About St. Matthew's

We're an Anglican Church in Riverdale,
but there is more to us than that.

Our Mission

St. Matthew’s is a Christian church in the Anglican tradition. Our mission is to proclaim and embody the Gospel of Jesus Christ in our neighbourhood and to invite others to join in as we follow in the way of Jesus.

Gospel

The gospel is the good news of the kingdom of God. In the first century Jesus of Nazareth went about preaching and teaching this good news, that the kingdom of God had come (Mark 1:15).

Rooted in the Old Testament prophets, the kingdom of God is the long awaited victory of the God of Israel over evil and the rescue of his people. It means the full and final reign of God over all of his creation, and the peace of his people (see Isaiah 40; 61; Revelation 21:1-4). However, the gospel isn’t just the message of Jesus, it’s also the message about Jesus.

Jesus takes the words of the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1-2) and says that in him these words are fulfilled (Luke 4:16-18). Jesus is God’s anointed one (i.e. Messiah, Christ) in and through whom the “year of the Lord’s favour” has been ushered in for the poor, the prisoners, the blind, the oppressed, and the sinner.

God is with us in the flesh of Jesus Christ. Thus, in the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus, a sick world is healed, sinners are forgiven, and the poor are vindicated. Christ has promised that he will return at which point the world will be set right (i.e. judged) and the reign of God will be made known fully and finally.

The Way of Jesus

The earliest Christians were known as “followers of the Way,” (Acts 9:2; 24:14). At St. Matthew’s, we like to think of ourselves as a community of people that are on the Way (Jesus also referred to himself as the Way! John 14:6).

That is to say, we are followers of and students of the risen and living Jesus and as we go we’d invite you to join in with us! This is in keeping with the work which Jesus left his disciples: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you,” (Matthew 28:19). Confronted with the Gospel, we believe that the most fitting response is one of repentance and faith in Christ.

With the Apostle Thomas we believe in Jesus’ full equality with the Father and can say, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). With such a confession we are joined in the Spirit to people throughout the world and throughout time who are following Jesus too. Faith in Christ Jesus is not a finish line, but is rather the beginning of a life-long process of spiritual formation, being conformed to the likeness of Jesus in our life together. We call this nomadic community-under-construction, the Church: A people whose worship and life bear witness to the saving knowledge of God the Father which he makes known in his Son Christ Jesus.

As such, the Church understands her life, witness, and proclamation to be grounded in the Prophets and Apostles of the Old and New Testaments. The Bible reforms the Church, encourages us, makes us wise, teaches us how to pray, and shows us how to love one another. This love is especially shown when the community gathers together, in the power of the Holy Spirit, around the risen Jesus as he gives himself to us at Holy Communion. Just here, God’s power transforms us so that we can exist in the world as his witnesses.

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St. Matthews gave us a spiritual home complete with extended “family”, worship with deep roots, and the message of Jesus to comfort and challenge us at the same time. We love the vitality of being part of a congregation that is as diverse as Toronto and united in purpose to represent Christ-likeness wherever we find ourselves beyond Sunday.
The MacDonalds, Parishioners

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St Matthew's is my heart's ease & my refuge. A place to meet with God.
Lilla Wright, Parishioner

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When we moved here from Scotland, St Matthews welcomed us so warmly it was hard to consider going anywhere else. We soon felt known and cared for. And we were almost immediately able to use our gifts to contribute to the church community.
The Drivers, Parishioners

Anglican

The Anglican Communion is the third-largest tradition in Christianity with over 70 million worldwide members.

While its origins trace back to the early undivided Church with its creeds and practices, Anglicanism developed a distinct identity through the 16th century English Reformation. At that time they

translated the Bible into the language of the people, and organized themselves around The Book of Common Prayer and the Archbishop of Canterbury. This focus on community, study, and mission continued as Anglicanism expanded

beyond the Church of England. Today the Anglican Communion is found on every continent and recognizes its vocation to promote unity among all Christians.

Our Neighbourhood

St. Matthew’s is located on 135 First Ave., in Riverdale, Toronto.

The church has been a central part of the neighbourhood since 1874. Today, Riverdale is a thriving neighbourhood just east of Toronto’s downtown core that is filled with young families,

working professionals, students, and new immigrants. We love the diversity represented here! Between Greektown, Chinatown East, and Queen St. there are loads of great restaurants and bars. And let’s not forget about the

greenspace, what with Riverdale Park, Withrow Park, and Jimmy Simpson Park along with numerous parkettes and playgrounds, what’s not to love?

The People

Our family is made up of people of all shapes and sizes, each of whom is a gift to the community.

Whether you’re a student, young family, or retiree we welcome you to gather with us around the Word and invite you to find your place in the Body of Christ. Our building was opened on Easter Day, April 6th, 1890 (though we’ve been a part of Riverdale since 1874), the architecture of which is almost as beautiful as the people!

Ministry Team

Rev. Dr. Catherine Sider Hamilton
Priest-in-Charge
Catherine was ordained priest in 1994 and has served as Associate Priest at Grace Church on-the-Hill and the Church of St. John the Baptist Norway, and as chaplain at Havergal College. She is Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek at Wycliffe College. She blogs on feasts and fasts - exploring the rhythms of the Christian year - at feastfastferia.wordpress.com. It has been a joy for her to join the community of St. Matthew’s and share in the people’s faith and hope and witness. She and her husband David have four (mostly) adult children and live along the Danforth in Toronto's Greektown.
Rev. Dr. Ephraim Radner
Honorary Assistant
Ephraim Radner is Professor of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College, an evangelical seminary of the Anglican tradition at the University of Toronto. Before moving to Toronto in 2007, he served as an Anglican priest in Burundi (Africa), Brooklyn (NY), Cleveland, Connecticut, and Colorado, where he was engaged in a wide range of pastoral and teaching ministries. Ephraim and his wife Annette Brownlee (Wycliffe College’s Chaplain and an instructor in Pastoral Theology) live in St. Matthew’s neighborhood, and relish the excitement and diversity of Riverdale. He assists the parish in leading worship, preaching, and teaching, (and sometimes with some music) and has been blessed by the witness and friendship offered by St. Matthew’s members.
Dr. Samuel Tam
Music Director
Dr. Tam recently completed and successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in Fall 2022 at the University of Toronto. His study, The Orchestral Symphonies of Charles-Marie Widor: Context, Form and Performances will be available on ProQuest and TSpace in the coming months.
Dr. Tam is currently conductor and artistic advisor of the Rose Orchestra Brampton, with whom he first started conducting in 2016. He has conducted the University of Toronto Symphony Orchestra and is on faculty at the Royal Conservtory of Music, where he teaches the Academy conducting course, and has conducted the Taylor Academy Orchestra and Royal Conservatory Orchestra. With the Glenn Gould School, he was Assistant Conductor and Repetiteur for many Koerner Hall opera productions. At both the RCM and UofT, Dr. Tam has had a long association with distinguished Canadian conductor, Uri Mayer. Joining the Canadian Opera Company in 2007, Dr. Tam worked on many main-stage productions over several seasons, most recently COC's re-opening production of Magic Flute with conductor Patrick Lange.
Dr. Tam is also a graduate of McGill University, where he studied conducting with Alexis Hauser, and organ with John Grew.