About us

Our Beliefs

Our History

Environmental Stewards

Staff & Leadership

Staff & Leadership

No Matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome and accepted here.
FAMILY

We are committed to providing a faith community to all families around us. It is important for our members of all ages to feel loved, accepted and engaged. We offer ministries and programs catering to all ages and stages of life.

Our youngest members are nurtured in our Children’s Ministry programs, growing in Christ’s love alongside peers and adults engaged in their development. Our Youth Ministry provides older children and teens many ways for students to learn, serve, and have fun. Adult Ministry programs, family camps and music opportunities are just a few ways adults can connect and serve Christ.

Being a part of St. Matthew UCC is like gaining another family – your ‘church family’. Our members will tell you that one of the reasons they love our church so much is this family support. Whether it’s bringing meals to someone who is ill, sending cards or just calling to check-in, our church members feel support like they would from family.

Community

We are committed to serving our community – both globally and locally, wherever God calls to go. We are a tightknit, family-oriented church that cares deeply for our own church community and those around us. Imitating the ministry of Jesus, we seek to minister in practical ways to assist the poor and homeless, the elderly and the infirmed, the grieving and the lonely, the powerless and the forgotten. We partner with community, ecumenical and UCC-related ministries that reflect the goals of our church, engages in ministry unique to our vision and offers assistance, whether through money, labor or leadership.

You will find St. Matthew UCC members cooking meals for the homeless, repairing homes in Biloxi, pushing shopping carts for the hungry in the 4th of July parade and delivering Christmas gifts to immigrants. We serve on area boards and initiate new ministries in our community. Our desire is to see God’s love making a difference in our world.

Community

We are committed to serving our community – both globally and locally, wherever God calls to go. We are a tightknit, family-oriented church that cares deeply for our own church community and those around us. Imitating the ministry of Jesus, we seek to minister in practical ways to assist the poor and homeless, the elderly and the infirmed, the grieving and the lonely, the powerless and the forgotten. We partner with community, ecumenical and UCC-related ministries that reflect the goals of our church, engages in ministry unique to our vision and offers assistance, whether through money, labor or leadership.

You will find St. Matthew UCC members cooking meals for the homeless, repairing homes in Biloxi, pushing shopping carts for the hungry in the 4th of July parade and delivering Christmas gifts to immigrants. We serve on area boards and initiate new ministries in our community. Our desire is to see God’s love making a difference in our world.

Welcoming

St. Matthew has been designated as Open and Affirming by the United Church of Christ.

We believe that God is love. Following the example of Jesus, we strive to live by the great commandments to love the Lord our God with all our heart, strength, soul and mind, and our neighbors as ourselves.

We affirm that our neighbors are people of all races, ethnicities, physical and mental abilities, family configurations, sexual orientations, gender identities and economic conditions.

In Christ’s love, each person is welcome into the full life and ministry of our church. No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome and accepted here.

Our Beliefs and Living the Faith

As a Christian community, we believe that the Christian faith is primarily a way of life and only secondarily a set of beliefs. We understand that we are on a journey together with our church family. We need each other to walk and stay on a path, to express our gratitude in worship, and our generosity in service, especially to the poor and outcast to whom Jesus dedicated His ministry. We understand the power of a vital faith community to shape within us and our families the dispositions of faith, such as thankfulness, generosity, compassion, justice, forgiveness, and peace.

We believe that God is love, and love of the neighbor is central to our faith.

More specifically, love means compassion, justice for all people, a desire to work for peace, God’s grace (an undeserved gift from God), and forgiveness by God and for one another. These are values we teach our children and our youth. We are committed in the formative years of their lives through the ministry of our church to be sure our children and youth know how deeply they are loved by God.

We are guided by Christian beliefs and convictions.

We are careful not to make our beliefs the focus of our faith, knowing that they can cause division and distraction. Our beliefs are like signposts that guide us along the way, keeping us together on a viable path that pleases God and shows compassion for all and creation. We understand that we need humility when it comes to our beliefs. The Apostle Paul said, “we see in a mirror dimly” and one day we will see God face-to-face. As a general guide, we affirm the United Church of Christ’s testimony of faith.

We believe it is essential that we invest in our children and our youth.

We have an array of activities and ministries for our children and youth to experience God’s love through each other, adult teachers, and mentors. This includes Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, our youth ministry called “crazies,” many seasonal activities planned throughout the year, and opportunities to participate in service to others and care for the environment.

We believe it is essential that we invest in our children and our youth.

We have an array of activities and ministries for our children and youth to experience God’s love through each other, adult teachers, and mentors. This includes Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, our youth ministry called “crazies,” many seasonal activities planned throughout the year, and opportunities to participate in service to others and care for the environment.

We believe that God is still speaking to us.

God speaks to us through the Holy Scripture, which is inspired by God. However, we are careful not to equate what we read in scripture as an infallible word of God, lest we make the mistake of turning something in creation into an idol that replaces our need to trust and discern God’s living word for our lives and times. We also know God is speaking to us through the events of our lives and the people in our lives. An essential practice of our faith is learning to listen to God. By this, we mean learning to meditate to be in the present moment that we may listen to our lives and what God might be saying to us.

