Midweek Messenger for January 16, 2025
Schedule Highlights
Worship Schedule: St. Matthew’s Worship Schedule
Other Meetings and Events: St. Matthew’s Calendar
Children’s Church: Room 119 after the Children’s Message. Children from birth to 10 years old are welcome to join us! Our lessons follow the lectionary in a kid-friendly manner.
Sunday School Classes
At 11:00 AM each Sunday, Jim Wiedman leads a class called Lights, Camera, Faith: Christianity in Popular Movies. Join us as we explore the intersection of faith and film in the last 3 films for discussion: Saved! (2004), The Life of Brian (1979), and The Mission (1986).
The 8:45 AM Adult Sunday School class is on hiatus for the time being. Watch this space for updates.
Children’s Sunday School is held in Room 222 following worship service. Children ages 3 to 18 are welcome to join us. We usually conclude Sunday School by stocking the Little Free Pantry.
Bible Studies Continue
The Tuesday evening Bible Study with Rev. JW Park meets via Zoom at 7:00 PM.
The morning Bible Study continues discussion of the book of Mark in the Parlor each Tuesday at 9:45 AM.
Pastor Park Speaking Sunday at Interfaith Panel Discussion
This Sunday, January 19, 2025, from 3:00 to 4:00 PM, our own Pastor JW Park with be one of six panel members exploring the question, “How can people of faith resolve religious differences?” The six presenters are from Christian, Islamic, Jewish, and Unitarian Universalist traditions. The discussion will be held via Zoom. If you would like to attend, make sure you received the Zoom link that St. Matthew’s Church Admin sent out on January 9. If you did not receive the link or cannot find it, please call the office at 301-262-1408 or send an email requesting a copy of the email containing the meeting’s Zoom link to [email protected].
Trustees Announce Water Shutoff and Restroom Shutdown
Church Trustees announce that the water in the Wesley Wing will be shut off on Monday, January 20 to install an insurance-mandated Automatic Water Shutoff System in the building. During this shutoff, the other wings of the building will be operating normally, so bathrooms in those other wings will be available, except as noted below. The date was chosen because the EEC and the Church office will be closed that day. Evening activities should not be affected, so long as the work proceeds as planned.
Last week’s snow and associated melting and freezing caused a new leak in the roof above the bathroom closest to the Garden entrance near Fellowship Hall. That one bathroom is temporarily closed while repairs are made. We will try to keep any disruptions to a minimum, although we expect activity in the affected area. The bathroom nearest Fellowship Hall will remain open during this time. We apologize for any inconvenience this required repair may cause.
Christian Book Club
The book club continues our discussion of Rachel Held Evans’ book Wholehearted Faith (pages 57-103) on Tuesday, January 21, at 7:00 PM via Zoom. The link is sent out the day before the book club meets. All are welcome.
Opportunity to Support UMCOR’s Disaster Response in California
The Missions team at St. Matthew’s partners with The United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) which is already coordinating with California-Pacific Conference for the long-term recovery ahead. Please consider making a gift to support the recovery efforts by donating to UMCOR online (UMCOR Disaster Response/Recovery) and selecting “USDR-California Fires” from the drop-down box of designation choices. Please remember to check the box at the bottom of the form and follow the prompts to credit your association with St. Matthew’s when completing the form.
Soup Tasting on Sunday, February 2!
The United Women in Faith are holding a “Soup”er Bowl Fundraiser again this year! Tastings of FIVE different soups will be offered during Coffee Hour (11:15-11:45 AM) in Fellowship Hall on Sunday, February 2. After tasting the soups, please place your order for pickup on Sunday, February 9. Each pint of soup is $5 and payment upon ordering is appreciated (and will expedite order pickup).
The five varieties of soup will be: Chicken Tortilla, Broccoli Cheese, Traditional Chili, Salmon Chowder, and Clam Chowder. Orders of the chowders will be capped at 40. If you will not be at church on February 2, you may place an order by Monday, February 3 by emailing [email protected]. Proceeds from the fundraiser will support the missions of the United Women in Faith.
Messy Church News
Messy Church has been postponed from January 17 and will now be held on Friday, February 7, from 6:00 to 7:30 PM. We hope you will join us!
Interfaith Trip to African American Museum
Rabbi Steve Weisman of the Interfaith Coalition of Bowie reserved 35 tickets for 1:15 PM on Monday, February 17 for a trip to the African American Museum of History and Culture on the Mall. If you are interested, please contact Rabbi Steve’s office at Temple Solel by calling 301-249-2424 or via email at templesolelmd.org.
Save the Date for the World Day of Prayer
We will be praying for people in the Cook Islands at our World Day of Prayer service on Friday, March 7. Please plan on attending in person or online.
Save the Date for the 2025 Centenarian Celebration
M-NCPPC, Department of Parks and Recreation is hosting a luncheon for Prince George’s County residents who were born in 1925 to celebrate centenarians. The luncheon will be held on Friday, May 9, 2025. To register, complete the online registration form at 2025 Centenarian Luncheon Registration no later than March 14, 2025.
Cancellation of the Epiphany Brunch
With weather canceling the Epiphany Brunch on January 11, the United Women in Faith (UWF) officers were not installed. To see the list of the 2025 officers and the UWF 2025 Calendar of Events, please check out our webpage on the church website at St. Matthew’s UWF.
Little Free Pantry Update
If you have ever wanted to shop for the LFP and didn’t have transportation, we now have a driver!! Please donate cereal, canned meat, pancake mix, and syrup. Beth Lingg for the LFP ([email protected])
Bowie Food Pantry Update
The Pantry’s greatest needs at this time are for pasta sauce (regular 24 oz size) and low-sugar cereal. Please place donations in the shopping cart in the coatroom. Thank you!
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