St. Matthias' History

The Rev. G. Donald Black sometimes knocked on doors as he tried to recruit a congregation for a new Episcopal mission in Chesterfield County in 1968.

Armed with an infectious enthusiasm to get a new church going on five acres of land on Huguenot Road, he went to nearby neighborhoods, inviting more people to join a group of 40 who were meeting in the basement of St. Edward Catholic Church.

They had conducted the first service for Huguenot Road Episcopal Mission on Sept. 15 that year, using borrowed hymnals and prayer books.

"The bishop said we had to have a real name ... ," member Don Johnson said. "The vestry met in our living room [a few months later], and from a selection I believe of three names we chose St. Matthias'."

The congregation started meeting at Woodmont Recreation Association in 1969. That's where Amenta and Jerry Buckner became members, along with Nancy and Al Matthews.

"My sister and her husband had purchased a house next door to Don Black," Amenta Buckner said. "That's where we met him the first time. ... The next thing I know, Don was knocking on my door."

Nancy and Al Matthews had just moved to Richmond from Wisconsin. Checking out churches while 8 1/2 months pregnant with her fourth child, she visited two. No one greeted her, and she went home both times and told her husband, "Honey, we're not going there."

Al Matthews had noticed a sign along Huguenot Road announcing the future site of St. Matthias', and that it was meeting at Woodmont.

"We went at the time appointed," she remembered. "The only problem was this was the summertime, and church was an hour earlier. ... As we got out of the car, all these people started to stream out.

"The service was on the second floor. I remember Don Black, as we came in the downstairs doorway, he had his regalia on, and I remember he had cowboy boots on. So he came down the steps, and he was so eager to meet us. ... The people were just so nice to us. ... We hadn't even been to the church. We didn't know anything about it. We got into the car and I said, 'Honey, that's where we're going to church.'"

The congregation made the best of the temporary quarters until 1971, when groundbreaking on the church finally occurred on June 13. Enough of the new building was in place by December to hold a Christmas Eve service.

"We had to follow the Christmas tree lights from Huguenot Road through the woods to the sanctuary," Amenta Buckner recalled. "They had to cut down the weeds.

"The altar was where the library is now. The choir met in the back of the auditorium, where the offices are now. ... We had cement floors and folding chairs and no carpet."

Rev. Black, meanwhile, kept knocking. He visited Buck and Gail Flournoy, and they joined in 1972.

"That was the reason we came there," Buck Flournoy said. "He was a dynamic, young guy. ... He was real charismatic. He attracted people to our church."

For several years, Amenta Buckner said it "seemed like the whole place" was under construction. Members finished some of the work done by contractors. The first building was dedicated in 1973.

"Most of us were young with kids," she said. "If it needed to be built, our men built it. If it needed to be painted, we painted it. We didn't have any money." 

Jerry Buckner became a cornerstone maintaining the buildings and grounds throughout his life. Amenta Buckner helped shape the grounds as well. She started trimming overgrown azaleas, sometimes working until after dark.

“Eventually, others began to help," she said. "We tamed the wild woods to the beautiful garden it is today."

Since the church couldn't yet sustain itself financially and relied on support from the Diocese of Southern Virginia, it remained a mission until 1975. It was granted parish status -- meaning it could financially support its operation and have a greater degree of independence in how it operated -- by the Diocese's Annual Council on Jan. 20.

In 1978, as an addition for classrooms began, an opportunity knocked for Rev. Black: He accepted a call to another church.

Robert D. Morrison Jr.

The Rev. Robert D. Morrison Jr. took over as the second rector in 1979, not long before St. Matthias' and the surrounding communities experienced more growth. By 1986, the church had 245 members.

Needing more space, a building campaign made a long-planned larger sanctuary a reality in 1989. The new nave was dedicated the following May.

Christian education, youth and music programs became focal points, along with the popular Pig Roast in the fall.

St. Matthias’ provided exceptional opportunities for the parish's youth and the community. Among those were a midweek education group for younger children called Logos, as well as an acolyte program based on teaching the elements of worship experience, a well-attended annual Vacation Bible School, and one of the most active Episcopal Youth Community programs in the diocese.

