News Archive

• Archpastoral Visit: on March 7, 2012, His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah will celebrate the Liturgy of Presanctified Gifts with us. Please join us for this archpastoral visit during Great Lent. (posted 2/05/12.)

• Lenten Retreat: Please join us for the 2012 Lenten Retreat with Fr. Maximus Urbanowitz, founder of Gospel to All Nations to be held on Saturday, March 10, 2012. GTAN is an Orthodox evangelistic organization working to fulfill the Great Commission by taking the Good News of Jesus Christ and His Church to all the nations of the world. One hundred percent of net proceeds from the retreat will be donated to support this life saving ministry. Save the date for now, details will follow. (posted 2/05/12.)

• On Thursday, January 5, the Eve of Theophany, at 7:00pm, there will be a Vesperal Divine Liturgy followed by the Blessing of Water. Bring a bottle or a jar for the holy water. (posted 12/29/11.)

• Christmas Services

  	Sat, December 24	6:30pm	Great Vespers with annointing
  	Sun, December 25	9:30am	Divine Liturgy

  (posted 12/01/11.)

• Christmas Bazaar and Salmon Dinner: Please join us on Saturday, December 10th from 11AM – 8PM for our annual Christmas Bazaar and Salmon Dinner. (See flier.) There will be vendors, revelry, Christmas carolers and pictures with Santa and his lovely wife, Mrs. Claus. On the night of the Christmas Bazaar, there will be a Salmon Dinner from 4pm – 8pm. The menu includes: poached salmon, salad and scalloped potatoes. Mulled wine and spiced apple cider will warm the spirits. Price: adults $15, kids 6–12 years $8, and kids 5 & under are free. (posted 11/13/11.)

• UPDATED: 2012 Cookie Exchange: Come one, come all to our 2012 cookie exchange on Friday, December 9 at 7pm Thursday, December 8 at 7pm at St. Matthew to benefit the Christmas Bazaar. Please join us for fellowship, cookie sampling, and fun while we prepare cookie boxes for the Christmas Bazaar. Please RSVP the cookie or candy you will be making to Kristi Sturm. We ask that you make three dozen cookies for the exchange. (posted 11/13/11.)

• Sunday School Christmas Flower Project: Help decorate the sanctuary for Christmas with 6" Poinsettias. You may order flowers 'for the Health of' or 'in Memory of' a loved one through the Sunday School Flower Project. Flowers may be taken home following the Divine Liturgy for the Nativity or left to beautify the church — the choice is yours. The deadline for orders is Sunday, November 20, 2011 and checks should be made payable to The Orthodox Church of St. Matthew, noting "Poinsettias" in the memo.

  Proceeds from the sale of the flowers ($11 each) will allow the students to purchase needed Liturgical and Sunday School items. Please give completed order forms and payment to Andrea Misner, Cooper Pappas or Kristi Sturm. (posted 11/14/11.)

• Holiday Slavic Roll Sale: the deadline to order Slavic walnut, poppy seed or apricot rolls is Sunday, November 20, 2011. Small rolls are $6 and large are $10. Proceeds from the sale go to the building fund. Please return all order forms to Kristi Sturm. (posted 11/13/11.)

• Sarmale Sale: the deadline to order a tray of delicious pickled cabbage with meat, rice and sauerkraut in tomato sauce is Sunday, November 20, 2011. Order twelve sarmale per tray for $12. Proceeds from the sale will go to the building fund. Please return all order forms to Kristi Sturm. (posted 11/13/11.)

• The Annual Meeting of our parish family will be held on Sunday, November 6th at 12 pm, following Liturgy and coffee hour. The annual meetings of our parish community offer us an opportunity to review what has happened during the past year as well as to discuss and provide for the future life of our community. Let's meet on November 6th so that together we will continue to grow and mature in faith and love. (posted 10/16/11.)

• Please join us for our Fourth Annual Multi-Cultural Festival: Saturday, October 1, 11am – 9pm and Sunday, October 2, 12:00pm – 6pm. Go to the festival site for all things festival. (posted 9/23/11.)

• Here's an article in the Columbia Flier about our very own iconographer Wayne Hajos. (posted 9/23/11.)

• Updated parish history. (posted 9/23/11.)

