welcome
fellowship
As Christians we receive God’s gifts everyday and share the responsibility of imparting those gifts, extending ourselves and reaching out to the world, especially to those in need.
St. Matthew’s is devoted to its Outreach program, such that through good works we may discover the mutual and extraordinary benefits of this vital ministry.
out
“Just as God’s love is free, our gifts are, too. Freely you have received, freely give.”
active ministries |
|
supported agencies |
||
Outreach
Agency of the Month
The Domestic Violence
Crisis Center is committed to creating an environment in which all people in the community
are safe from the threat of violence. The agency serves victims of physical,
emotional or sexual abuse. Their goal is to prevent and brake the cycle of
violence through the following programs: 24 hour emergency safe-housing,
counseling, victim advocates and abuse prevention training. Services cover
Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Wilton and Weston. Volunteers, required
to undergo a 20 hour certification course, are always needed. This month
the agency is requesting general household cleaning supplies such as, bathroom and kitchen disinfecting sprays, paper towels, sponges, dish and dishwasher
detergents. Endust, Swifters, or any products you use to clean your home
are also welcomed. Please leave your donation in the Edwards Chest near the
front door in the Narthex.
As part of our commitment to Outreach, we continually seek to promote, organize and engage in hands-on ministry to capture and release our parish’s time and talents. Annual parish-wide hands-on Outreach events include the AmeriCares HomeFront home rehabilitation project, our Tag-less Sale, and the Thursday Lunch Club luncheon program for senior citizens. Additionally, a “beacon” agency is selected annually to receive hands-on assistance and/or a major charitable grant to accomplish a specific, immediate need.
St. Matthew's financially supports many social service agencies. These Supported Agencies are selected by evaluating: the prospect that our financial contribution may positively and significantly impact the agency’s operation; the opportunity that our charitable gifts may include hands-on ministry; the consideration of the presence, or otherwise, of a Wilton component; and the nature of the agency’s work to alleviate pain and hardship in ways that are Christian-based.
Food and material items are collected in The Edwards Chest throughout the year for many of our agencies, as well as for A Better Chance (ABC) of Wilton.
A meal for the Manna House of Hospitality, the soup kitchen associated with the Norwalk Emergency Shelter, is prepared every other month. Parishioners volunteer to donate ingredients and to cook the meal.
The Gift of Christmas Catalog is published annually as a joint project among St. Matthew’s, Wilton Presbyterian Church, and Wilton Congregational Church. Our Outreach effort is guided by a committee of parishioners responsible to our Parish leaders, the clergy, wardens and vestry. Service on the committee is open to all.
St. Matthew’s invites social service agencies to send their clients to our annual Tag-less Sale. Household and clothing items are donated by our parish community and offered freely to those in need. The event is held on the church grounds. The 2004 Tag-less Sale will be October 30. Watch for updates and volunteer opportunities.
A team of St. Matthew's parishioners works on different projects annually, seeking
to improve living conditions for needy families and nonprofit service organizations
located around Connecticut and Westchester County, NY. Each year, on the first
Saturday of May, more than 200 projects take place throughout the region. Our
project is typically located somewhere between Bridgeport and Ridgefield. Labor
is volunteered (including licensed professionals such as plumbers and electricians)
and most supplies (such as lumber, paint and nails) are donated by local home-improvement
retailers. In 2004, the St. Matthew’s repaired an elderly Westport resident’s
apartment unit.
The program is run by the global-relief agency, AmeriCares, headquartered in
New Canaan. “Neighbors helping neighbors” is the AmeriCares HomeFront motto.
See
more about AmeriCares HomeFront here.
Over 30 years ago, The Thursday Lunch Club was created by a few St. Matthew’s women wishing to express their caring. St. Matthew’s volunteers prepare seven luncheons a year for local senior residents, offered at a nominal cost of $3. While providing companionship and nutritious meals to our guests, the luncheons provide fun and fellowship for everyone involved. Volunteers for this simple, yet rewarding ministry are always welcome!
The Norwalk Emergency Shelter is a 95-bed shelter for homeless men, women and families, and is frequently full. Open 365 days a year, the shelter also operates on its premises the “Manna House of Hospitality”, a soup kitchen serving 3 meals each day, over 12,000 meals each month. In addition to providing housing and meals, the Norwalk Emergency Shelter assists its residents in searching for housing, jobs, counseling and treatment.
Located in the Narthex and crafted by our parishioner, Ian Edwards, the Edwards Chest stands ready to receive our gifts of food and other supplies requested by the agencies we support. The items requested change monthly; watch the Bulletin announcements or check Outreach Now for updates.
This community based program was founded in Wilton in 1994 to help highly motivated and talented minority students from economically and academically disadvantaged backgrounds attend Wilton High School. They are supervised by two resident directors and supported by the dedication of Wilton citizens.
To make the holidays brighter for those struggling within our reach, St. Matthews responds to requests from Wilton social services to provide Thanksgiving meal baskets and Christmas gifts for elderly and teen Wilton residents. Christmas gifts and holiday meals and food are collected for children served by the Carver Community Center. Gifts are collected for Children’s Connection’s Children’s Bank program for foster care children on the case roles of CT’s Department of Children and Families.