We are Open and Affirming.

We believe that the celebration of others is an essential part of being a Christian community. Each week during church, we say the words “No matter who you are or where you are on life’s journey, you are welcome and accepted here.” We give special attention to those who have often been rejected by our world and unfortunately many Christian communities. This includes people of all races, ethnicities, physical and mental abilities, family configurations, sexual orientations, gender identities, and economic conditions. As part of the Open and Affirming Coalition of the United Church of Christ, we are committed to welcome LGBTQ seekers, support their relationships and advocate for their basic rights.

We believe that we are not only formed by worship and study but by our service to others.

We are called each to find our gifts and use them to service those Jesus served and to live for something larger and greater than ourselves. That is why you will find us not only providing financial support to many non-profits in our area but also volunteering monthly for PADS, among many of our volunteer opportunities. The St. Matthew community also participates in Mission Trips, such as our annual trip to serve the poor at places like Back Bay Mission in Biloxi, traveling to build a home in Costa Rica for a family in need, or taking our children and youth to pack food for the poor throughout our world.

our history

The founding of St. Matthew in 1959 was part of a UCC denomination push to expand into the “new frontier” of suburban Chicago. The story of our first pastor going door-to-door inviting people to come to church, before we had any physical facilities, is an integral part of our history. The original Church sanctuary was completed in 1964. The early Church grew and prospered, such that in 1990 – full of faith, confidence, and excitement about its future – the membership successfully raised funds to construct a new sanctuary, which to this day provides a warm and welcoming gathering place for all – including several charter members still worshiping with us.

Environmental Stewards

St. Matthew UCC, a church focused on the environment, was honored to receive an Earth Flag, a designation by SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education), on April 23, 2017.

Receiving a flag signifies our commitment as a people of faith to care for the planet. We use environmentally safe cleaning products, recycle paper and trash, use reusable dishware, and have converted our lighting fixtures to LEDs.

In our effort to be good stewards of the planet and take responsibility for a part of our community, we have adopted a 1-mile stretch of the Main Branch of the Illinois Prairie Path. This section begins in downtown Wheaton at West Street and extends east to President Street. A sign posted at the start of our mile credits us with the clean-up and we must pick up trash from this section at least four times by November 1st.

Staff & Leadership

Church Office
Telephone: (630) 665-1236
Email: office@stmatthewucc.org

Pastor Erin Wyma

Senior Pastor

pastor@stmatthewucc.org

Julie Schubert

Director of Children’s Ministry

christian.ed@stmatthewucc.org

Brian Dobbelaere

Director of Music

piano@stmatthewucc.org

Church council

Kenna Anderson – President
Erin Wyma – Senior Pastor
Sue Erickson – Secretary 
Karen Fenney
Eric Lindberg
Gwen Johnson
Byron Miller
Howard Peterson
Bernie Rudnik
Tim Schubert
Heather Sturm
Howard Peterson – Treasurer (non-voting)
Edie DeBoard – Financial Secretary (non-voting)

Ministry Chairs

Christian Education: Dawn Schubert and Karen Sancken
Membership Life: Roseanne King
Memorial: Lee Anderson
Mission: John Adams
Worship: Marge Hall and Dorothy Peterson

Committee Leads

Building: Rick Jungk
Digital Ministry: Rick Jungk
Endowment: Annette English
Investment: Doug Miller
Staff Relations: Dorothy Peterson
Stewardship: Edie DeBoard

Job Openings

Want to work with our church? Check out all of our open job positions!

Staff & Leadership

Church Office
Telephone: (630) 665-1236
Email: office@stmatthewucc.org

Pastor Erin Wyma

Senior Pastor

pastor@stmatthewucc.org

Julie Schubert

Director of Children’s Ministry

christian.ed@stmatthewucc.org

Brian Dobbelaere

Director of Music

piano@stmatthewucc.org

Wendee Passini

Sanctuary Choir Director

choir.director@stmatthewucc.org

Kim Congdon

Handbell Director

handbell.director@stmatthewucc.org

Church council
Annette English – President
Kenna Anderson – Vice President
Kyle Roggenbuck – Interim Pastor
John Adams
Kenna Anderson
Sue Erickson
Roseanne King
Karen Leimberer
Sunita Lindberg
Byron Miller
Bernie Rudnik
Tim Schubert
Heather Sturm
Jim Woods
Howard Peterson – Treasurer (non-voting)
Edie DeBoard – Financial Secretary (non-voting)
Ministry Chairs
Christian Education: Kenna Anderson and Dawn Schubert
Membership Life: Rob Neufelder
Memorial: Lee Anderson
Mission: TBD
Worship: Marge Hall and Dorothy Peterson
Committee Leads

Building: Rick Jungk
Endowment: John Adams
Investment: Doug Miller
Staff Relations: Rob Holshouser
Stewardship: Edie DeBoard

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