The parish is named after St. Matthew, who was a 1st century Galilean (presumably born in Galilee, which was not part of Judea or the Roman Judaea province) and the son of Alpheus. During the Roman occupation (which began in 63 BC with the conquest of Pompey), Matthew collected taxes from the Hebrew people for Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. His tax office was located in Capernaum. Jews who became rich in such a fashion were despised and considered outcasts. However, as a tax collector he would have been literate in Aramaic and Greek. It was in this setting, near what is today Almagor, that Jesus called Matthew to be one of the Twelve Disciples. After his call, Matthew invited Jesus home for a feast. On seeing this, the Scribes and the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners. This prompted Jesus to answer, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners" (Mark 2:17)
Inception St. Matthews - Lindile was inaugurated a Parish in January 2012 by The Right Reverend Dr. Sitembele T. Mzamane, Bishop of The Diocese of Mthatha, being embryonic from the multiplication of St. Barnabas Parish - Lindile under the leadership of Canon Elford. Z. Myeko, the first incumbent of the parish being The Reverend Mandlenkosi Maphini.
Vision and Mission Statement
Vision: The Vision of the Parish is to build a congregation that has a steadfast faith in The Lord Jesus Christ, being of one accord spiritually and in prayer, proclaiming the Good News whilst living out God's will by walking in the footsteps of Jesus.
Mission Statement: The Parish is committed to worshiping God by glorifying His Holy Name through;
preaching The Good News to all;
address and, to the best of its God given ability, redress social ills;
help in the alleviating of poverty;
assist in and, where possible, facilitate development in the community;
promote and propagate unity in diversity whilst;
through love and humility, promote an aura of equality to all.
The Congregation The Congregants of the parish worship under the following Guilds:
Layministers and Preachers - 3
Mothers Union - 11
St. Bernard Mizeki - 8
Anglican Servers in Action - 10
Anglican Youth Fellowship - 14
Sunday School - 12
Total Number of Congregants - 58
Governance The parish is governed through the following structures:
The Vestry Vestry meetings are held at least once a year during in accordance to Canon 27 (Of Vestries). The Churchwardens submit their accounts (Financial Report). before the meeting. The Incumbent reports on the progress of the
parish and challenges encountered. Churchwardens and Parish Councillors are elected and matters affecting worship, stewardship, ministry, education, evangelism, unity, development and social responsibility are discussed.
The Parish Church Council (P.C.C.) P.C.C. meetings are held at least once a quarter. Matters of Parish Governance as determined at Vestry and any such matters pertaining to policy, worship, evangelism, stewardship, etc. are resolved in these meetings.
Property control, revenue and expenditure of the Parish are discussed and resolved including matters that have been referred to the P.C.C. by the Bishop.
The Parish Executive The Executive's, members being the Incumbent and the Churchwardens, main function is to implement all matters resolved upon in the P.C.C. It meets as often as matters require and reports to the P.C.C.
