St Matthew's Church

Sep 14

Youth Alpha – An introduction to Christianity

Youth Alpha is a low-key and conversational introduction to the basics of Christianity. It’s designed especially for young people with little or no background in Christian faith, but who are keen to learn about Jesus.

In term 4, St Matt’s will be running the Youth Alpha series, and welcome any young people who would like to participate.

Each week, the discussion will involve watching a 20 minute Youth Alpha video on different topics related to Christianity, and then have a discussion. The discussions are open, and not about preaching to people. It’s rather about everyone having the opportunity to express their opinions and ask any questions they have.

Practical Details

Start Date: Wednesday October 12th.
Day: Wednesdays
Time: 4.30pm – 5.30pm
Location: St Matthew’s
Facebook event link

There is no need to register, but if you’d like more information , please call Dave Fagg on 0421 764 699, or email.

(St Matthew’s leaders are all trained in child safety, and have Working With Children’s checks.)

Jul 8

Garden Opening and Pizza!

We are celebrating the revamped community garden at St Matthew’s. Join us!

Come along to enjoy the garden, meet others, and have a slice (or three) of pizza from the wood-fired oven.

Date: Saturday 6th August
Time: 4 – 6pm (4.30pm: official proceedings)
Location: St Matthew’s Church, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully
Cost: Free

Mar 30

Long Gully Community Support during COVID-19

Dear all

During the COVID-19 crisis, many people in our neighbourhood will be feeling isolated, and some may be seriously sick. Many will need practical support to get by. We need to rally together to help each other, and build stronger relationships.

We shouldn’t feel ashamed of asking for help right now. We’re all going to need it. You might need things like:

Someone to get some groceries for you, or make a trip to the chemist
A phone call just to feel less lonely
Someone to water your garden
A cooked meal

St Matthew’s Church has set up 2 ways that you can connect with others who may be able to help you, or others you know.

Facebook Group – “Long Gully Neighbourhood Sharing”

Go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/LongGullySharing/, and put your request up in the group. Others in the group may be able to offer help, and then you can communicate with each other to sort things. You might also want to offer help to others, like cooked meals or running errands.

Offline Support

If you don’t have Facebook, please call the church on (03) 5442 2659, or email dfagg@godfoodpeople.org. Leave a message with your name, phone number, and a short message about what you need. We will let our database of volunteers know about this, and hopefully one of them will be able to help.

Need more info?

Contact the St Matthew’s community worker (Dave Fagg) on (03) 5442 2659. Leave a message if you need to. Or email at dfagg@godfoodpeople.org.

Mar 20

UPDATE: No Gully Gathering this Sunday!

Well, just to maintain the trend of keeping you confused and disoriented, after saying that we had decided to go ahead with GG this Sunday, we have now reversed that and decided that there will be no Gully Gathering this Sunday.

Sorry for any confusion.

Although there will nothing on this Sunday, it is still our intention to try and find some way of sharing with and supporting each other, both materially and spiritually. So watch this space. And if you have any great ideas, let us know.

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May 31

Gully Gatherings Worship & Meal

Hello, with Covid-19 restrictions, we are meeting online at times, at in-person at other times. Please contact Dave Fagg on 0421 764 699 or dffagg@gmail.com to get the latest information.

Service: 5pm
Meal: 6pm

2nd and 4th Sundays of the month

Dec 14

Christmas Eve Service 2019

We are getting in early with our Christmas service this year. You might be heading off out of Bendigo for Christmas, or maybe you just have never been to church at Christmas before.

We invite you to celebrate the coming of Jesus in a Christmas Service at St Matthew’s Church, Long Gully.

Date: Tuesday, 24th December

Time: 5pm

There’ll be carols, the Christmas story and a meal afterwards, from 6pm.

All welcome.

Dec 14

Sign up for the Happiness Lab

The Happiness Lab is a short course to explore what makes us happy. Over 6 weeks, you will explore themes of patience, gratitude, looking after yourself, friends and family, and practicing acts of kindness.

You’ll meet others in a warm and supportive group, and journey together as we explore what happiness looks like for all of us.

Sign up or ask a question: dfagg@godfoodpeople.org, or call 0421 764 699.

Dates: the course begins on Thursday 28th February, 2019. It runs for 6 weeks.

Time: 12-2pm, including lunch

Location: St Matthew’s Church, 153 Eaglehawk Rd, Long Gully.

Cost: Free

Child Care available

Frequently Asked Questions

I’ve got kids. Can I still come along?
We provide onsite childcare, with experienced volunteers, all of whom have Working With Children Checks.

I notice it’s run by a local church. Is it a religious course? Do I need to be a Christian?
The Happiness Lab is run by St Matthew’s, a local church in Long Gully. The course is not religious in content. It is designed to be open to people of any faith, or no faith.

I’d like some more information about the course
To find out more details, we suggest you go to this website. It is created by the people who designed the Happiness Lab, and contains a course overview and videos from people who’ve done the course before.

May 14

Coming up – Pizza Night

We never pass up an chance to fire up our pizza oven, and our next Pizza Night is coming up soon. Come along with a gold coin donation for pizza and hot chocolate. Sit around the fire or enjoy some indoor games.

Date: Friday 25th May

Time: 5.30 – 8.00pm

Dec 18

Acknowledge, Pray, Lament, Hope

A way that non-Aboriginal people can come to learn and acknowledge the true history of our nation, to lament the present day disadvantages and injustices facing our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander brothers and sisters and to pray to our great Creator Spirit, Lord God, Papa Jesus, for “a nation built on truth, justice, love and hope”.

Coming up: Movie Night

Grab some fish and chips from Long Gully Fish Shop then head over our way to eat together and watch a movie together. We’ll begin the eating at 5.30pm, and then start watching at 6.30pm.

See the Facebook event invite here.

This month’s movie is Paper Planes, an inspirational movie about yes…paper planes. Watch the preview here: