Kick off the New Year more firmly rooted in the Word of God.

Join an exciting evening at beautiful St. Matthew’s Cathedral where several East Dallas Episcopal Churches will present a reading of the Gospel According to Matthew in its entirety, beginning at 4 p.m., January 14.

This year in our Revised Common Lectionary is Matthew’s year. Thus, beginning with the first Sunday of Advent and ending on Christ the King Day in November this year, we will hear short, weekly readings from Matthew's Gospel. These readings for Sunday mass are an important staple in the life of our Church; however, listening to the entire book read aloud in a public setting offers a more comprehensive and deeper understanding of the Gospel as a whole.  

"The idea came during a recent lecture to Dallas clergy by N.T. Wright about the importance of reading books of the Bible in one sitting to more fully grasp the overarching narrative," said the Rev. Rebecca Tankersley, Assistant Rector at St. James in Dallas and event organizer. “Most of us don’t take the time to sit down to read the whole story, from start to finish, of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. Thus, we miss the opportunity to hear the Good News as Matthew intended it to be presented - Matthew's overall message about who Jesus was, is and will be,” she said.

The reading event has attracted some of the best clergy and lay readers in the diocese who will each read one chapter of Matthew. In addition to Tankersley, some of those names include Marieta Oglesby, Angie Hodges, Kathy Shackelford, Susie Rodriguez, Tim Green, Anna Donovan, Beverly Millard, Joel Hatfield, Adele Ichilian, Claudia Stephens, Scott Tankersley, Stephen Crews, Cheryl Bugg, Edwin Chamberlain and Canon Michael Gilton. Organizers need more people to sign-up to read a chapter. The event is open to the public and should last for about an hour and half to two hours.  

“It’s part of our Christian vocation to proclaim the word of God in the creation of God," Tankersley said. “The hope is that this will inform our Sunday mornings for the year to come.”