• The 2011 St. Matthew Directory is being compiled! This new directory will feature photos for each family. If you wish to be included in the directory, please obtain a form from the welcoming booth inside the church, or download one here. If you submit a hard copy of a photo along with your form, it will be returned to you. If you do not have a current family photograph, Phoebe Sheppard is available most Sundays after church to take one for you. The forms and photos may be returned to any member of the stewardship committee, placed in the collection plates, or emailed to directory@stmatthewoca.org. (posted 8/17/11.)

• Columbia International Day has been cancelled due to the extreme heat forecasted. (See CA announcement.) Only the evening entertainment will still be held starting at 6 p.m. (posted 7/21/11.)

• We will have a food booth at the Columbia International Day on Saturday, July 23rd. Come see us. (posted 7/18/11.)

• Reminder: Saturday, June 11th is Soul Saturday and the eve of Pentecost. There will be Divine Liturgy at 10am and Great Vespers with Litya & Anointing at 5pm. (posted 6/10/11.)

• Church maintenance, organization & cleaning day: Please join your fellow parishioners on Saturday, June 25th, 2011 beginning at 10am to help with church maintenance, organization and cleaning. This is a great opportunity to spend a day working side-by-side with your brothers & sisters in Christ to help keep our church well maintained, organized and clean. There is a lot to be done and more information will be available in the coming weeks. (posted 6/05/11.)

• A special thank you to all those who helped make our Yard Sale, Bake Sale & Car Wash on Saturday so successful. Through their hard work and many donations from all of you, we were able to raise over $3,500. It was a wonderful day and helped our parish shine in our local community. God bless you all. (posted 6/05/11.)

• (Updated) Join us for our annual picnic at High Ridge Park in Laurel at 2pm on Sunday, June 5th after Liturgy.

  The picnic offers an excellent opportunity for fellowship and to recognize our graduates. We have use of the pavilion until dusk and High Ridge Park has a large playground, with tennis courts, and a basketball court. If you enjoy tennis or basketball, bring your equipment with you. There is also a field that can be used to set up a volleyball court or to have a soccer game, and there is a paved area for bicycles and scooters. (posted 5/29/11.)

• Services for the Great Feast of the Ascension:
  • Vespers on Wednesday, June 1, 7:00pm.
  • Divine Liturgy on Thursday, June 2, 10:00am.
  (posted 5/22/11.)

• Fuddruckers in Columbia will donate a portion of the sales to St Matthew for each person who brings this flier or says they are "here for Benefit Night" on Tuesday, May 24th, 4pm to 9pm. Fuddruckers is located at 6486 Dobbin Way, Columbia, MD 21045. (posted 5/22/11.)

• A Parish Information Meeting will be held on Sunday, May 22nd immediately following Divine Liturgy and prior to coffee hour. The parish council will present an update to the Parish Financial Plan. (posted 4/27/11.)

• The Annual Parish Yard Sale, Bake Sale & Car Wash will take place on Saturday, June 4th in our church parking lot. All proceeds support our building fund. (posted 5/14/11.)

• On Bright Saturday, April 30th, there will be a Paschal Divine Liturgy at 10:00am. Vespers will be at 5:00 pm, as usual. (posted 4/27/11.)

• Everyone is encouraged to attend Paschal Vespers at St Nicholas Cathedral, 3500 Massachusetts Ave NW, Washington, DC (directions). This diocesan event will take place Sunday, April 24th at 12 noon. (posted 4/22/11.)

• Clarification: there is not a Divine Liturgy service on Sunday morning April 24th (Pascha) at 9:30am. That was a repeating event on the calendar. (posted 4/22/11.)

• Lazarus Saturday: Please join us on Lazarus Saturday, April 16.

  Liturgy will be at 10am followed by a church school sponsored breakfast. After breakfast, the church school children will be folding palms into crosses for the Palm Sunday Liturgy and dyeing eggs. Anyone interested in helping with either of these activities is encouraged to join in. You only need to bring your enthusiasm and willingness to help --- everything else will be provided.

  Father Constantine will also be available to hear confessions for those church school children and their families that are unable to make the Friday evening vespers. (posted 4/10/11.)

• Lazarus Saturday Vespers will be celebrated on Friday, April 15 at 7pm. Following Vespers, Father Constantine will hear confessions of the church school students and their families. To prepare the younger students in Grades 2-5, Father Constantine will spend time becoming better acquainted with the students, speaking about the Mystery of Confession and answering any questions during church school on Sunday, April 10. (posted 4/10/11.)

