Midweek Messenger for May 7, 2026
Schedule Highlights
- Worship Schedule: St. Matthew’s Worship Schedule
- Other Meetings and Events: St. Matthew’s May 2026 Calendar
- Children’s Church meets in the Nursery immediately after the Children’s Message during our 10:00 AM Worship Service.
- Join us for beverages and Mother’s Day brunch at God, Mom and Guinness this Sunday, May 10, 12:00 noon, at Molloy’s Irish Pub & Restaurant, 1053 MD-3, Gambrills, MD.
Sunday School Classes
- Children’s Sunday School meets in Room 222 following the worship service, where we will be learning about Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Daniel through stories, plays, and arts and crafts.
- The Adult Sunday School class meets Sunday at 11:00, in the Parlor.
Tuesday Bible Studies
Join our Bible studies every Tuesday:
- 9:45 AM Bible Study with Isaac in the Parlor, discussing the Gospel of John.
- 7:00 PM Bible Study with Rev. JW Park. The book we are studying is The Holy Spirit, by Adam Hamilton, which is available through various retail outlets in e-book, paperback, and large-print editions.
Help Us Congratulate Our Graduates!
Are you or your child/grandchild graduating this spring? Give them a shout-out during our Graduation Sunday! Please send a photo by this Sunday to beckyroper@stmatthews-bowie.
Circuit Rider Deadline is May 15
Please submit your articles and information to circuitrider@stmatthews-bowie.
Get Your Car Washed to Help Fund the Youth Mission Trip!
The St. Matthew’s youth will hold a fund raiser car wash on Saturday, May 16 from 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. All proceeds go toward the Appalachia Service Project (ASP) mission trip in July. Come out to support our youth and get a clean car!
Sunday May 17 is LGBTQIA+ Sunday
Please wear your St. Matthew’s Love is Love shirts on May 17. Come as casual and comfortable as you like that morning because you are in for a treat. SHEEP is hosting our annual LGBTQIA+ service with a special guest speaker you won’t want to miss. Plan to stay afterward for a Coffee Hour surprise.
On Sunday, May 17, our special offering will go to the Trevor Project, a Suicide Prevention Hotline that supports all young people, including those in the LGBTQIA+ communities. Federal funding was taken away from suicide prevention hotlines several years ago if those hotlines catered to the LGBTQIA+ community members. Many Suicide Prevention Hotlines across the country were forced to shut down. It is only through donations and perseverance that the Trevor Project has been able to continue. They are now taking more calls than ever before because other hotlines have stopped.
The Trevor Project saves lives. Please bring any extra funds you can spare on May 17 to put in our special offering to support the Trevor Project. We do not currently have a fund for the Trevor Project on the drop-down menu on the SMUMC giving website. However, you can put a comment in the notes field of your on-line donation (indicate “Trevor Project” or something similar), on the outside of the envelope you use, or on the memo line of your physical check (if you give through the collection plate) to make sure it goes to the Trevor Project.
A little sneak peek about the service: no matter what — by showing your love, you are a glimmer of hope.
If you need a shirt, contact Karen Hastings, or just wear something colorful to show your PRIDE and love.
Supplies Needed for Guatemala Mission Trip
The annual Guatemala Mission trip is scheduled for June 13-20, 2026. St Matthew’s is supporting a missions team to participate in activities to include Abuelita’s, Happy Tummies, construction, and a Women’s Retreat.
In support of the team’s efforts, please help by providing the following items:
- Prayers
- Small toys (Happy Meal size)
- Spanish children’s Books
- Markers, crayons, pens, pencils, erasers, scissors and children’s stickers
Please drop off new or gently used items in the coat room in the Guatemala Donation box by May 17th. If you have questions, please email worldwideoutreach@stmatthews-
Christian Book Club
Our May meeting will be held IN PERSON in the parlor on Tuesday, May 19, at 7:00 PM. Local teacher, author and poet, Aressa Verdell Williams, will join us to discuss her memoir, “In Deanwood.” The book captures the good, bad, ugly of growing up in far Northeast DC during the fifties and ending in 1970 when she graduated from Howard University.
Her book can be purchased through Amazon or Barnes & Noble. As ever, everyone is welcome!
International Sunday Service and Potluck Lunch
We are having a potluck meal for International Sunday on May 31. We would love for you to share an international meal with us. Please bring a dish to share and plan to join us after the service for some good food.
Women’s Bible Study to be Available in Mid-May
Bishop LaTrelle Miller Easterling, in collaboration with fourteen United Methodist women, announced the May 15 release of the book, Her Faith Still Speaks: Women of the Bible Who Shape Our Faith. This Bible study explores the stories of biblical women, highlighting how their faith continues to speak to our lives today. Through Scripture, reflection, and Wesleyan theological insight, the book is ideal for personal devotion, small groups, or church-wide study, offering meaningful applications, discussion questions, and prayers. Fourteen leading United Methodist women each wrote a chapter about the fourteen Biblical women discussed in the book. Bishop Easterling authored the chapter, The Story of Mary, the Mother of Jesus, based on Luke 1:46-56.
The book is available for preorder from Market Square Books at this link: Her Faith Still Speaks. The retail price is $21.95. Individual and bulk orders receive a discount on purchases made through May 14 using code women10 for 10% off for less than five books, women15 for 15% off orders of five or more, or women20 for 20% off orders of ten or more copies. Royalties from sales through Market Square Books will go to support UMCOR. The book is also available for preorder from other sources, such as Cokesbury, and an Amazon Kindle version is available for preorder at $9.99. However, there is no indication that UMCOR would benefit from sales made via these other retailers.
