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Social Justice
and
Community Services Ministry
See our Ministry's NEW monthly newsletter! |
St. Matthew’s provides ongoing social
programs to assist the poor and vulnerable in our
community. This list provides a summary of
existing programs, and others are being developed.
If you would like to be part of the process of growing
our ministry, please consider serving on our Committee.
If you have questions or want to help, contact Teresa
Volante, Social Justice &
Community Services Director, at 202-347-3215 or
tvolante@stmatthewscathedral.org, Deacon Roberto Pineda
at pinedaroberto@msn.com, or Committee
Chair Fred Murray at bulletins@att.net.
Read about some of this month's upcoming
events in our monthly newsletter.
Newsletter Archive
September, 2007
August, 2007
May/June, 2007
April, 2007
March, 2007
February, 2007
January, 2007
October, 2006
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| Adopt-A-Family Program |
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This
annual Christmas gift-giving program
provides gifts of everyday necessities to
low-income families in our community.
Through partnership with neighboring
businesses and the parish’s generosity
through the Giving Tree, the program
provided over 1,500 gifts to 35 families in
2007. The families received clothing,
household items, furniture, and toys. This
program requires the time of many volunteers
to help interview families, organize the
“wish lists”, create tags for the Giving
Tree, and to help organize, wrap, and
distribute the gifts. Other activities
associated with this program include a
School Supply Drive, Thanksgiving Dinner and
an Easter Food Drive.
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Adult
English Classes |
In January 2007, the Cathedral began an
English as a Second Language (ESL) program
for adult speakers of other languages.
Currently there are seven levels of classes
being taught three nights a week for a
12-week semester. For future semesters
there will be openings for volunteers to
teach, tutor and to assist with hospitality,
administration, and teacher training.
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Formation |
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The Social Justice & Community Services
Committee promotes the social justice issues
and community service components of our
Catholic faith. JustFaith, an extended
educational and spiritual formation program
will begin this fall. JustFaith provides an
opportunity for parishioners to study and be
formed by the justice tradition articulated
by the Scriptures, the Church’s historical
witness and Catholic Social Teaching. In
addition, during 2008, social justice and
community service information will be
included in the bulletins as inserts and
discussed during stand-alone lectures. |
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HIV/AIDS Ministry |
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In partnership with the Archdiocese of
Washington, St. Matthew’s ministry hosts a
special liturgy for World AIDS Day, which
includes a guest lecture, liturgy,
informational sharing and reception.
Volunteers interested in expanding this
ministry in the areas of service and
education should contact Teresa Volante.
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Homeless Ministry |
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Every Monday morning, teams of volunteers
gather to serve 45-60 homeless adults to
provide for their material and spiritual
needs in a welcoming environment. The
program begins with a light breakfast,
followed by an hour discussion about the
Gospel passage from the day before, and then
distribution of clothing, toiletries, and
brown bag lunches made by volunteers. There
are openings for people interested in
volunteering from 8-11 on Monday mornings,
or who would like to provide lunches or
breakfast food on a regular basis.
Specialized volunteers are sought with
background in mental health, psychiatry, or
social work to play a key role. The program
also needs clothing and toiletry donations,
as well as financial support to purchase
supplies. |
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Ministry to the Sick,
Seniors, and Homebound |
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The Social Justice
& Community Services Committee and the Cathedral’s Extraordinary Ministers of
Communion are working together to provide home visits – both with Communion and
social companionship visits – to seniors, the sick and homebound in our parish.
After a training session, volunteers will visit with parishioners at least twice
monthly. Currently about 12 volunteers are involved in weekly visits to
parishioners.
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Respect Life |
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The Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle Respect Life
Ministry provides the parishioners, visitors and residents of
Washington,
DC with the information and opportunities
to promote and cultivate a culture of life. To get involved please
contact SMRespectLife@gmail.com.
"Where life
is involved, the service of charity must be profoundly consistent. It cannot
tolerate bias and discrimination, for human life is sacred and inviolable at
every stage and in every situation; it is an indivisible good" - Pope
John Paul II, The Gospel of Life.
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Single Servings of Service |
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Allows parishioners to volunteer in a
meaningful way without making a long-term
commitment. There are two to four Single
Servings of Service events per month. See
the
schedule, and RSVP to Teresa Volante if
you would like to attend. This project
allows St. Matthew’s to outreach and serve a
wider community since recipients of single
servings of service are a variety of
nonprofit service agencies that serve
different populations within the Washington,
D.C. area. |
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Social Justice Advocacy |
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In collaboration with the Archdiocese of
Washington’s Legislative Network and the
Washington Interfaith Network (WIN), St.
Matthew’s supports Catholic social justice
issues that include: poverty, access to
healthcare, and affordable housing, among
others. A series of advocacy events are
scheduled for this year, with current
efforts focusing on affordable housing and
homelessness. |
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