Join the St. Matthew’s Family
If you are living in this area and do not have a local church home, we invite you to join us. Our pastor will be happy to talk with you; or you may indicate your interest in joining the next Exploring Covenant (membership) class either by marking the attendance register (“wish to join”) or calling the church office, 301-262-1408. The next class will start on May 1, 2011 and continue for five weeks.
Christian Formation and Spiritual Growth
Wednesday Evening Soup and Prayer for Lent – Join us THIS Wednesday, April 13 for the LAST Soup and Salad Supper in Fellowship Hall from 6:00 – 6:45 p.m. (provided by the UMW Circles) followed by “Encounters With Jesus” a Prayer Service in the sanctuary from 7:00 – 7:30 p.m. The Wednesday Evening Prayer services will include singing, silence, scripture reading, lighting candles and prayers. Childcare will be available during the Prayer Service.
CHURCH SCHOOL CHILDREN WILL BE GIVING GENTLY USED SPRING CHILDREN’S CLOTHING to House on the Hill when we have our annual Palm Sunday Processional in the sanctuary on April 17. We can only accept children’s spring or summer clothing. If you wish to share in this project, please put the clothing in plastic bags and bring it to the work room across from Shirley Bickel’s office in the Wesley Wing.
CHURCH SCHOOL CLASSES FOR CHILDREN AGES 3 THROUGH FIFTH GRADE WILL MEET ON EASTER SUNDAY. The children will participate in our resurrection lessons.
Shirley Bickel has old church school curriculum teachers’ manuals for teaching children to give away. If interested, please contact Shirley by Easter Sunday, April 24.
Mission and Service
NEXT SUNDAY is St. Matthew’s designated collection day for the Bowie Food Pantry. However, drop-offs can be made at anytime to the shopping cart which is located in our coat room. Items especially needed this month are canned meats (especially chicken and ham), as well as cake mixes and frosting. Your faithful support of the Food Pantry is greatly appreciated. As always, monetary donations are welcome – write your check to St. Matthew’s UMC and put “Food Pantry” on the memo line.
Christmas In April Home Fix-up Event, Saturday, April 30. Mark your calendar and come help us bring joy to some needy folks in Bowie. If you have small yard plants you can donate, they would be greatly appreciated. Meet at the church at 7:30 a.m. and travel to the house by 8:00 a.m. This is a rain or shine event. Need more info? Contact Bruce Thoman or Dan Blades.
Congregational Life
Youth News – Our youth are on retreat this week-end. There will be NO UMYF tonight.
Family Ministry has created new Quiet Activity Bags for children. These bags are hanging on a “Bag Tree” in the narthex and are available for your children during the service. You may keep any pictures you create from the bags, but please return all other items to the bags and hand the bag on the Bag Tree when you leave.
HUGE CLEARANCE SALE TODAY for Used Books after each service in Fellowship Hall TODAY. All proceeds go to various mission projects. Thanks go to all the helpers and buyers last week. Helpers may be needed at 12:30 p.m. to pack up remaining books for removal from Fellowship Hall.
Dinner Theatre Tickets on sale! On May 1, 5:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall, our youth will present “Promedy” for our annual dinner theatre. Come watch as the student body leaders at Lowzund High bicker and argue about various prom themes. They finally decide to combine all of their ideas into one to create a medieval-futuristic-under-the-sea dance. Tickets are on sale TODAY and April 17 after each service. Cost of tickets is $10 for adults and $8 for children 13 and under. The cost includes dinner, dessert and the show. All proceeds will help support our ASP trip.
Family Ministry Save the Date! Our annual Easter Egg Hunt will take place after the 11:00 service on Palm Sunday, April 17. All families are invited to join us.
REMINDER: Deadline for the MAY Circuit Rider is April 15. Email your items to Lorri Meadows.
Easter Flowers -The Altar Guild is offering flowers to beautify the sanctuary this Easter. Donations may be made in honor or memory of a loved one or special person. The cost of the flowers is as follows:
Azaleas (pink or white) $14.00 Hydrangeas (pink or blue) $16.00
Lilies $9.00
Special flower envelopes and donation forms are available on the table in the narthex. Please fill out the form including the type and color of plant and the dedication message. Please PRINT CLEARLY. Enclose the donation form and a check payable to St. Matthew’s in the envelope. Place the envelope in the offering plate or drop it off in the church office. Deadline for ordering will be April 17.
Spring Recital – TODAY, 4:00 p.m., in the sanctuary. Join us for a vast variety of music, from Bach to Gershwin. As always, free will contributions will benefit the Tavia Wyatt Piano fund.
Roof Repair – Due to the bad weather and high winds that we have had recently, we are going to have to replace the roof over the sanctuary. The cost is going to run approximately $13,000 to replace and repair the roof. This was an unanticipated expense for the church. The Board of Trustees has set up an account, if you are interested in helping, for donations to help defray this additional cost to the church. Please make your check payable to St. Matthew’s UMC and indicate fund code #323, roof replacement on the memo line. Thanks in advance for your help.
Drug “take back” event to be held in Bowie on Saturday, April 30, from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m., at the Bowie City Hall (2614 Kenhill Drive) and the Bowie Senior Center (14900 Health Center Drive). Controlled, non controlled and over-the-counter substances will be collected anonymously. This is a wonderful opportunity to go through your medicine cabinets, round up expired medications, look through your loved ones prescriptions and get rid of outdated drugs. It is NOT safe to flush them down the toilet or dispose of them in the regular trash. They find ways into the environment and water supply and are dangerous.
