There are a lot of great events, multiple job postings and more, all around our Diocese. Click the link below to visit the Around the Diocese page on our website to check it out!

Click here! 

None of us need to be reminded what an unpredictable and unprecedented year 2020 has been. Last February, on the first Sunday of Lent, our parish responded with the great generosity for which St. Matthew has always been known. Our parish made e the largest pledge in our history to this year’s DSA. No one could have predicted the turmoil and heartache this pandemic would subsequently bring, and yet, your generosity continues! This year’s Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive has raised nearly $250,000 to help our family in Haiti and Jamaica. However, the needs of our neighbors in Western NC continue. Catholic Charities offers remarkable help to families in need.  Your support of this year’s DSA is still vital.

Our St. Matthew gifts to date include:

Payments                            ​​​$ 654,832

Remaining pledges           ​​​$ 176,145

Total payments and remaining pledges​​$ 830,977

​2020 DSA goal​​​​​$ 852,481

Shortfall in payments to goal                                  ($197,649)

We recognize that many of you who made pledges in February may be facing much different financial realities today. We understand. For those who are able, we would be most grateful for your support today, either in fulfilling your remaining pledges, or in making an additional gift to help those who may need a leg up during these difficult days. You may give online at the link below, or by dropping a check in the mail (marked DSA) to St. Matthew Catholic Church, PO Box 49349, Charlotte, NC 28277. Thank you for your continued generosity!

To donate to the Diocesan Support Appeal, click here.

To donate to the Priests’ Retirement Fund, click here.

Christine Delaney is proud to have served in the Counseling Center for the past nine years. She is grateful for the confidence that the priests and staff have placed in her by naming her acting department head of the Counseling Center. Our licensed clinicians offer a wide range of services to our parish and community in a peaceful and faith-filled atmosphere of strict confidentiality. If you or someone you know or love would like to speak with one of our counselors, please call Christine Delaney at 704-543-7677 x1069. We are honored by the confidence of our parish has placed in us, especially during these challenging times. We offer services to the parishioners of St. Matthew at a very favorable sliding scale cost.

Our Food Pantry is currently in need of canned pasta, peanut butter, jelly, pancake mix, sugar, boxed hamburger meals, boxed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, cereal, salad dressing, garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, broth and soups of all kinds, cookies and crackers. Please bring all donations to the storage area below the Daily Mass Chapel Monday through Friday by 2 pm.

The Monsignor McSweeney World Hunger Drive is kicking off. To learn how the drive is adjusting to meet the demands of the current Covid-19 restrictions and how you and your family can help this very important cause, click here to visit the  World Hunger Drive page of our website.

We are one human family, moved by the Spirit. St. Matthew parishioners have already helped to contribute $250,000 for local families in need, now, let’s take care of our family in Haiti.

Thank you for your gift of love to help the poorest of the poor.

A letter from our priests Dear St. Matthew Family, The brutal death of George Floyd and other African Americans in police custody has again brought national attention to the issue of racial injustice in our country. We, the priests of St. Matthew Catholic Church, stand in full solidarity with the recent statements of Pope Francis, Archbishop José Gomez, and the chairmen of the US bishops committees condemning these actions and calling on all Catholics to respond to the issue of racism in our time. Racism is a sin against the truth that we are all created in the image of God, equal in dignity as part of one human family (Gen 1:27). Racism is a sin against the truth that we are united in Christ, such that in the Church “there is neither Jew nor Greek… for you are all one in Christ” (Gal 3:28). Racism is a sin against the truth that we are all called to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, a place for “every nation… all tribes and peoples and tongues” (Rev 7:9). Racism is a sin against the truth that God has given human beings differences of race and culture in order to enrich society and the Church by the diversity of the human family. Racism is a sin against justice and charity because it is a failure to recognize the human dignity of our brothers and sisters. As St. John teaches us, “he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20); indeed, “anyone who hates his brother is a murderer” (1 John 3:15). As the US bishops reminded us in their 2018 pastoral letter, Open Wide Our Hearts, racism is a sin that can take different forms. It can be a personal sin arising from an attitude of the heart, leading to exclusion, mistreatment, ridicule, or unjust discrimination against other persons on the basis of their race or ethnicity. Racism can be a sin of omission, when we fail to act against racially unjust actions perpetrated by others. Racism can also be institutional, when personal sins of racism accumulate over time to create institutions, practices, or traditions that treat certain groups of people unjustly. The US bishops have continually called attention to the lasting social effects of slavery, segregation, lynching, and other injustices perpetrated against African Americans in our nation’s history. We must resolve to contend with this tragic legacy and right the wrongs that remain. As the US bishops have stated: “Racism can only end if we contend with the policies and institutional barriers that perpetuate and preserve the inequality—economic and social—that we still see all around us. With renewed vigor, we call on the members of the Body of Christ to join others in advocating and promoting policies at all levels that will combat racism and its effects in our civic and social institutions.” In the voices of so many who are crying out in the streets of our nation we hear a powerful testimony to the fact that we still live in a society where many feel excluded and unheard. As Catholics we must be attentive and willing to listen to the voices of our brothers and sisters during this time, knowing that “If one member suffers, all suffer together” (1 Cor 12:26). We must seek real change through deeper conversion in our hearts and our lives, our homes, and our churches. We must act to correct any unjust policies and practices in our country. We must contend with racism wherever it is found, always keeping in mind the words of St. Paul in the twelfth chapter of the Letter to the Romans: “Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good; love one another with brotherly affection… Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Please know that your priests are united with you in prayer as we all seek deeper conversion to the fullness of justice and charity to which God calls us in Christ Jesus. In Christ, Father John Allen – Parish Priest Father Peter Ascik – Parish Priest Father Binoy Daivs – Parish Priest St. Matthew Catholic Church

