About St. Matthew’s
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Waimānalo is a small and welcoming community that worships together in the Episcopal liturgical tradition. We are located on the shores of beautiful Waimānalo, just a block from the ocean.
The Ko’olau Mountain Range provides a stunning backdrop for this community. In our worship, we incorporate Hawaiian prayers and hymns. Visitors are welcome to join us at 9:00 a.m. on Sundays for our regular eucharistic service. We are casual in our approach to worship, and hope that all will feel comfortable participating in our service. If you are parents of children, know that you shouldn't worry about children if they are wiggly or noisy. We love to hear their voices in our sanctuary.
What We Believe
St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church is a church in Waimānalo within the Episcopal Tradition of the Jesus Movement.
Our beliefs are grounded in the Bible interpreted through the historic creeds of the Church, especially the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. This means that:
•We affirm that there is one God who exists as three Persons-Father, Son, and Holy Spirit;
•This God created everything in the universe;
•The second Person-the Son or Word-became the Jewish human being Jesus of Nazareth;
•The Son became human (this is what "was incarnate" means in the Nicene Creed), lived among us, taught us, and died on the cross for us all so our sins could be forgiven;
•Jesus did all these things so we can return to right relationship with God, grow into who we were created to be, and ultimately be raised from the dead like him;
•Holy Scripture, or the Bible, is composed of the Old and New Testaments and contains all the things we need to get to know God, return to right relationship with God, and grow into who God wants us to be;
•God has given us ways to know we are forgiven and become more like Jesus such as being baptized, receiving communion regularly, being a part of a Christian community (church), and praying and reading the Bible;
•Having our sins forgiven, coming back to right relationship with God, growing into who God created us to be, and being freed from death are completely the result of God's love freely given (grace) and we do not earn these things through our own power;
•Any ability we have to respond to God or work alongside God comes from the Holy Spirit working within us.
While this is what we teach and believe, we understand that not everyone who comes here is ready to accept all these claims-and that's OK. Church is not a place for people who already have everything together or figured out. We want to walk with you as you explore these ideas. We are more interested in helping you get to know God's love through Jesus Christ than getting you to accept a checklist of ideas.
