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ST.MATTHEW EPISCOPAL CHURCH
  • home
  • Canvass 2025
  • about us
    • gatherings & education
    • our common story
    • our leadership >
      • lay leadership >
        • vestry and vestry officers
      • Ministry Teams
      • staff and clergy
    • parish documents
  • connect
    • ministry guide
    • neighborhood partnerships
    • request a copy of the directory
    • some of our memories
    • Parishioner Biographies
    • helpful links
  • Calendar
  • weekly newsletter & Worship Guide
  • Anti-Racism
  • - Beloved Community
  • - Braiding Sweetgrass
  • Sermons
  • prayers & emergencies
  • life transitions
  • online giving
  • planned giving
  • Fundraising
  • Strategic Plan 2022-2026
  • New Page
ST.MATTHEW EPISCOPAL CHURCH
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Our Common Story

A Brief History...

Founded in the early 1950's by a handful of people from neighboring Christ Church, Tacoma, St. Matthew began meeting in the basement of a local family before moving to a storefront space in the neighboring Browns Point shopping center.  Plans to build what are now the most seasoned buildings on the property began almost immediately, fueled by a nearly insatiable appetite for blackberry pie (served at nearly every planning and work meeting) and a desire to serve God creatively in the isolated yet growing community of Browns Point.

As documented in a Tacoma News Tribune article (please see note below), circa January 1953, St. Matthew has the unusual distinction of being a parish developed and built nearly entirely from donated materials and volunteer labor (many of whom were not parishioners) making St. Matthew a truly community neighborhood church.  It is the first church on Browns Point and remains to this day the only church on lower Browns Point.

Today, St. Matthew is a growing and diverse family of neighbors who have a heart for learning and a desire to connect with those who find purpose in serving the community in meaningful and creative ways.

Here's an additional article in the Christ Church, Tacoma newsletter at the time of our founding: The Crucifer, January 1953

Here is another article siting our relationship with Holy Family of Jesus Episcopal Church, Tacoma: Episcopal News Service, August 2016

A note regarding the Tacoma News Tribune article referenced above:

"History matters. Truth matters. St. Matthew, Browns Point/Tacoma is an Episcopal parish located within the reservation of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians in a neighborhood with a complex history with the tribe. Developed from the Church of England, The Episcopal Church is a core institution of colonialism in the United States and served as a primary agent in promoting and perpetuating indigenous genocide and chattel slavery. This Tacoma News Tribune article (circa January 1953) captures attitudes that have been in the church for centuries. It’s painful to read the first paragraphs. But it is important to know the truth of our history of White Supremacy. Without truth there is no light. And when there is no light, there is no opportunity for transformation."
- Fr. Kendall Haynes, V Rector
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St. Matthew
Episcopal Church  
6800 East side Drive NE 
Tacoma, WA 98422 
253-927-9808

[email protected]​
www.facebook.com/NeighborhoodParish/
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Informational Flier

We acknowledge that we are on the traditional homelands of the Puyallup Tribe. The Puyallup people have lived on and stewarded these lands since the beginning of time, and continue to do so today. We recognize that this land acknowledgement is one small step toward true allyship and we commit to uplifting the voices, experiences, and histories of the Indigenous people of this land and beyond.