Updates
December 9, 2011
Church Office
REMEMBERING SAINT MATTHEW’S THIS CHRISTMAS
As we all prepare our hearts and minds for the coming Christmas season, all of us will be buying gifts for friends and loved ones. Many of you will be donating money in the names of these same friends and loved one to charities and other important institutions who work to help those in need. This Christmas, we ask that you consider making a special ‘gift’ to Saint Matthew’s. As you all know, our great directive from our Lord is to spread the Gospel to all people. Each year, we here at Saint Matthew’s work hard in the Lord’s harvest field to tell the Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As stewards of your donations, we work hard every day to ensure that we are spending money on worthwhile projects that embolden the Gospel not only in our hearts, but in our community. But even with belt tightening, costs associated with last winter’s snow fall has raised our expenses beyond our budget.
This Christmas, would you consider making a special gift to Saint Matthew’s to help us over our financial hurdle? If you can, please place it in an envelope and drop it in our offering plates with the title “Christmas Gift” on the front of the envelope. In advance, we thank you!
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December 9, 2011
Church Office
MUSIC PATRON FOR FESTIVAL OF LESSONS AND CAROLS
Thank you to Fred Schmidt for being this year’s Music Patron!! Our Lessons and Carols each year is made possible by the generosity of the members of Saint Matthew’s who help our program out in this very special way. Thank you, Fred!
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December 9, 2011
Church Office
BRUNCH WITH SANTA — COMING UP THIS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 17
This coming Saturday, December 17, our special “Brunch with Santa” will be held, kicking off at 11:00am. Tickets are only $10 for adults and $7 for children. A portion of the proceeds will go towards our church’s Food Pantry. We’ll have plenty of food and fun crafts for children to work on.
And why take your children and grandchildren to see a crummy mall Santa? We will have a special visit by Old Saint Nick where children of all ages can have their pictures taken with the jolly elf in our church Library. All children who attend will not only get a picture with Santa, but they will also receive a special goodie bag!
If you can help out making something for the Brunch, please see the sign up sheet on the table in the narthex. For tickets and additional information, please speak with Antoinette McKay.
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December 9, 2011
Church Office
SAINT MATTHEW’S CARING HANDS FOOD PANTRY – UPDATE
CARING HANDS FOOD PANTRY: Our food pantry has it’s own bank account so we are now able to accept monetary donations as well as food donations. We still need a CHAIRMAN. If you would be interested in taking up this position, please speak to Antoinette McKay or Pastor Iovine. We also need volunteers to be committee members.
After a couple of months of collecting a incredible amount of food and non-perishable items, Saint Matthew’s is ready to open our Food Pantry. For the next several months, we will focus on helping those within our church fellowship. As of now, the Pantry is not open to the general public. We will provide an array of food that will help meet a family’s food necessity. We will not be able to supply a month’s worth of food – we can only support a bag or two per family right now. Anyone wishing to receive help with food, please contact Pastor Iovine at 201-338-0049.
We will continue to need your help in stocking the Pantry. Each week, if you could consider making a food, non-perishable, or toiletry donation, we would be so greatly appreciative. As we mentioned last week, we cannot take medications and vitamin donations.
Again, each member of Saint Matthew’s has stepped up so dramatically in making our Caring Hands Food Pantry come to life. Your donations have been incredible, both in quantity and quality. Our thanks go out to our Elders, who proposed starting the pantry; to our volunteers who have taken your donations and sorted and organized them in the Craft Room; to those who came to clean out and paint the Craft Room to house the Pantry; and to each of you who have donated week after week in a Christ-like way to help the needy. In this vein, we are asking all of you to consider helping out as a pantry organizer as well as volunteers. For more information, speak with Pastor Iovine.
