, George Wilmot Brown, and many others. Earlier decades trace parishioners back to Blanche Welligington in 1953, James Walter Hunter in 1940, and the founding families whose farming histories are part of the parish story. The Life and Legacy Planning series has hosted workshops on combining funeral planning with interment in the Memorial Garden.

Weddings, Baptisms, and Funerals

Saint Matthew's observes all the sacraments of the Episcopal Church and offers them with a warm welcome. The parish blesses the marriage of two consenting adults and offers the sacrament to current congregation members and their families. The funeral rite follows the Book of Common Prayer and includes anthems, psalms, scripture readings, and prayers, and can follow a traditional or contemporary liturgy. A funeral planning worksheet is available for those who wish to plan ahead.

Baptism is offered at least five times a year, traditionally on the Feast of the Holy Name, the Easter Vigil, the Day of Pentecost, All Saints' Day, and the Feast of Saint Matthew. The Easter Vigil is the only service in which baptisms are held outside of the 9:00 or 11:00 Sunday services except in rare circumstances. The parish requires that baptismal candidates or their immediate family have been attending Saint Matthew's regularly for at least four months and actively involved in giving time, talent, and treasure before they become eligible. Reconciliation of a Penitent (confession) is offered every Sunday during worship, both in person and online.

The People Who Lead the Parish

The Rev. Monica Whitaker serves as Rector. A cradle Episcopalian and fourth-generation Chinese American, she earned a BA in Music from Kalamazoo College, a Master of Arts in theatre management and a Master of Music in vocal performance from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and a Master of Divinity from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2014 after 25 years in marketing. Before Saint Matthew's, she served as Associate Rector of Transfiguration Episcopal Church in San Mateo, California, and as Rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Sedona. She is deeply committed to addressing affordable workforce housing and to supporting the LGBTQIA2S+ community, serves on the diocesan Anti-Racism Committee, holds a role on the Council for Native American Ministry, and contributes to the Listening & Healing Pilgrimage.

Mike Halle is a Deacon whose diaconal ministry centers on helping individuals with monumental healthcare bills navigate insurance claim disputes with their personal health plans. Sally Niles is a Deacon, a third-generation native of Arizona, a board-certified music therapist for 45 years, and the Director of the Deacon Formation Academy for the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona since 2024.

Kadi Strong has been working with youth and children at Saint Matthew's for 18 years. Amy Trias directs Family and Children's Ministry. Rachel Salemi, the Director of Music, holds a Bachelor of Science in Choral Music Education from the University of Arizona and a Master of Music in Music Therapy from Colorado State University, and is in her fifteenth year directing church music. Gayle Riggert-Harris serves as organist and pianist with degrees from Arizona State University. Steve Gripp leads the State of Grace contemporary band. Darlene Abel serves as Liturgy Coordinator and Head Verger, designing services and training readers, lay Eucharistic ministers, and acolytes. Natalie VanDeveire, a lifelong Episcopalian and Chandler native, directs Communications and Digital Ministry, overseeing livestream ministry, parish publications, social media, and online communications.

The parish's vestry is led by Senior Warden Kaytee Cobb, Junior Warden Claude Haynes, Clerk Susan Cyr, Treasurer Sue Duke, and Stewardship Chair Hillson Thangasamy, with class members elected for three-year terms. The vestry is the church's board of directors, operating under the parish's bylaws with at least six and no more than twelve regular vestry members in addition to the Rector, Senior Warden, and Junior Warden.

Becoming a Member and Joining the Work

If you attend the parish regularly, you are already considered a member. To deepen involvement, newcomers are invited to join a ministry, sign up to serve at a service, prayerfully consider a financial commitment through the annual Estimate of Giving, or simply attend Newcomer Coffee, held in the Living Room near the south side of the parking lot. The church communicates through a weekly newsletter emailed Friday at noon, a Sunday bulletin, an online calendar, and active social media on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. Giving is accepted online through the parish's giving portal.

The Beliefs of Saint Matthew's and the Episcopal Church

Worship at Saint Matthew's follows the 1979 Book of Common Prayer, which can be found in the pews or accessed online. The Episcopal Church stands with nearly every Christian tradition on the basics of the shared faith: "Christ has died. Christ is risen. Christ will come again." The Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed contain a summary of that faith. The Episcopal Church retains the ancient traditions of Christianity while embracing modern theology and contemporary understandings of the human person, and it is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the largest Protestant family of churches in the world.

The Episcopal service has two main parts: the Liturgy of the Word and the Holy Eucharist. The Liturgy of the Word focuses on prayers, confession, and the lectionary, a three-year cycle of Bible readings such that attending every Sunday for three years carries a worshipper through about 99 percent of the Bible. The Bible translation used is the New Revised Standard Version. Saint Matthew's is currently in Year C of the lectionary, moving into Year A with the first Sunday of Advent 2025.

The Great Sacraments of the Gospel are Baptism and the Eucharist, outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive that grace. Other sacramental rites include Confirmation, Ordination, Reconciliation of a Penitent (confession), and Unction of the Sick. The parish takes its baptismal covenant seriously, with baptism offered to current members and their immediate family after at least four months of regular attendance and active involvement.

The Episcopal Church has a legacy of inclusion, aspiring to tell and exemplify God's love for every human being. Ordination and the offices of bishop, priest, and deacon are open to all without discrimination. Laypeople and clergy cooperate as leaders at all levels of the church. Leadership is a gift from God and can be expressed by all people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, or gender identity or expression.

Visiting Saint Matthew's

Saint Matthew's sits at 901 West Erie Street in Chandler. Sunday worship is at 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 AM, with all three services including Holy Communion. The 9:00 service is livestreamed on YouTube. There is no dress code, children are welcome in worship, the nursery is available at 9:00 and 11:00 for children four and younger, and Children's Chapel is offered at the same hours. Wednesday brings a Noonday Healing service in the SMEC Chapel. Visitors with specific questions about weddings, baptisms, memorial services, or membership are invited to reach out through the parish office at (480) 899-7386 or info@saintmatthewschurch.org.