Simple Lenten Meals

The Social Justice Committee invites you to participate in the Simple Lenten Meals program which takes place in the North Conference Room on the Friday evenings of Lent following the 6pm Stations of the Cross.

Each Friday we collect donations to benefit a different community-based organization in Washington, D.C. Click here for this year's schedule of recipients. On Friday, February 26, the beneficiary will be The Northwest Center.  

Consider spending your early Friday evening with St. Matthew’s family and friends - come for the 5:30pm Mass, 6pm Stations of the Cross, and end with a shared meal organized by the Knights of Columbus, for this great opportunity of almsgiving. 

Please visit The Northwest Center’s website http://www.northwestcenter.net/ from which the following is excerpted and summarized (including 2012 statistics): 

The Northwest Center 

Mission:  The Northwest Center seeks to promote the dignity of women and a respect for all human life.  We seek to accomplish this goal by offering the loving support and comprehensive aid necessary to enable all women to continue their pregnancies, deliver healthy babies, and adequately care for themselves and their children. 

Founded in 1981 by Georgetown University alumni and students, The Northwest Center has helped over 48,000 women and children in the Washington, DC area.  In 2012, our Pregnancy Center provided over 2,030 individuals with services such as counseling and material assistance, and access to pre-natal care, medical and legal services, educational opportunities, job training, and child care.  In 2012, our Maternity Home provided housing and other comprehensive assistance to 7 women and 7 children.  

With both our Maternity Home and Pregnancy Center programs, our mission is to support pregnant or parenting women in need, to act on our belief in the intrinsic value and dignity of all human life, and to provide for new beginnings for pregnant or parenting women.   

The Northwest Center believes that it is essential for every pregnant woman to have access to safe housing, food, clothing, medical care, and educational and/or job opportunities so that she can adequately provide for herself and her children.  Our programs are designed to be more than a "band-aid solution," rather we strive to effectuate real change in the lives of the women and children we serve.  The ultimate goal of both programs is to enable our clients to achieve self-sufficiency, which we define as having sustainable employment, adequate health care and viable housing for themselves and their child(ren). 

The Pregnancy Center is a community outreach program where trained counselors work with women and teens to identify, discuss, and solve the many challenges surrounding pregnancy and motherhood in a strictly confidential, non-judgmental, and supportive atmosphere. 

The Maternity Home program seeks to provide pregnant or parenting women with a home, and skills related to parenting, household management, education and/or jobs opportunities, and effective interpersonal communication.