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Published on 23 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 25th October to Sunday 1st November

Don’t forget to put your Clocks back

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,

Last week, I began a new series of Vicar’s letters exploring different aspects of Anglo-Catholic worship and belief. I hope these letters will help to clarify some of the more complicated aspects of our faith, and why we worship in the way that we do.

This week, I want to look at the saints. It is not only Anglo-Catholics who look to the saints for inspiration, but in our tradition the saints are more than just holy role models. We also believe that they intercede for us in heaven, and so we ask them to pray for us, just as we might also ask a friend to pray for us.

However, it is important to recognise that the saints are not super-human. Many lived complicated lives and had very obvious flaws. Their holiness comes not from their own virtues, but from the ways in which God worked through them during their earthly lives. Our own patron saint, St Matthew, is a good example. He was a tax collector, working for the occupying Roman authorities and making money at the expense of his fellow Jews. But Jesus called him to leave his old life behind, and to become a disciple and an apostle. His story reminds us that nobody is beyond the reach of God’s love.

The men and women who we recognise as saints have been officially designated as such by the Church, usually through a long process called canonisation. However, the Bible also tells us that every Christian is called to be a ‘saint’. We probably won’t be canonised after our death, but our calling is the same. We are to be people who point towards God, allowing him to work through us. In the words of Pope John Paul II, "do not be afraid to be saints. Follow Jesus Christ who is the source of freedom and light. Be open to the Lord so that He may lighten all your ways." May these words be a reminder that holiness is not for a select few, but is the calling of each and every one of us, and it begins in the ordinary circumstances of our daily lives – in how we love our neighbours, care for those in need, forgive one another, and seek to follow Jesus.

With my prayers,
Father George

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.

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No

Cash

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