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Published on 16 October 2026

SAFEGUARDING

If you have concerns regarding the welfare of any Child or Vulnerable Adult click here to view our Safeguarding policy and contacts, or in an emergency, phone 999

Friday Coffee Mornings

All are welcome for Coffee/Tea and Cake in The Lounge

Every Friday 11am – 1pm

Berevement and Friendship Group
If you’ve suffered a bereavement or are feeling isolated and lonely come and meet other who know how you are feeling.  Every Monday, 1:30 to 3:30 pm in The Lounge.

Book Club.
The next meeting of the Book Club is on Wednesday 4th November.  The book for October is “Out Of The Ashes” by Emma Törzs.  If you love reading and would like to join us over a cup of tea/coffee you are warmly invited to our next meeting.

Guest Preachers
We are delighted to be welcoming a series of guest preachers at our 10am Parish mass during the season of Autumn and Advent.  See Notice above.

Dates for your Diary

The October Half Term Messy Church will be on the 29th October 11am to 1pm.

On Monday 2nd November there will be an All Souls’ Day Mass in the Chapel at 6pm, where we will remember those who have died. A sheet will be put out in church next week if you want to add any names to the list to be read out during this service.

Early notice of a new date for St. Matthews Christmas Fair.  This year it will be moving to Saturday 5th December

This Week’s Services

For details of the Scripture readings see here.

Sunday 18th October to Sunday 25th October

Forthcoming Events

Parish Giving Scheme

Thank you very much to members of our congregation who give regularly to enable our mission and ministry to continue.  If you have not already done so, please consider joining our Parish Giving Scheme and make a regular donation by direct debit.  This is very easy to do online at

www.parishgiving.org.uk/donors/find-your-parish/perry-beeches-st-matthew-birmingham

Or, see our Giving page for further details.

Other Giving Schemes

To make a one-off donation to the Church, a donation to our Sponsored Child or our work in Malawi use the appropriate link below.

Message from the Vicar

Dear friends,

At our recent Parish Planning Day, we discussed how we can teach the faith to newcomers (and, indeed, offer a refresher for those of us who have been coming to church for many years!) We specifically talked about the Anglo-Catholic practices that are at the heart of our worship here at St Matthew’s. How can we help people to understand why we worship God in the way that we do?

For the rest of this year, these weekly letters will seek to explain different aspects of Anglo-Catholic faith and worship. I hope that this will be useful for equipping us with greater understanding, so that we can feel more confident in sharing our faith with others. I am going to start this series of letters by addressing what we mean by ‘Anglo-Catholicism’.

No single definition will satisfy everyone, but I like to think of Anglo-Catholicism as a movement of revival within the Anglican Church which emphasises our continuity and unity with the broader Church throughout history and around the world. That doesn’t mean we dilute our identity: I am proud to be an Anglican, and therefore part of a broader Protestant tradition dating back to the Reformation. But I also recognise that Christianity did not begin at the Reformation, and is not confined to any one denomination.

As Anglo-Catholics, we are therefore not afraid to make use of traditions and practices from across the universal Church. We use bells and incense and colourful vestments to help express the beauty of holiness and to remind us of the transcendence of God. We may light votive candles, pray the rosary, or ask for the saints to pray for us, in recognition of that ‘great cloud of witnesses’ which surrounds us and connects us with our fellow Christians, both living and departed. And at the heart of everything, we gather around the altar as often as we can to be fed by Christ, who gives himself to us in bread and wine.

Over the coming weeks, I hope to explore some of these practices and beliefs in greater depth, helping us to understand not only what we do at St Matthew’s, but why we do it — and how these traditions can draw us closer to God.

With my prayers,
Father George

A few photos of last weeks harvest festival are available on our web site here

Morning Prayer will now be held in the Chapel every Thursday and Friday at 9.15am. All are welcome to join in this short act of worship.

A reminder that we welcome contributions towards the cost of flowers, perhaps in memory of a loved one. Please place any donations in the pot on the table.  

Contributions of food for the FOODBANK are always welcome. Please give as generously as you can and place any items in the basket by the door.

Our church relies on the generosity of visitors and worshippers. If you would like to make a contribution to the ministry and mission of St Matthew’s but don’t have any cash, there is a contactless card reader on the table by the front door.

Please put your request for prayers during the intercessions on the sheet on the table.

If you could offer a lift to someone to Church, please let us know.

We are buying a memorial stone to commemorate Fr Michael Westlake’s time at St. Matthew’s. Contribution towards the cost of this would be gratefully received

This Week’s Notices

Welcome to

St. Matthew’s Church

Perry Beeches

Aldridge Road/Birdbrook Road
Perry Beeches
Birmingham B44 8RB

Phone 07467 832601

e’mail: Administrator @stmatthewsperrybeeches.org.uk

Sunday School every Sunday at 10am

We will continue our usual weekly e’mail news sheet to help everyone keep in touch with activities at St. Matthews. This weeks news sheet is here. You can also keep in touch with our Facebook page.

Want to hire a room?

St. Matthews has several rooms available, Click here for details

We have a card reader on the desk by the main entrance, Simply enter the amount you want to donate and Tap and Go.

Got

No

Cash

Click on a poster to see it full size