Congratulations to Rev. Dr. HiRho Park on a New Appointment!
Rev. Dr. HiRho Park, the wife of Rev. JW Park has been named Director of Inclusion, Belonging, and Cultural Engagement for the Horizon Texas Conference, effective July 1, 2026 (see article at Rev. Dr. HiRho Park Named Director of Belonging, Inclusion and Cultural Engagement — Horizon Texas Conference UMC). In that capacity, she will work alongside conference leadership, clergy, and local churches to advance the Horizon Texas Conference’s commitment to pursuing and embracing diversity as it builds a more inclusive and multicultural community of faith. She is the author and co-editor of several books on intercultural leadership and cross-racial and cross-cultural ministry. She is also the creator of the A Diverse Church by Design certificate program, which she developed and implemented in the Baltimore-Washington Annual Conference. The Horizon Texas Conference is delighted to welcome Rev. Dr. Park and her vast experience and qualifications for her new position.
However, Horizon Texas Conference’s gain will not result in a loss for us. Rev. JW Park tells us to rest assured that he is staying at St. Matthew’s! So, let us congratulate both Reverends Park and pray for their continued success as they embark on this new chapter in their lives!
Help the Orphans of Ukraine
The Maryland Branch of The Orphan Grain Train (OGT) has been sending humanitarian aid to Ukraine since the war began in 2022. Along with their partners, OGT is planning to send a forty-foot container of much-needed aid to Ukraine to help support Ukrainian orphanages in need of supplies due to the war. They are collecting the following items:
- children’s diapers (all sizes)
- wipes
- sanitary pads
- toilet paper
- NEW underwear and socks (all sizes)
- toys and games for all ages (NO batteries, nothing requiring English language skills)
- bicycles, scooters, roller skates
- backpacks and school supplies
Most of these items can be new or slightly used. Items may be dropped off at the OGT warehouse, 621 East-West Blvd, Millersville on or before June 2, during their regular collection hours (Monday, Tuesday, and the second Saturday of every month 9:00 until noon and Tuesday evenings 5:00 – 7:00). Please mark your donation for “Ukraine”.
Carolyn and Galen Menne will deliver any items you can give to OGT before June 1. If you have questions about OGT, its programs, or how to get your donation to them, please contact Carolyn and Galen Menne at 240-475-3721 or galencarolyn@verizon.net.
Volunteers Needed for Upcoming Men’s Shelter Meals
On the third Sunday of each month, St. Matthew’s provides a meal for approximately 35-40 men at the Prince George’s County Men’s Shelter. The meal may be purchased or homemade and can be as simple as pizza, salad, and a dessert or as complex as the volunteer(s) care to make it. The volunteer(s) obtain and/or prepare the food, deliver it to the shelter, and may serve the 6:00 PM meal, then clean up afterwards. About four to five people make the optimum number of volunteers for each month’s meal. It can be great fun and very satisfying to serve people who need what you have to give and really appreciate the efforts you make on their behalf.
Volunteers are needed to provide shelter meals in July, September, and October. If your family, your church group, or any other group you can cobble together would be able to provide a shelter meal for any month, please volunteer. Unless St. Matthew’s can find more people who are willing to participate in this mission, we may have to discontinue this very worthwhile and fulfilling service. Jesus said that when we feed the hungry, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, take care of the sick, or visit prisoners, we do the same to him (Matthew 25:35-40), so please consider whether you could take a turn in fulfilling this opportunity to feed the hungry.
To volunteer, or if you would like more information, please contact Pat Clunies at 301-910-2698 or email communityoutreach@stmatthews-
In Case You Haven’t Heard…
- Youth Group meets on Sundays from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. If you are a middle or high school student, you are welcome to join us!
- St. Matthew’s is having its third annual car show in our main parking lot on Saturday, June 13, from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Registration to show a car is $20.00 (no charge for spectators). Expect lots of food, fun, crafters, music, and cars! If you have questions about the event, see the event flyer (St. Matthew’s 2026 Car Show) or contact Rick Vare at frederickvare@gmail.com.
- Our ASP team will be heading to Avery County, North Carolina, the week of July 5-11. If you would like to join us, it’s not too late! For more information, contact Becky at beckyroper@stmatthews-bowie.
org. We have some spaces we need to fill and would love to share this experience with as many people as possible. - Bishop Easterling is inviting clergy and laity of the Baltimore-Washington and Peninsula-Delaware Area to join in a sacred pilgrimage, Journeys of Paul, in Greece from March 6-13, 2027. To learn more or to register, please see these links: Journeys of Paul in Greece Brochure, and/or Journeys of Paul in Greece Information and Registration.
Little Free Pantry Update
The current needs for the LFP are cereal, shelf-stable milk, mashed potatoes, and rice. Please put your donations in the bin in the coatroom or in bins by the narthex door. We appreciate all of your donations! (bethlingg,@comcast.net)
Bowie Food Pantry Update
At this time, the Pantry is most in need of soup, low-sodium soup, and toilet paper. Please leave donations in the shopping cart in the coatroom. Thank you!
To ensure that your item is included in the Midweek Messenger, please send it to enews@stmatthews-bowie.org by noon on Wednesday. Anything received after that may be held for the next week’s edition.