New England Conference | Nov. 13, 2025
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — On Thursday, October 30, the Rhode Island State Council of Churches gathered to celebrate its annual Heroes of Faith awards a tradition that honors individuals and congregations whose faith inspires tangible change in their communities. Among the honorees was Mathewson Street United Methodist Church in Providence, recognized as this year’s Congregation of the Year.
The award affirmed what so many in the community already know: that Mathewson Street UMC lives out the gospel through acts of mercy, justice, and deep compassion. Nestled in the heart of downtown Providence, the church has become a spiritual and physical home for those too often left on the margins neighbors who are unhoused, individuals living with mental health challenges, and members of the LGBTQ+ community seeking a place of belonging and safety.
Introducing the congregation at the ceremony was Rev. Heather R. Bailes Baker, pastor of Arnold Mills United Methodist Church and president of the governing board of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches. In her remarks, Rev. Bailes Baker described Mathewson Street as “a community that truly embodies what it means to be the hands and heart of God in the world.” She highlighted the congregation’s extraordinary ministry over the past year serving more than 40,000 meals, distributing over 10,000 essential items, providing 225 free bus passes, and offering emergency housing and case management to hundreds of individuals and families.
“They don’t measure success by numbers but by lives transformed. They meet isolation with connection, stigma with dignity, and hopelessness with love."
– The Rev. Heather Bailes Baker, introducing Mathewson Street UMC
Yet, as Rev. Bailes Baker emphasized, the true measure of Mathewson Street’s ministry is not found in statistics but in transformed lives. “They don’t measure success by numbers,” she said, “but by lives transformed. They meet isolation with connection, stigma with dignity, and hopelessness with love.”
Kevin Simon, representing the church, received the award with words of gratitude and humility, acknowledging the collective spirit that drives the ministry forward. The congregation’s witness, he reflected, is rooted in a simple but powerful truth that faith comes alive when people care for one another with compassion and courage.
The recognition by the Rhode Island State Council of Churches celebrates not only what Mathewson Street UMC does, but who they are: a living expression of grace in action. Their story reminds all who hear it that the church is at its best when it opens its doors and its heart to the world, serving not as a refuge from it, but as a place where all can find hope, dignity, and belonging.