Thank You to St. Matthew’s
from the Mission, Outreach, and Advocacy Team (MOA)
In 2018, you, the generous people of St. Matthew’s, contributed just under $30,000 to 22 worthwhile causes. Your contributions, (mostly through fuel jars, the Festival of Sharing, and offerings from the Immigration Breakfasts and Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas), supported:
- A Friend in Need
- Acton Community Supper
- Belinda Forbes (our Nicaragua dental missionary)
- Boston Homeless Kids
- Boston Share Network
- Bread for the World
- Concord Prison Outreach
- English at Large
- Habitat for Humanity
- Hagar’s Sisters
- Heifer International
- Household Goods
- International Institute of New England
- Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburg (through The Lord’s Prayer Experience)
- Justice for Our Neighbors
- Kayla Vaccaro’s Acton Community Supper Hydroponic Greenhouse Project
- Mass Jobs with Justice
- Massmouth (the Suitcase Stories)
- Red Bird Mission
- SERRV
- Slum Child Foundation (Kenya)
- UMCOR
In addition, you contributed about $3400 to six special offerings (Human Relations Sunday, One Great Hour of Sharing, Native American Sunday, Peace with Justice Sunday, UM Student Sunday, and Worldwide Communion Sunday), and we paid Mission Shares to the conference totaling over $56,000.
Of course, money is not the only way we all helped. There are countless hours that not just MOA but all the teams and individuals in St. Matthew’s contributed to make sure we were doing our part to help people in need in our community and the wider world. A few of the many projects in 2018 included these:
- We held our Festival of Sharing.
- We participated in a clothing drive to support Open Table Community dinner and food pantry.
- The immigration study group held several “immigration Learning Breakfasts” and supported advocacy for the immigrants.
- Church members and friends worked at Rebuilding Together Worcester and the Acton Habitat for Humanity rehab project.
- We continued First Sunday is Food Sunday, our monthly delivery of groceries to three local food pantries; we thank those who have contributed food items, helped sort, and delivered each month.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! Please talk to any member of MOA if you have comments or questions, or if you’d like to consider joining this active and vital team.
- Wayne LaSante, Chair of St. Matthew’s Mission, Outreach, and Advocacy Team (MOA). Other members of our dedicated team in 2018 included Betsy Comstock, Ann Drumm, Amy Mikkola, Lynne Osborn, Peggy Papanastassiou, Clelia Solis, Sara Wagg, and Dot Werst.