A collaborative Advent effort among St. Matthew’s, Wilton Presbyterian Church and Wilton Congregational Church, the Gift of Christmas Catalog offers opportunities to give charitable donations as gifts. The Catalog presents specific needs of local, national and international human and social service agencies. By purchasing items from the Catalog as Christmas gifts in honor of relatives, friends, and neighbors, the joy of Christmas is celebrated with the knowledge that the gift is appreciated both by the honored recipient and by the deserving agency. All proceeds are directed to the designated agencies.
Recipient of the Edwards Chest collections for September is Interfaith Housing Association (IHA). IHA provides emergency shelter for men, women, and single mothers who have become homeless in Wilton, Westport, and Wilton. The greatest needs are: Spaghetti sauce, macaroni & cheese, canned tuna, peanut butter, canned/bottled juice, & cleaning supplies: bleach, spray cleansers, sponges, etc.
Financial contributions are granted to 14 social service agencies, which operate primarily in lower-Fairfield County. Each financial grant approximates $2,500. The 2004 recipients include:
The Bishop's Fund has three components: that Episcopalians hold up in prayer children at risk in Connecticut; that Episcopalians in Connecticut become involved as volunteers in their local communities working on behalf of children at risk; and that Episcopalians contribute financially to the Bishop's Fund which in turn materially supports organizations and agencies in Connecticut – church and non-church – that provide direct services to children at risk.
Bread & Roses strives to improve the quality of life for those affected by HIV-associated illness. Through its family-style residential program in the Georgetown section of Wilton, Bread & Roses provides housing and access to medical care for those suffering with AIDS. Bread & Roses has a long waiting list and is always in need of sufficient funds to operate a high quality hospice for men and women suffering from AIDS. Based in Stamford, Bread & Roses serves 6,000 people each year throughout Fairfield County, as well as from the rest of Connecticut, New York, and beyond.
Children’s Connection serves annually more than 2,500 abused and neglected children in the greater-Norwalk area. Children’s Connection has developed a comprehensive program that serves immediate and long-term needs of abused children; provides community-wide education workshops for children, parents, and childcare workers on the signs of child abuse and its prevention; and assists foster care families. Children’s Connection is a program of the Mid-Fairfield Human Services Council, located in Norwalk.
Located in South Norwalk, Carver provides full community services including daycare, after-school, youth development, and educational programs; adult education activities; and senior citizen programs. Its services are aimed at poverty-level persons and families to combat illiteracy and unrealized human potential. More than 100 people benefit each day from the Carver Center. Mentors and tutors are always needed.
By providing professional counseling, education and support within an atmosphere of hope and renewal, the Center for Hope in Darien helps adults and children living with life-threatening illness or grieving the death of a loved one.
This agency serves victims of domestic, physical, emotional or sexual abuse. A 24-hour hotline is staffed by trained volunteers. Professional services include 24-hour emergency safe housing, counseling, victim advocates and abuse prevention training. Their services extend to the communities of Stamford, Darien, New Canaan, Norwalk, Westport, Wilton and Weston. Volunteers, required to undergo a 20-hour certification course, are always needed.
Elderhouse is a medical model adult daycare center in Norwalk, serving a five-town region that includes Wilton. Supervision, recreational activities, a hot meal lunch, medical monitoring and transportation to and from home are provided. This enables many elderly persons to continue to reside in their own homes. Participants pay for services according to their financial ability.
Based in Norwalk, Family ReEntry was founded in 1984 to empower individuals and strengthen families to reduce violence, crime, abuse and neglect. The organization provides rehabilitative counseling services and psycho-educational programs to offenders, ex-offenders, pre-trial defendants and their families.
IHA’s goal is to end chronic homelessness in Westport, Wilton and Weston. Programs with active case management services support homeless single mothers with children and single men and women. IHA also provides permanent housing for the formerly homeless mentally-ill, and transitional housing to prevent homelessness for recovering substance abusers. IHA has served two families and 5 single clients from Wilton in 2003-04.
Consistent with their motto: “Educate a Woman, Educate a Family”, the focus of this agency is to provide comprehensive basic skills training to women who are barely literate. Mercy Learning Center is located in Bridgeport and helps women gain such day-to-day skills as reading and writing English, writing checks, as well as obtain education from programs in computing, cooking, sewing, music and art.
This agency ministers to recovering substance abusers in South Norwalk and Bridgeport, conducting a residential therapeutic program with much greater success than other programs of its type. Pivot places heavy emphasis on replacing the abused substance with Christianity. As a result, the program is many times the turning point for the men it serves.
Nursing & Home Care is a non-profit visiting nurse agency serving Fairfield County. It provides home health care assistance, referral services, community health programs and volunteer training. The demand for services increases every year, and more than 80% of those services are provided to the elderly and their families.
This broad-based agency provides assistance to residents of Wilton who are in need for any reason. Run by the Town of Wilton, the Department of Social Services is responsible for senior and youth services, the Senior Center and a food pantry.