COMING SOON! We appreciate your patience while we finalize a few areas of our new website.
Pro-Life
The Pro-Life Committee provides various services to the parish and to the community as needed. Members respond to pending local, state or national Pro-Life legislation or other voting issues, support Birthright and other crisis pregnancy centers in the area, and provide the St. Matthew parishioners with the latest information, education and materials on Pro-Life issues and developments.
To support these activities the Pro-Life Committee uses various fund raising activities such as redemption of returnable bottles and cans, auctions and direct sales events.
In addition to Parish Council members, membership is open to any registered parishioner of St. Matthew who wishes to volunteer.
For more information please contact either Mary Hannon at (860) 875-7321 or Kathy Loftus at (860) 875-5433.
Justice and Peace
Please consider joining the Justice and Peace Committee. Below are a few of the things that we are doing in the Parish and in the community.
Covenant to Care program
We work with the Department of Child & Family Services to assist Social Workers with the needs of children. Some of our activities are:
- School supply collection and backpack assembly each Fall
- Christ Child gifts to need families at Christmas
- Valentine "socks for kids"
- Easter baskets
- Gift certificates for special need issues
- Requesting furniture donations from church members and coordinating drop off to clients in need
- "Placement backpacks" - books, toothbrush and t-shirts
Annual public education program
We have had programs about readjustment issues for veterans, immigration, domestic violence, death penalty and the commonalities between the Catholic and Lutheran faiths.
Fundraising dinners
Soup and bread supper during Lent to raise funds for Cornerstone Shelter, KidSafe, Shoes for Bosnia, "Books for Kids" summer reading program.
The Justice and Peace Committee has 1-hour meetings from August through May.
For more information please contact Carol Freedman at (860) 872-9212.
Bereavement
COMING SOON! We appreciate your patience while we finalize a few areas of our new website.
Consolation
At the time of a loved one's death, the surviving family has many decisions to make and plans to formulate. The Ministry of Consolation offers to assist the family at this difficult time with the offer to host a reception in the parish hall following the funeral. This allows the family an opportunity to receive and acknowledge those who attended the services. The Ministry of Consolation handles all the details from providing the food to serving the meal to cleaning up afterwards.
This ministry is a further extension of the concern and caring found here at the Saint Matthew Parish for community and family.
The Ministry consists of a dedicated group of men and women who donate their time and talent to help ease some of the stress when funeral arrangements are being made.
If you have some free time during any given day or if you would like to cook a special dish for the buffet or provide the condiments that round out this very special ministry please feel free to volunteer to help us.
For more information, please contact Kathy Mancini at (860) 875-3916.
Sick and Homebound
The Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for the Sick are most anxious to help anyone who cannot celebrate Mass due to illness, handicap or age. Homebound parishioners are encouraged to contact the parish office is they wish to receive the Eucharist. Parishioners should also notify the parish office or rectory of hospitalizations so the ministers can be of assistance.
For information about joining the Ministry to the Sick and Homebound, please contact any of the currently serving members found below:
Chris Blanchard (860) 875-0100
Jean Canal (860) 875-2276
Billie Dowgiewicz (860) 871-0260
John Dwyer (860) 871-7994
Ron & Carol Freedman (860) 872-9212
Mary Ann Thomas (860) 872-2176
Cornerstone Soup Kitchen
St. Matthew Church, along with numerous area churches and civic organizations, volunteer to staff this Rockville-based organization. The Cornerstone Foundation is a nonprofit multifaceted ecumenical outreach that serves the needy in many ways and is located at 15 Prospect Street.
St. Matthew Church volunteers to staff specific evening meals at the Soup Kitchen by helping prepare and do basic cleaning after serving a simple cafeteria-style meal. The Cornerstone Soup Kitchen provides a safe and non-threatening atmosphere where one can serve, listen, be listened to, affirm, and be affirmed.
This activity is a tangible means to help those in need on a face-to-face basis. It can be a rewarding experience leading to personal growth and living an even more meaningful and fulfilled Catholic-Christian life. It is in giving that we receive and this is a particularly poignant means to do so.
Some frequently asked questions are:
QUESTION: What about my 9 to 5 job? ANSWER: Many employers are glad to support outreach programs by allowing flexible hours for limited volunteer work. An optional solution to this problem might be to skip the preparation and serving part of the session and help with the cleanup which usually begins at 5:15 PM or so.
QUESTION: What about my children? ANSWER: Children are able to help, too! Children who are not yet comfortable helping or are too young can sit within your line of sight while they either eat the meal also, color, do homework, etc.
QUESTION: What about my family's dinner? ANSWER: What a great experience for the entire family. You are welcome and encouraged to eat with the guests or after serving the meal.
