St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Hillsborough, North Carolina, is a parish in the Diocese of North Carolina with about 400 parishioners and average Sunday attendance of about 170. St. Matthew’s is known for its Eucharistic worship, excellent music program, beautiful historic sanctuary, and a communal life that connects learning, fellowship, and service. Its mission, adopted by the vestry in 2010, is “Feeding God’s people from the abundance of God’s grace.”
Sunday Eucharist and the Family Chapel
Sunday worship is the center and ground of life at St. Matthew’s. The Holy Eucharist, celebrated in the rituals of the Book of Common Prayer and the full richness of the Western Christian tradition, anchors the parish’s worship. At 8:00 a.m. on Sundays, Rite I is celebrated without music. At 10:30 a.m., Rite II includes music and choir, along with Family Chapel. Nursery care is available from 7:55 to 11:45 a.m. in the Hayden Building, and coffee hour follows both Eucharists in the Fellowship Hall.
Zoom worship is available for the 10:30 service through Zoom Online Worship, and past services can be watched online.
The church is at 210 St. Mary’s Road, Hillsborough, NC 27278. The parish telephone is 919-732-9308, and office hours are Monday through Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Prayer and Eucharist Through the Week
The parish extends its worship and prayer beyond Sunday through a steady online and in-person rhythm.
- Monday: Compline at 8:30 p.m. on the Worship Zoom channel.
- Tuesday: Morning Silence at 7:30 a.m. and Compline at 8:30 p.m., both on the Worship Zoom channel.
- Wednesday: Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m. on Worship Zoom, an in-person Holy Eucharist at noon at the church, parish choir rehearsal at 6:30 p.m. at the church, and Compline at 8:30 p.m. on Worship Zoom.
- Thursday: Compline at 8:30 p.m. on the Worship Zoom channel.
- Friday: Morning Prayer at 8:00 a.m. and Compline at 8:30 p.m., both on the Worship Zoom channel.
Music and Faith and Arts
Music shapes St. Matthew’s worship through choir anthems, chanting Psalms, singing from hymnals, and Jazz Vespers. The parish pairs its excellent music program with strong community fellowship, excellent preaching and teaching, and a beautiful historic sanctuary. The weekly parish choir rehearses at the church on Wednesdays at 6:30 p.m.
Faith and Arts extends the parish’s creative life with roughly eight to ten offerings each year. The program includes classical music performances, folk concerts, poetry readings, art exhibitions, movie screenings, and live theatrical performances. Performing and visual arts are treated as expressions of faith and valued for the benefit of the Hillsborough community.
Formation for Adults, Youth, and Children
Formation at St. Matthew’s is built for adults, youth, and children. Education Hour for adults and children is held at 9:15 a.m. between the Sunday Eucharists, with Sunday School offerings that include children’s programs. Parish formation also includes book study, small groups for going deeper into scripture, and care and discernment groups. These opportunities support the parish’s aim of encouraging spiritual growth through individual and communal service and ministry. A monthly collective labyrinth walk provides another gathering for spiritual practice.
The 10:30 Sunday Eucharist also includes Family Chapel, allowing adults and children to worship together.
Coffee Hour and the Bonds of Fellowship
Coffee hour in the Fellowship Hall is more than a pause between services. It is one expression of a fellowship life that includes Sunday relationships, organized fellowship events, and friendships with community members and the diocese. Fellowship also grows as a beneficial byproduct of other shared activities, strengthening connections formed through worship, learning, and service.
Heritage in the Historic Sanctuary
Heritage is another of St. Matthew’s core values. The church honors the deep roots of its faith through worship and education, recognizes the beautiful historic building left to its care by the founding families, and acknowledges the role St. Matthew’s has played historically in Hillsborough and Orange County. Its core values also include worship, fellowship, education, service to others, holistic stewardship, spiritual practice, and faith and arts.
Beloved Community in Hillsborough and Orange County
St. Matthew’s is actively engaged in making “beloved community” a reality both inside the church and in the wider community. Outreach programs extend through Hillsborough, Orange County, and beyond to people who need help, carrying the spirit of Christ into the world locally and globally through partnership with others. Taco Wednesday is a recurring gathering for tacos and fellowship, and the parish’s neighborhood engagement includes helping the unhoused in Orange County.
Its vision asks the congregation to nurture a multigenerational community through worship, learning, and fellowship, then carry those gifts outward in service. Welcome is expressed through education for children and adults, hospitality after worship, relationships built through small groups, and outreach beyond the church campus.
Baptism, Weddings, and Memorial Services
St. Matthew’s also hosts the church’s sacramental and pastoral life. Any person prepared to take the vows of baptism may be baptized, as may a young child or infant whose parents and sponsors are prepared to make vows of faith and commitment to Christian nurture. Holy Matrimony is a sacramental rite and means of grace, joining people who come before God in love in a sacred covenant. Weddings are first and foremost worship within the Christian community, and the parish seeks simple dignity in the conduct of its liturgies. When death occurs, the rector should be called immediately to confer with the family and make funeral arrangements, with memorial services also available.
Holistic Stewardship and a Shared Calling
Holistic stewardship gives practical shape to the parish’s concern for God’s world. The church works to care for people, its property and environment, and its finances through the gifts of time, talent, and treasure. Its mission also calls for respect and gratitude toward the abundance of God’s gifts and mindfulness of the environment in all the parish does. Giving is one expression of that stewardship through Pledge/Give.
The vision welcomes all people to share in Christ’s Eucharistic feast in the Episcopal tradition, nurture a multigenerational community, honor St. Matthew’s heritage, encourage spiritual growth, and serve both locally and globally. At St. Matthew’s, the Eucharistic table remains the center of a wide parish life that joins music, learning, fellowship, service, and care for creation.