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Pastoral Council |
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The mission of the St Matthew Pastoral Council is to assist in realizing the mission statement of St Matthew Parish and to advance its spiritual growth. The Pastoral Council shall provide a forum for parish members in order to deepen their invovlement in the parish function and to uniify the activites of the parish. Acting as a consultative body to the Pastor, the Pastoral Council, with God’s grace, will facilitate the continued growth of St Matthew’s as a people of faith.
As it participates in the mission of Jesus, the St Matthew’s Parish accomplishes its work in an organized and systematic way through effective working groups or Commissions. Although the Commissions can be defined as the working arm of the Pastoral Council, they are also responsible for visioning and planning for a specific area. These commissions make recommendations to the council and implement the council’s policies. Every effort will be made for effective two-way communication between the Pastoral Council and its Commissions. There are five commissions which operate in our parish. They consist of Community Life, Faith Formation, Justice and Service, Liturgy, Sacraments, and Prayer, and Pastoral Care. The commission members are to be a prayerful group open to ongoing faith formation themselves. It is only through ongoing formation and study that a Commission can envision the possibilities for creating a vibrant parish. St Matthews Parish my wish to form additional Commissions at times, according to its needs, develop objectives and implement programs through their work.
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Vocations |
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PARISH VOCATION ENRICHMENT TEAM (PVET)
PRAYER FOR PRIESTS CALENDAR
The following Calendars for Priests and Future Priests has been compiled by St. Mathew's Parish Vocation Enrichment Team. Each active priest in our diocese has at least one day each year reserved for him -- please remember that priest in your prayers each day. (the calendars may be printed or saved to your computers - the calendars are in Adobe Acrobat format or "pdf" files). For more information about vocations, please visit www.spvocation.org.
2010: June | July | August | September | October
Prayers for Priests
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Centering Prayer |
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 Centering Prayer is a method of prayer to open one to the gift of Contemplation. It is not meant to replace other kinds of prayer, rather it casts a new light and depth of meaning on your usual methods of connecting with God. It is at the same time a relationship with God and a discipline to foster that relationthship, moving one beyond conversation with Christ to communion with Him. It teaches one to let go of distractions and just "be" in God's presence, beyond words and thoughts. The method of Centering Prayer is based on Matthew 6:6, "When you pray, go to your inner room and pray to your Father in secret. And, your Father who sees in secret, will repay you." For more information on Centering Prayer, visit the international website of Contemplative Outreach, an organization formed to support those in this ancient prayer method contemplativeoutreach.org. The local website for Centering Prayer is geocities.com/margerafftery
We at St. Matthew's are blessed to have had a Centering Prayer support group for many years. It meets every Wednesday evening at 7:00 until 8:30. Meetings include two twenty minute periods of Centering Prayer, a video tape by Fr. Thomas Keating, a Trappist monk, and discussion. All are welcome to come, however it is best to have some instruction in the prayer first. The contact person for these Wednesday evening meetings is Mary Sweeney and instruction would gladly be given before the meeting time.
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Society of St. Vincent DePaul |
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 Founded in 1833 by six university students in Paris under the patronage of St. Vincent de Paul, today the Society includes almost 900,000 members spread among 46,000 confraternities in 130 countries of five continents. The Society's purpose is to provide direct aid to those who suffer, and to help individuals reduce and even eliminate the causes of their suffering, themselves. Society members use their own resources, sharing not only possessions but the valuable gift of their presence.
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Women's Club |
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 We are a group of women who are practicing parishioners of St. Matthew Catholic Church. We are volunteers who gather in friendship to share our faith, enrich and support each other as Catholic Christian Women and to use our “gifts to help build up our Church”. (I Cor.14:12). Our members engage in organizing events which ultimately give back to our parish community. Some of our major events and fundraising activities include: Cruises, Veteran’s Day Dinners, and Chili-Fest to name a few. We are committed towards making our events fun and memorable. We meet the third Tuesday of the Month from August to May at 7:00 PM at St. Matthew’s Bethany Hall. Please feel free to browse our web page or call Carol Ann Rizzo at the Parish Office (727)398-6618.
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Knights of Columbus |
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 Our Knights of Columbus council is a fraternal benefit society chartered in December 1993. Membership is open to all practicing Catholic men in union with the Holy See, who shall not be less than 18 years of age on their last birthday. The Knights' purpose is to foster spiritual growth in the parish, encourage families and aid in charitable causes. We hold our business meetings at 7:00 P.M. on the first Monday of each month, located in a meeting room at St. Matthew's, at the rear of the church. Our meetings usually last 1 hour and a light supper will be provided to all attendees. All men who have a current First Degree or higher traveling card are welcome. During the year we will sponsor special social meetings in which all members are encouraged to bring their families for dinner. During these meetings usually a Guest speaker will address the membership. A notice will be printed in the Sunday church bulletin.
For information on becoming a member of the Knights of Columbus, Council # 11226, or to transfer a current membership from another Council, please contact Jack Rummenie, our current Grand Knight, or Robert Smith, our current Financial Secretary. Please leave your name and phone number with the parish office.
Newsletters - click on Newsletter to open
October 2009 Newsletter November 2009 Newsletter
December 2009 Newsletter January 2010 Newsletter
February 2010 Newsletter March 2010 Newsletter
April 2010 Newsletter May 2010 Newsletter
June 2010 Newsletter July 2010 Newsletter
August 2010 Newsletter September 2010 Newsletter
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