A call from God to love

New pastor gets warm welcome at Saints Rose and Clement Church

Kelcy Dolan
Posted 8/27/15

“God called me to love,” Father Matthew Glover, pastor Saints Rose and Clement Church, said last Thursday.

Initially Fr. Matt, 37, only knew that he had wanted to live a life of generosity, …

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A call from God to love

New pastor gets warm welcome at Saints Rose and Clement Church

Posted

“God called me to love,” Father Matthew Glover, pastor Saints Rose and Clement Church, said last Thursday.

Initially Fr. Matt, 37, only knew that he had wanted to live a life of generosity, paying forward the same love and kindness his parents had showed him throughout his life.

Fr. Matt grew up in Bristol in a Catholic family and after graduating from Mount Hope High School attended Providence College, joining the seminary there for two years.

Although he left the seminary, Fr. Matt finished his undergraduate studies at Providence College in 1999.

He knew he was being called to love by God, but unsure of the capacity and whether that would be in the priesthood.

In his search, Fr. Matt moved to Washington, D.C. to work in a middle school teaching history and math.

“I fell in love, I moved out of Rhode Island and tried my hand at teaching,” Fr. Matt said. “Despite this, I still felt called to the priesthood.”

He said he would ask himself what he loved teaching the most. Time and time again he found himself answering, how to live and love in the name of God.

“Not just the facts or doctrine,” Fr. Matt said. “For me, I like teaching how to live in God’s name and its practical application – how to live out His will in everyday life.”

Fr. Matt joked that God and religion are not unlike Ikea furniture; you are given all the pieces and tools, but you still have to build it, sometimes painstakingly so, for the final product.

He said, “You get the nuts and bolts of religion, but you have to participate in the process. You have to build yourself up strong and in the end you’ve created something beautiful.”

He rejoined the seminary and traveled to Rome, Italy to the Pontifical Gregorian University for a graduate degree in theology.

“I got to travel the world and see God’s presence in so many cultures and people,” Fr. Matt said. “I am thankful and blessed to have studied in the hub of our religion.”

Fr. Matt then spent the next four years at St. Luke’s Parish in Barrington and another seven as the Chaplain for the University of Rhode Island.

As of July 1, Fr. Matt began his time at Saints Rose and Clement Church, a 2,100-family parish that operates St. Rose of Lima School that has 260 students from pre-school to 8th grade.

Father Edward Wilson, Jr., former pastor of Saints Rose and Clement, began his new assignment July 1 at Immaculate Conception Parish in Cranston.

Fr. Matt said the parish lost a “dedicated and devoted” Father Edward Wilson, and although he has large shoes to fill, hopes to impress the church community with both his “humanness” and openness.

He said many people have misconceptions about priests and holiness, that they are somehow removed from the ordinary, the business of life and are strict, blindly following rules. He doesn’t see it that way.

“I am confident in my vocation,” Fr. Matt said. “That gives me the freedom to be myself. I can share my human struggles, vulnerabilities and mistakes. I can be honest about the courage it takes to live the life God wants from you.”

In the less than two months he has been at the parish, Fr. Matt said he has been welcomed and people seem excited to have him there.

He has found quite a liking to the community as well and their “stewardship in faith.”

He said not only are parishioners very within the church, they also use their time and talent outside of church to “live God’s life.”

“I don’t see myself going anywhere anytime soon,” Glover said. “I am looking forward to building on the great tradition of this parish.”

Already, he has been involved with a few initiatives.

The church received $210,000 from the Clean Economy Development Corporation to outfit St. Rose of Lima School with solar panels.

He hopes to find more ways to make the church self-sustainable to help take care and preserve God’s creation.

He also will start a new youth program to help teenagers foster their relationship with God through discussion and fun social events.

Having been a teacher, Fr. Matt plans on being active at the St. Rose of Lima School.

Being called to priesthood, and now at Saints Rose and Clement, Fr. Matt says, as a priest, he has the “privilege and blessing” to love others deeply during some of the most important times of their lives.

He said, “I have been called to love and listen and be there for them physically and emotionally during the highs and lows of life.”

As a priest, he said his strength is meeting with people one-on-one, to sit and speak with them during the happy or troubled times of their life and to provide guidance.

“For me being a human, to live life to the fullest as God wants me to, means finding a way to live a meaningful life that fosters joy in others,” Fr. Matt said.

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