Holy Week, 2011
Palm/Passion Sunday Worship, April 17, 8:30 & 11:00 am
This special worship service will embody the sharp contrasts of Holy Week. In the Entrance with the Palms, we will experience the joyous demonstration of loyalty to Jesus as he enters Jerusalem. As we experience God’s Word through dramatic word and symbol, we confront and respond to the story of Jesus’ passion. The passion narratives in scripture are highly unified and dramatic, and it is powerful to experience the story in its wholeness before we reflect at greater length on its various parts during Holy Week.
Holy Week Meditation Stations, April 18 – 22
During Holy Week, we will have several meditation stations set up in the sanctuary that will allow you to reflect on different stages of Jesus’ suffering as he prepared for the crucifixion and resurrection. We invite you to stop in as many times during the week as you would like to prepare for Easter. The sanctuary will be open as long as the church is open and the meditation stations are self-directed.
Maundy Thursday Worship, April 21, 7:30 pm
“Maundy” Thursday, from the Latin mandatum novum (“new commandment”), focuses on the institution of the Lord’s Supper and on the commandment in John 13 in which Jesus, after washing the disciples’ feet, tells them to “do as I have done to you.” Worship will provide an opportunity for us to respond to these commandments through washing one another’s hands and sharing, at the prayer rail, in the sacrament of Holy Communion. The Chancel Choir will share special music for the occasion.
Prayer Vigil (follows Maundy Thursday Worship)
Prayer Vigil is a time when we enter into continuous prayer – beginning with the arrest of Jesus through the crucifixion. It is our hope to have a person or persons continually in prayer within the sanctuary starting Thursday evening, April 21, at 8:30 p.m. through Friday evening, April 22, at 6:30 p.m. Please sign up on the clipboard in the narthex.
Good Friday Worship, April 22, 7:30 pm
Larry Schackley’s cantata “No Greater Sacrifice”, published in 2010, will form the centerpiece of our Good Friday Service. Recounting the events of Holy Week through Scripture and music, this touching work offers a fresh look at the sacrifice of Jesus for the life of the world. Our worship will also include congregational singing and prayers.
Easter Celebration, April 24
Christ is risen indeed! Alleluia!
6:30 am: Sunrise Communion Service in the Garden
7:15 am: Breakfast in Fellowship Hall
8:30 am: Worship
9:45 am: Sunday School for ages 3 – 5th grade
11:00 am: Worship
Upcoming Events and Opportunities at St. Matthew’s
Ongoing: Feed the hungry! Contribute non-perishable food items to the Bowie Food Pantry;
End malaria! make a donation through “Nothing But Nets;”
Care for the earth!—and support our youth ASP trip—by bringing your recyclable paper to the yellow/green bin in the parking lot;
Support the EEC – by bringing in Box Tops for Education, Campbell’s Soup Labels for Education, used ink cartridges, and Capri Sun empty foil packs.
Today: Sunday, April 10
8:30 a.m. Worship Sanctuary
9:45 a.m. Sunday School Classes Various rooms
11:00 a.m. Worship Sanctuary
11:00 a.m. Children’s Choir Room 124
11:30 a.m. Children’s Church Room 126
2:30 p.m. Disciples IV Room 123
4:00 p.m. Spring Recital Sanctuary
UMW Used Book Sale Following Each Service in Fellowship Hall
Youth Dinner Theatre tickets for “Promedy” on sale following each service
Missions Sale of Discount cards for Rita’s Ice and Papa John’s Pizza
This Week: April 11 – April 16
Monday 7:30 a.m. Local VIM Workday meet at the church
6:45 p.m. Gloria Ringers Room 124
7:30 p.m. Communications Committee Room 127
7:30 p.m. Evening Circle Room 102
Tuesday 7:30 a.m. Local VIM Workday meet at the church
9:45 a.m. Pastor’s Bible Study & 11:00 a.m. Angel Gang Room 126
Wednesday 10:15 a.m. First Place for Health Room 126
2:30 p.m. Knit Wits Intergenerational Room 126
6:00 p.m. Lenten Soup and Salad Supper Fellowship Hall
7:00 p.m. Lenten Worship Service Sanctuary
7:30 p.m. Finance Committee Room 127
7:30 p.m. Susanna Wesley Circle at the home of Jill Carr
Thursday 7:00 p.m. Chancel Choir & 8:30 p.m. SpiritMove Room 124
7:00 p.m. Disciples “Course in Miracles” Room 126
Friday 7:00 p.m. SPRC Room 126
Saturday 9:30 a.m. Altar Guild Sanctuary
Mark Your Calendars!
Sunday, April 17 12:15 p.m. Family Ministries Easter Egg Activities Fellowship Hall
Monday, Apr 18 – Friday, April 22 Meditation Stations Sanctuary
Thursday, Apr 21 7:30 p.m. Maundy Thursday Service Sanctuary
Thursday, Apr 21 8:30 p.m. Prayer Vigil Sanctuary
Friday, Apr 22 7:30 p.m. Good Friday Service Sanctuary
Sunday, Apr 23 6:30 a.m. Easter Sunrise Service Garden
