Office of the Bishop
- 2728 6th Avenue
San Diego, CA. 92103-6397
Tel. 619-291-5947 - » Contact Us
- » Email Us
Communication
Church Locater
St. Matthews, National City
The Church With The Spire
Prepared by Jarvis Nolan, Historiographer
The year was 1882, the place was National City. The Sante Fe Railroad was going to build its terminus here, land was deeded for an Episcopal Church. The railroad never arrived, but the Episcopal Church did. On July 3, 1887, at 3:00 pm the first Episcopal service was held and St. Mathew’s was formed. Services were conducted by The Rev. Henry Bond Restarick and men from the St. Paul’s Lay Readers Guild. It is the oldest church in our diocese still worshipping in its original structure. The land was given by Elizur Steele and funds to build the church were from the sale of deeded land given by the Kimball family. The church is constructed of Douglas fir from Oregon, California redwood and pine from Georgia. St. Matthew’s has an interesting peculiarity.
There is no south transept to give it the shape of a cross. There is a door to the would-be south transept that was to be the rector’s office. The sanctuary changed over the years. A baptistery was added and later bacame a chapel of Our Lady of Guadalupe. A balcony was added, the back of the building was extended to allow for organ pipes. Stained glass was given as memorials to loved ones. The rood screen and communion rails were removed, the altar brought forward to open up the chancel area.
Two of their rectors became bishops. Restarick became the third bishop of Hawaii, The Rt. Rev William Manning became bishop of NYC and was responsible for the building of St. John the Divine Cathedral. Several seminarians were sponsored from St. Matthew’s, the Rev. Patricia Busch and The Rev. Patricia Andrews-Callori, who returned as priest-in-charge in 1995.
It wasn’t the buildings, or the bishops that kept St. Matthew’s going over the years, it was the caring, diverse congregation. From 1969 – 1973 the church sponsored the National City food distribution center which was replaced by food stamps in 1974. In 1980 the Hispanic Ministry for the diocese was started under the Rev. Juan Acosta. Programa San Mateo, a program that combined religious activities, a Spanish Mass, and cultural events was started. One of its most significant accomplishments was a tutoring program in cooperation with Central Elementary School. It served forty students in helping them develop proficiency in English in order to advance in school. One of the faithful tutors was Virginia Morten, bishop Morten’s wife. The popular fish and chip dinners during Lent open to the community started in the 1970’s and continued into the 1990s. In 1996 South Bay Head Start moved from St. Anthony’s Roman Catholic Church to St. Matthew’s.
John Pulsingay, a parishioner since 1969, stated that “membership in the parish has diminished but those that are left are more entwined”. He said that the Filipino language is used during the reading of scripture at the monthly Community Mass. John and his wife, Luz, were litinists at Bishop Mathes consecration. They each read in the Icoceno and the Igorot dialect.
Glen Beckett, a parishioner for 78 years, says of the services “the form of liturgy prepares me real well for the communion, my main focus is the Eucharist.”. Beckett’s parents were married at St. Matthew’s in 1913. Before the last community service Madre Patricia began “what a glorious day it is, Pope Benedict is installed, the communion bread was given by the Jewish community, and a new acolyte will be installed” - Indeed, what a glorious day.