• Deacon Nicholas Denysenko recently was appointed as the new Director of the Huffington Ecumenical Institute at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, CA. Read more here. (posted 4/03/11.)

• Here is a video of Father Maximus talking about his recent trip to Kenya. Fr. Maximus celebrated liturgy with us a few times in recent months. (posted 4/03/11.)

• Great Feast of the Annunciation Vesperal Liturgy will be held Friday, March 25th at 7pm. (posted 3/24/11.)

• The Liturgy of the Presanctified Gifts is celebrated on Wednesday evenings at 7pm during Great Lent. (posted 3/24/11.)

• Work on the Icon of the Theophany (Baptism of Our Lord Jesus Christ) will begin this spring. If you would like to donate to the project, please make checks payable to The Orthodox Church of St Matthew and write "Icon Project" in the memo section. (posted 3/24/11.)

• Holy Week Services:

  Wed, April 20	7:00pm	Holy Unction
  Thu, April 21	10:00am	Divine Liturgy
  	7:00pm	Passion Gospels
  Fri, April 22	2:00pm	Vespers of Holy Friday
  	7:00pm	Lamentations
  Sat, April 23	10:00am	Divine Liturgy
  	11:00pm	Paschal Service

  (posted 3/02/11.)

• Lenten Services:

  Wed, March 9	7:00pm	Presanctified Liturgy
  Wed, March 16	7:00pm	Presanctified Liturgy
  Wed, March 23	7:00pm	Presanctified Liturgy
  Wed, March 30	7:00pm	Presanctified Liturgy
  Wed, April 6	7:00pm	Presanctified Liturgy
  Wed, April 13	7:00pm	Presanctified Liturgy
  Fri, April 15	7:00pm	Vespers for Lazarus Saturday
  Sat, April 16	10:00am	Divine Liturgy for Lazarus Saturday
  	5:00pm	Vespers for Palm Sunday with the blessing of the Palms

  (posted 3/02/11.)

• Change in Schedule: Saturday Vespers will be held at 5pm instead of 6pm. (posted 3/02/11.)

• Fr. Gregory is on his way back to Wisconsin. Liturgy on Tuesday (2/15), Vespers on Wednesday (2/16) and Vespers on Saturday (2/19) are canceled.

  Fr. Maximus Urbanowicz (St. Nicholas Cathedral, Washington DC) will be with us for Liturgy on Sunday (2/20). (posted 2/15/11.)

• His Beatitude Metropolitan Jonah will visit our parish for Great Vespers, Saturday January 29th at 6pm. (posted 1/23/11.)

• Liturgy on Tuesday 1/25 and Vespers on Wednesday 1/26 are canceled. Fr. Gregory will be back in Wisconsin until Thursday 1/27. (posted 1/23/11.)

• Monthly Council of Stewards Meeting: The next Parish Council of Stewards meeting will be Wednesday, January 12, 2011 at 7pm on the lower level of the church. All are encouraged to attend and actively participate. If you have any questions, please ask one of the council members. (posted 1/02/11.)

• Installation of the 2011 Parish Council of Stewards will take place at the end of Liturgy on Sunday, January 9th. The members of the 2011 Council are: John Zahor, Chair; Matthew Mancuso, Vice-Chair; Tom Lentscher, Treasurer; Cooper Pappas, Secretary; Jim Dramby, Andrea Misner, Kristi Sturm and Dale Steinacker, Members-at-Large. We extend our heartfelt thanks and gratitude for the service Wayne Hajos and Selma Hajos has given to our parish family during the past four years. Many Years! (posted 1/02/11.)

• January Weekday Services

  	Wednesday 1/5	Holy Theophany
  		7:00am	Royal Hours
  		7:00pm	Vesperal Liturgy & Blessing of Water
  	Tuesday 1/11	9:30am	Divine Liturgy
  	Wednesday 1/12	6:30pm	Vespers
  	Tuesday 1/18	9:30am	Divine Liturgy
  	Wednesday 1/19	6:30pm	Vespers
  	Tuesday 1/25	9:30am	Divine Liturgy canceled
  	Wednesday 1/26	6:30pm	Vespers canceled

  (posted 1/01/11.)