The youth were a fixture at Chanco on the James as campers and counselors. The parish provided scholarships to ensure that every child who wanted the experience was able to attend.

The music program expanded with the addition of a staff person to direct the guitar and singing group at the early services.

The parish also participated in several projects with Habitat for Humanity.

St. Matthias' became known for reaching out to the community and creating ministries of support. Thanks to generous funding, it helped people near and far.

The parish always has been diverse in family composition, ages, ethnicity, gender identity and orientation. People from many parts of the world are part of its family of faith.

The Rev. Lynne Washington was ordained at St. Matthias' as the first assistant rector in 1997. She subsequently joined the Bishop of Virginia's staff and was replaced by the Rev. Linda D. Leibhart, who later moved to New York as a chaplain in the United States Army.

With membership pushing 500, the facility expanded again: a larger kitchen, fellowship and classroom areas, an office, and a commons area connecting to the sanctuary were added.

In April 2000, a time capsule was buried outside the church. Among many things, the capsule included pictures, drawings, names and letters from various children, youth and adult groups. It will be opened in 2050.

Another opportunity knocked for Rev. Morrison after 21 years at St. Matthias', and he accepted a call to St. John’s Church in Wilmington, N.C.

Dr. John P. Boucher

The Rev. Dr. John P. Boucher was named interim rector in 2000. The congregation petitioned to call him to the permanent position, which the diocese granted. He became the third rector on April 26, 2002.

During his tenure, membership grew to more than 600, and many parishioners took up leadership roles in the church's ministries and started new community ministries.

The youth transitioned to another program, Journey to Adulthood, spending several years together in groups before going on powerful pilgrimages to such places as Navajo Nation, Belize, Alaska, Vancouver and San Francisco.

The program involved long-term commitments from the youth, their parents and the parish, with members generously supporting gala auctions that provided substantial funding for the pilgrimages.

The addition of a music room/sacristy wing completed construction of the church. The original facility was converted into administrative offices and a library.

The parish's longtime administrator, Mary Boynton, affectionately known as "Mother Mary," retired in April 2009 after serving for 29 years.

In the spring of 2013, the vestry of St. Matthias’ approved the use of the Rite of Blessing Same Gender Unions.

Rev. Boucher retired from St. Matthias’ in August 2013.

Brenda S. Overfield

The Rev. Brenda S. Overfield was called as St. Matthias' fourth rector in May 2014 and began her ministry two months later.

She made several changes to the day-to-day operations of the church, including the modernization of technology as well as streamlining and restructuring administrative processes, building on the foundation established by previous rectors. 

There was a particular focus on the expansion of pastoral ministries in the congregation and serving the needs of its members and the surrounding community.

St. Matthias’ presence in the larger Church increased through her encouragement of greater diocesan involvement. Additionally, the combined efforts of the rector, vestry and at-large leadership worked to secure vibrant and vital ministries.

The Food Pantry, which provided 32,529 meals to families in its first full year in 2013, grew to serve more than 152,000 meals in 2025.

Rev. Overfield served St. Matthias’ for more than ten years. She retired in February 2025. Three months later, the Rev. Greg Bezilla joined St. Matthias’ as interim rector.

The church with the distinctive steeple marked its 50th year in 2018. It continues to have many strengths, particularly in some of its outreach programs, and features many anchors in longtime members.

Like many churches, though, it has had its challenges -- among them an aging congregation and a falloff in parishioners and youth programs.

The parish's desire to regenerate membership and youth activities is strong, and it remains a place that invites all people in on their spiritual journeys -- and sometimes draws them back.

Rev. Morrison and his wife, Julie, eventually returned to Richmond and St. Matthias' after his retirement. Nancy Matthews, after moving to Pennsylvania and North Carolina, came back after the death of her husband.

"There are wonderful people, wonderful friends we've made over the years," said Matthews, who was the first female lay reader. "It's my church. It's our church. It's wonderful to be a part of it.“