CHARLOTTE, North Carolina, June 13, 2020 – Five major gifts totaling $250,000 are going to five Charlotte-area charities serving on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic, from the largest Roman Catholic parish in the United States.

St. Matthew Catholic Church is giving $50,000 each to Crisis Assistance Ministry of Charlotte, Loaves & Fishes, Roof Above (formerly known as Urban Ministry and Men’s Shelter of Charlotte), Union County Crisis Assistance and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Charlotte.

Charities that provide relief to individuals and families in need in our community have seen a decline in donations due to the economic impacts of the pandemic, while at the same time facing a dramatic increase in people coming to them for help.

That makes charitable giving even more critically needed at this moment, said the Rev. John Allen, parish priest of St. Matthew Catholic Church, “when the need for God and for the virtues of charity, humility and civility have never been greater.”

“Such a gift is only possible because of the faithful stewardship and sacrificial giving of our parish family,” Allen said of his south Charlotte parish, which has a membership of nearly 12,000 families.

The gift will enable Catholic Charities to continue serving people “living on the peripheries,” providing food aid, mental health counseling and other vital social services, said Dr. Gerard Carter, executive director and CEO.

“This funding is especially indispensable at this point in time as we actively provide direct services to those impacted by COVID-19,” Carter said. “As we unofficially say, ‘the world may have been on pause’ but the work of Catholic Charities has continued every single day since the arrival of coronavirus in our state.”

“What a wonderful gift St. Matthew has provided at a time when we are seeing unprecedented needs across this city, not only for shelter but for food, health care and emergency financial assistance to help people stay in their homes,” said Roof Above CEO Liz Clasen-Kelly. “At Roof Above we remain committed to ending homelessness in our community, and generosity like that of St. Matthew will put us one step closer to realizing that aspiration.”

Click here for a WSOC piece that mentions our parish’s gift. (mention of St. Matthew is in the video, not the article)

While we are filled with joy to be able to worship in our Church, we are also anticipating some time of adjustment as we get used to our new procedures and limited capacity. During this time, we ask for our parish family to treat each other and our clergy and staff with kindness, approach the new Mass procedures with patience and understand that while we are thrilled to be back in our Church and worshipping with you, it’s going to feel “different” and will take a bit of getting used to. We ask that you please take the time to carefully read the new procedures document, attached here, in order to avoid any surprises and to make sure you feel as comfortable as possible attending Mass.

Please remember there is still a dispensation granted from Bishop Jugis if you are not comfortable attending Mass, and we will still be streaming Mass online. We will also continue to offer Communion services Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The sign-ups for Communion services can be accessed here.

Please continue to pray for our parish as we navigate these new procedures and are able to begin celebrating Masses as a parish family. We are thankful for you and are blessed to have such a vibrant and engaged parish community!

Looking forward to our church opening back up for Masses? Please take the time to watch this very informative video that explains all procedures and processes that will be in place as we return. We look forward to celebrating Mass with you!

Would you like to learn how to help mothers in crisis pregnancies choose life at the abortion center? Sidewalk Advocates for Life offers a comprehensive training course in peaceful, prayerful, law-abiding sidewalk advocacy (sidewalk counseling) methods that seek to reach the woman’s heart and supply her needs so she can confidently choose life. Now, for a limited time, this training course can be completed online! Get trained and become part of our local team of dedicated pro-life advocates working to help women and end abortion in our community. To get started, please fill out a brief application at www.sidewalkadvocates.org/trainingapp. Then we will be in touch with the next steps for accessing the online training.
There is a $15 dollar donation for this training to help cover program costs.
For questions, contact our Charlotte chapter at:
prolifesignup@gmail.com
Program Director: Father Peter Ascik
Find more information at www.sidewalkadvocates.org

Check out this amazing video of our choir, socially-distanced, singing Let the Fire Fall. What a fantastic way to celebrate Pentecost!