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Our Total Missions and Outreach budget for 2008 is just over 13% of St. Matthew’s operating budget. During the season of Lent, Heifer International was in full swing at St. Matthew’s. Each year this project raises funds to empower communities throughout the world by providing food, nutrition, income and education for families. Last year, Heifer International generated a total $22,196.03. The Alternative Gifts Market is a project held during the Advent season that allows us to share Christ’s love by contributing to a needy world. In 2007, AGM raised approximately $2500 for local and international charities. Both ministries align with St. Matthew’s commitment to the Millennium Development Goals. 2008 Outreach in Action: St. Matthew's, through the leadership of the Outreach Commission, is currently supporting many active ministries. The Commission regularly informs the parish about the ministries, the people involved and the way in which St. Matthew’s supports the organization. Habitat for Humanity is a project that St. Matthew’s has helped for many years. The Outreach Commission has allocated $6,000 for the 2008 Episcopal build. El Buen Samaritano is another great effort supported by so many loving people at St. Matthew’s. In addition to the many hours devoted to El Buen, the Outreach Commission has committed to contributing $2,000 for 2008 to this worthwhile organization. The fall EBS Turkey Basket Drive is another way that the Day School, Youth and general congregation help support the folks at El Buen. The Outreach Commission has budgeted $250 for this effort. St. Matthew’s has supported and continues to support disadvantaged individuals and children with their educational needs. Your financial gifts have allowed educational institutions like St. James’ Episcopal School to provide scholarships for needy children, as they expand their facilities to increase the number of children served and increase their enrollment. In 2008, the Outreach Commission approved $2,500 for this ministry. In addition, $400 was budgeted to the St. Matthew’s Day School to support our St. Matthew’s Angels. The Day School actively supports many Outreach Ministries including the Caritas Food Drive, the El Buen Samaritano Turkey Basket Project and the Keep Austin Housed blanket and coat drive. The Interfaith Hospitality Network is one of the ministries that has been in place for several years, providing shelter, meals, guidance and hope to the homeless. IHN is part of the Foundation for the Homeless, which will receive $2,400 from St. Matthew’s this year. We also open our doors to provide food, and a place to stay at various times during the year. It takes many volunteers to make this endeavor possible. St. Matthew’s shares Christ’s love by providing financial and volunteer support to programs that include shelter and services to those in need. Casa Marianella offers food, clothing, English classes and a safe, temporary homelike environment for refugees and immigrants who are primarily from South American countries. The clients at Casa Marianella aim for self-sufficiency. This agency will receive $3,200 from the Outreach budget. Thanks to the dedicated volunteers who organize monthly meals and provide much needed support. Safeplace is another program that also provides a safe, temporary haven and a compassionate continuum of services for victims of rape, sexual abuse and domestic violence. Safeplace will receive $3,000 this year from the Outreach budget. The Samaritan Center for Counseling and Pastoral Care is a faith-based counseling organization that serves families and individuals in need. No one is turned away because of inability to pay. The Outreach Commission allocated $1,000 in 2008 to this much needed service in the Austin community. Care for the Caregiver is a St. Matthew’s ministry that bridges both a pastoral and outreach need. More than a support group, CFTC provides information and resources for individuals who find themselves in a caregiver role. The Outreach Commission supported this ministry with $1,000 for 2008. In 2006 and 2007, the Outreach Commission provided a helping hand to our brothers and sisters trying to recover from the effects of Hurricane Katrina. In 2008, $500 was budgeted for this important rebuilding work in New Orleans. Hope House is one of the newest ministries at St. Matthew’s. Hope House is an organized, residential facility serving individuals with mental and physical disabilities. Volunteers visit these clients throughout the year and a financial contribution $1,200 is pledged for 2008. Not to be confused with Hope House, another new ministry supported by the St. Matthew’s Outreach Commission is Children’s Hope Chest (CHC) with a gift of $500 in 2008. Through CHC, St. Matthew's members have the opportunity to sponsor an older, orphaned or abandoned child living in the Makarye Orphanage in Kirov, Russia. A sponsorship fee will help meet the medical, physical, educational, emotional, and spiritual needs of a child who has been emotionally scarred by the loss of his/her parents. In 2007 St. Matthew’s donated 2,334 pounds of groceries to the Caritas Food Drive. Our food donations helped stock the Caritas of Austin