The Parish of Saint Matthew was conceived and nurtured by
the efforts of a group of lay people in Pacific Palisades, and came into
existence officially on October 5, 1941, when the first service was held in the
library building of the Presbyterian Conference Grounds, then located north of
Sunset Boulevard at Temescal Canyon Road.
When the library was no longer available, services were held
in a parishioner's studio, and at one time a tent was considered.
The first Church building was at the corner of Swarthmore
and La Cruz in Pacific Palisades. The first service in the new Church was a
wedding on June 26, 1942. The first Sunday service was on June 28, 1942.
The first vicar was The Reverend Kenneth Worthinton Cary,
who arrived in February of 1944. When the mission became a Parish on January
24, 1945 he was elected rector and served until 1978. Father Cary was succeeded
by The Reverend Arnold A. Fenton, The Reverend George Six, The Reverend Canon
David Walton Miller, and the present Rector, The Reverend Howard Anderson.
Saint Matthew's Pre-School was started on May 2, 1949 and
the Saint Matthew's Parish Day School began on September 12, 1950 at the
Swarthmore location.
On March 27, 1951 a deposit was made on the 74 acre Garland
Estate, 42 acres on which the present Parish is located. The original Church
was cut in half, moved up Sunset Boulevard to the new location, remodeled and
enlarged and the first service there was on March 15, 1953.
On October 23, 1978 the Church, along with 86 homes, was
destroyed by fire. On June 14, 1981 ground breaking ceremonies were held for
the new Church. The first informal service in the new Church was a
"Service of the New Light" at 10:00 p.m. on March 18, 1983. The first
family service was at 9:30 a.m. on March 20, preceding the dedication and
consecration service at 6:00 p.m.
There are 13 buildings, four residences, a swimming pool and
other recreational facilities on the property.
Today the Parish of Saint Matthew consists of over 1700
baptized members and around 900 confirmed communicants. There are over 300
children enrolled in Saint Matthew's Parish Day School and Pre-School, plus
additional ones in the Parent/Toddler programs.