QUESTION: Is Cornerstone Soup Kitchen clean and safe? ANSWER: If your knowledge or impressions of soup kitchens come from either the news or movies, they can be pretty dramatic places but are not like Cornerstone. Large city soup kitchens are typically located in sections of the city that are more dangerous, are large in size and service many guests. Cornerstone is a clean facility in a relatively well-lit area of Rockville, a small town in Connecticut. If you are not totally sure of walking back to your car, you are encouraged to informally request an escort to be on the safe side.
QUESTION: I would like to give it a try but it sounds a bit daunting. Can I try it out or do I have to commit to a long term of service? ANSWER: It is really not as difficult as it may seem. Other volunteers who will be helping on that day help you identify what needs to get done and how to do it. Long term commitments are not required. Try it once and make your decision about whether to continue afterwards. Many find the experience very rewarding and may even decide to go more often. If you have read this far, perhaps the Lord is inviting you to give it a try.
We hope you will join us!
Meetings
Adult and family groups help serve from approximately 4:30 PM to 6:00 PM on the second Friday of each month at Cornerstone Soup Kitchen. Consult the bulletin, the Parish Calendar or call the Youth Outreach Coordinator to learn more about opportunities for youth involvement. One may help once monthly or as often as your schedule permits.
From Tolland, take either Route 31 or Route 74 to where they intersect one another at a traffic light in Rockville.
Prospect Street is approximately 0.1 miles from that light. It is the first right turn. #15 Prospect Street is a two-story building on the left.
The Cornerstone Soup Kitchen
15
Prospect Street
Rockville, CT 06066
(860) 871-1823
Nursing Home Visitation
The people involved with this ministry share the precious gift of companionship. This ministry gives time and love to people who may otherwise not receive it. This is a very rewarding ministry as well as a very necessary one.
Please contact the Parish Office by e-mail or call (860) 872-0200.
Knights of Columbus, Council 6626
This fraternal organization is not actually affiliated with Saint Matthew Church but is made up primarily of parish members for the welfare of our community. Our council is not a high pressure group and all offers of help are welcome. Some services we provide include: help to widows and orphans, food for families in need, money from the "Tootsie Roll" sale to help the mentally handicapped persons in Tolland, scholarship assistance, and many other helping-hand type jobs as the need is pointed out to them.
Other fund raising activities include: French Toast Breakfast, Easter Flower sales (benefits the Tri-Town pantries), and the New Years Eve Dinner Dance (benefits the Saint Matthew / Edmund Perkins Scholarship Fund).
New members are always welcome.
Meetings are held on the first and third Wednesdays of each month at 7 P.M. in the Parish Hall except during the months of July and August. Check the Sunday bulletins for more specific information.
For more information concerning the Knights of Columbus in general, use this link to connect with their web site: www.KofC.org.
For more information concerning Council 6626, please contact a current member or John Stetz at 860-875-8327.
Good Neighbors
The Good Neighbors Ministry provides meals to help those parishioners and their families that may need support at home in the event of an illness or surgery. We have a number of cooks willing to provide meals on occasion. A schedule is coordinated so that meals are dropped off based on the specific needs of a family or individual as recovery occurs. Sometimes for just for a few days, or for several weeks if needed. Many families are happy to contribute their time and favorite recipes to aid in the recovery of temporarily disabled parishioners or to make life easier for those at home caring for them.
To learn more about the ministry, or if you know someone who can use our help or would like to cook on occasion, contact Rita Zangari who coordinates the mission. You can reach Rita by calling the Parish Office at 860-872-0200 and talking with Diane Kolpinski, the Parish Office Manager.
Support/Outreach Ministries
The Pro-Life Committee provides various services to the parish and to the community as needed. Members respond to pending local, state or national Pro-Life legislation or other voting issues, support Birthright and other crisis pregnancy centers in the area, and provide the St. Matthew parishioners with the latest information, education and materials on Pro-Life issues and developments.
At the time of a loved one's death, the surviving family has many decisions to make and plans to formulate. The Ministry of Consolation offers to assist the family at this difficult time with the offer to host a reception in the parish hall following the funeral. This allows the family an opportunity to receive and acknowledge those who attended the services. The Ministry of Consolation handles all the details from providing the food to serving the meal to cleaning up afterwards.
The Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion for the Sick are most anxious to help anyone who cannot celebrate Mass due to illness, handicap or age. Homebound parishioners are encouraged to contact the parish office is they wish to receive the Eucharist. Parishioners should also notify the parish office or rectory of hospitalizations so the ministers can be of assistance.
St. Matthew Church, along with numerous area churches and civic organizations, volunteer to staff this Rockville-based organization. The Cornerstone Foundation is a nonprofit multifaceted ecumenical outreach that serves the needy in many ways and is located at 15 Prospect Street.
This fraternal organization is not actually affiliated with Saint Matthew Church but is made up primarily of parish members for the welfare of our community. Our council is not a high pressure group and all offers of help are welcome. Some services we provide include: help to widows and orphans, food for families in need, money from the "Tootsie Roll" sale to help the mentally handicapped persons in Tolland, scholarship assistance, and many other helping-hand type jobs as the need is pointed out to them.