food pantry and soup kitchen. Caritas is an organization that serves needy families in our community. Of the 37 faith-based and community organizations who participated, St. Matthew’s contributed the highest number of pounds! . Besides food in Austin for Caritas, St. Matthew’s Outreach Commission has also budgeted $3,000 to the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas for 2008. Their mission is to nourish hungry people and lead the community in ending hunger. In its 26th year of service, the Capital Area Food Bank of Texas (CAFB) currently provides food and grocery products to 370 Partner Agencies in 21 Central Texas counties, including 144 Partner Agencies in Travis County. In 2006, CAFB distributed more than 16 million pounds of food. The CAFB service area covers 19,064 square miles in Central Texas. Many of St. Matthew’s parishioners are actively involved in prison ministries. Kairos has a large and dedicated group of volunteers who bring the love of Jesus Christ to the men and women in prison. Outreach has budgeted $2,000 to support Kairos in 2008. In 2006 the Women’s Storybook Project was added to the active ministries list. The Women’s Storybook Project strives to strengthen the bond between incarcerated mothers and their children by audio taping the mothers reading books to their children. The books and tapes are sent to the children. This ministry was budgeted $1,000 for 2008. Another newly added ministry that supports children/youth is a project of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew to provide camp scholarships. The Outreach Commission budgeted $425 for this effort. The Honduras International ministry which has been supported by St. Matthew’s for many years was budgeted $1,000. The Honduras mission supports the efforts of the Episcopal Church of Honduras, in providing secondary education to the children of the Deanery of El Paraiso, a remote area in the Southwest of the country. In addition to its active ministries, the Outreach Commission has allocated monies or goods from either the 2007 or 2008 Outreach budgets to offer a helping hand to the following: Triumphant Love Lutheran Church’s Fresh Water Well Project, the Diocese of Municaland (Zimbabwe), Religious Coalition for the Homeless, Keep Austin Housed, the General Seminary, Seminary of the Southwest and ETSS. The Building on Our Sure Foundation Capital Campaign will additionally provide capital outreach monies over a three year period to the following: Interfaith Hospitality Network, SafePlace, St. James’ Episcopal School, Casa Marinella, Samaritan Counseling Center and Down Home Ranch. The Outreach Commission gratefully appreciates the time and effort St. Matthew’s members devote to these and many other ministries. | |
| Mission & Evangelism Mission trips for the youth and adult members of our parish are regular activities on an annual basis. A new church was founded with the direct help from our members. The Seminary of the Southwest is a recipient of our financial support. We offer moral and spiritual support to our St. Matthew’s Day School. |
Good Faith Fund At St. Matthew’s we take the first Sunday loose offering from the alms plate for those who appeal to our church for special needs. Most recipients are not members of our congregation and must go through an application process which is reviewed by the Good Faith Fund Committee. We help with such things as utility bills, rent payments, car payments, etc., helping individuals and families get on their feet in hard times. |
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Services and Ministries Conferences Bible Studies Newcomers Trained Lay Counselors Lay Eucharistic Visitors Member Needs Nursing Home Visitors |
Outreach In Action: Sharing Christ's Love Alternative Gifts Market (special focus during Advent) Angel Tree Caritas Casa Marianella Capital Area Food Bank Care for the Caregiver Children's Hope Chest Diocese of Municaland (Zimbabwe) El Buen Samaritano Foundation for the Homeless - IHN Interfaith Hospitality Network General Seminary and ETSS support Habitat for Humanity Heifer Project (special focus during Lent) Honduras International Mission Hope House Hurricane Katrina/Rita relief KAIROS Prison Ministry Religious Coalition for the Homeless SafePlace Samaritan Counseling Center St. Matthew's Day School St. James School Women's Story Book Project |
"What good is it, my brothers and
sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save
you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you
says to them, "Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill," and yet you do
not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by
itself, if it has no works, is dead." James 2:14-26 
At St. Matthew's our
outreach activities are coordinated by the Outreach Commission. The Outreach Commission is responsible for
the following activities:
Corporately our outreach budget for the year 2007 is a little over 14% of our total budget.
Individually we have many representatives who give of
their time and talents outside our own church community to such organizations as
Habitat for Humanities, Safeplace, Kairos Prison Ministries, El Buen Samaritano, and
Austin Area Interreligious Ministry, to name a few.
