What’s Happening
Bulletin Highlights
Lenten Study with Father Stube: Agents of peace in times of conflict.
This study will facilitate conversation around Scripture and the current historical moment in order that we might reflect together about what the Holy Spirit may be inviting Christians (particularly those of us who worship together at St. Matthews) to do to bring peace and Christ to culture. We may think globally, but the intent is to bring us to ways that we can be the Gospel of Christ locally.
The Lenten Study this year will be offered twice on the Wednesdays of Lent at 10:00 am and 6:00 pm. The evening gathering will include a potluck dinner that will begin at 6:00 followed by our study around 6:45pm. Each study will last about 45 minutes.
Noonday Prayer (& bag lunch) on Tuesdays, and Mid-Week Eucharist on Wednesdays @ 7:30 a.m., will be held every week during Lent.
Lenten Food Bag Donation (2 Opportunities! )
1.In response to Bishop Gutierrez’s call to celebrate 5 sacred days, St. Matthew’s is joining several other deanery members at Church of the Advent in Hatboro for a “Day of Feeding” event. The event will consist of collecting certain food items and then building H.A.T. (helping around town) packs on April 19th.
H.A.T. packs is a ministry serving food insecure school age children and younger siblings. It was founded by 3 local women in response to reports that some children in our school district who enrolled in the subsided or free lunch program were saving some of Friday’s food for consumption on the weekend. This gave rise to the question, “What happens to these vulnerable children on weekends?”
In January 2018, H.A.T. packs began providing a bag of food with 2 days of breakfast, lunch and snack items to food insecure children at one elementary school in the district. Over the past 2 years, the program has grown to provide weekend food packs to over 250 children in all schools within the Hatboro Horsham school district. A summer meal program has also been added.
Please consider donating any of the following items: Single service cereal Boxes, Juice boxes, oatmeal packets, single serve shelf stable milk, microwave meal kits, tuna or chicken salad kits, chef Boyardee pasta meals, Kraft Easy Mac packets, Chicken noodle cup of soup, Beef stew, snack cracker packs, fruit or applesauce cups, pudding snack packs, snack size pretzels. A paper is available with the needed donation items in the Narthex, and the information will be on our website, www.saintmattsec.org.
- The organization, Concerned Parents Inc., that we have worked with for many years for Lenten grocery bags is no longer able to accept food donations, BUT they DO still need gift cards to the stores where their families shop. If you would like to continue to support this ministry, gift cards from Aldi, or ShopRite are needed. Please drop them in the offering basket or church office.
The final day for both of these collections is April 12th. If you want to help build HAT Packs at Church of the Advent, Hatboro on Sunday April 19th 1-3PM, please contact Tim Walsh, 215-380-1749 or tmwmstr@comcast.net
The Chili/Bingo dinner is back!
When? Friday evening, March 20th at 6:00 p.m.
Where? Parish Hall
What to Expect? Delicious chili, fellowship, and a fun game of Bingo with prizes! Bring the entire family! All ages are welcome.
We also need people to sign up and bring Chili, rice…..Please sign up in the Narthex. Hope to see you all there!
Prayers for the sick
Anyone who would like to have the name of a loved one included in Sunday prayers can either call Father Peter Stube or the church office with the name of the person for whom you are requesting the prayers. Please tell us your name as well, and whether you would like just the first name of the person or the whole name put in the bulletin. The name will be automatically removed after four weeks, or sooner if you let us know. It can also be continued for longer if you let us know.
Noonday Prayer & Lunch
On the third Tuesday of each month, we will gather for a short service of noonday prayer after which everyone is invited to have lunch together. The prayer service is a wonderful way to spend your lunch worshipping the Lord. Since the luncheon is an informal gathering, we ask that everyone bring his or her own lunch. We will provide water, tea and coffee to drink.
Youth News
Connecting through Remind: A Communication Platform that Works for Everyone
Communication is key for building strong, confident, and informed teams, and that is why many of our youth and parents choose to receive youth group communications through Remind. This teacher and administrator approved text communication framework allows group leaders to communicate with youth and parents without the hassle of e-mail, and with the expediency of text. So far, over 25 of our youth receive weekly texts through the platform, at no cost to you whatsoever. Further, all messages are monitored through a centralized system that is both compliant, and easy for parents to access.
Join our group now by following this link: remind.com/join/acarrella
Ministry Opportunities
Mattie Dixon Community Cupboard – Your donations of baked beans, canned sweet peas, boxed instant mashed potatoes, canned fruit, mixed fruit, pears, boxed snacks/crackers, peanut butter, coffee, tea, cocoa, boxed cereals, hot cereals (oatmeal), pancake mix and pancake syrup are needed for the Mattie Dixon Community Cupboard. Please bring these items to church and place them in the collection box located under the coat rack outside the kitchen.
Fellowship Opportunities
Monday Evening Bible Study
The group is studying Matthew. If you have been thinking of joining the study, now would be a good time to come. The group meets on the first and third Mondays of the month. Hope to see you there.
Men’s Breakfast: A gathering of men for breakfast and Bible reflection is normally offered on the third Saturday of each month in the September – May program year. The next breakfast will be on March 21 at 8 a.m. Come to be nourished in body and spirit. Contact the clergy for more information.