Education
St. Matthew's Church has multiples venues for adult education and bible study both on Sunday mornings and throughout the week. Regular Bible reading is central to the life of St. Matthew's and each parishioner is encouraged to follow the daily lectionary of scripture reading found in the Book of Common Prayer as a part of the Morning and Evening Offices of Prayer. The lectionary takes the church through nearly the entire bible each year in conjunction with the various seasons of feasting, fasting and ordinary time called for by the church calendar.
For this reason the church's midweek bible studies are designed to correspond to the books of the Bible currently being read in the course of the daily lectionary, while the Sunday morning Bible study during the education hour consistently examines the Epistle and Gospel lessons appointed weekly for the Sunday mass.
Education Hour
At 10 am each Sunday morning, in between the 9 and 11 o'clock services, St. Matthew's offers various opportunities for adult education. There is a bible study in the sanctuary each week focusing on the appointed Epistle and Gospel lessons of the day, allowing an extended opportunity for in depth consideration and discussion of the topics contained in the readings.
Several times throughout the year Fr. Scarlett will offer an 8 week inquirer's class during the education hour with the aim of introducing people who are new to St. Matthew's Church a simple and straightforward overview of the Anglican faith and practices.
Periodically St. Matthews will offer various in depth 4-6 week classes on topics of importance in the life of the church. These classes are an opportunity for parishioners to undertake a more detailed examination of topics first considered in the course of the Inquirers Class. Examples of recent topics include: The History of the Reformation, Sacramental Theology, The Development of the Christian Liturgy, and Sin, Repentance and Making a Good Confession.
Home Groups
St. Matthew's currently offers a midweek home Bible Study in Newport Beach. The group meets for evening prayer, dinner and Bible Study in a casual environment conducive to a discussion based examination of the scriptures. If you are interested either in joining this group or beginning a home group in your area, contact the church office for further information.
Thursday Morning Bible Study
This Bible study meets from 10-00-11:15 a.m. on Thursday. We study various books of the Bible. We typically read through the sections of each book and then discuss them. This study has met for many years and at one time or another has gone through every book of the Bible.