Join us for a Simple Lenten Meal in the North Conference Room on Friday, March 9, organized by members of St. Matthew's Hispanic community to benefit the Spanish Catholic Center  immediately after the 6pm Stations of the Cross. All are welcome for all or any part of this evening of prayer, fellowship and almsgiving.

Simple Lenten Meals

We serve Simple Lenten Meals in the North Conference Room on the Friday evenings of Lent, following the 6pm Stations of the Cross. Join us for the sustenance of food and fellowship!  Each Friday a different parish group organizes the meal and donations are collected to benefit a different community-based organization in Washington, DC. On March 9, members of our Hispanic community will organize the meal and the beneficiary will be  the Spanish Catholic Center.  The speakers will be Nick Despotidis, Assistant to the Director of the Spanish Catholic Center & Christina Villella, Assistant to the Medical Director. Consider spending your early Friday evening with St. Matthew's family and friends--come for the 5:30pm Mass, 6pm Stations of the Cross and end with a shared meal and this great opportunity of almsgiving to the Spanish Catholic Center.

Spanish Catholic Center

The Spanish Catholic Center is a member of Catholic Charities, the social ministry outreach of the Archdiocese of Washington.  The Archdiocese of Washington founded the Spanish Catholic Center in1967 to provide services to low-income and limited-English-proficient immigrants in the areas of education, health, and social needs. Services cover five distinct areas: (1) medical and dental; (2) civic/immigration; (3) social services/case management and homelessness prevention (including mental health counseling, women’s support groups, food provision, referrals to shelters and legal assistance professionals); (4) economic development and employment counseling; and (5) adult education courses.

"The need for the Spanish Catholic Center has never been greater.  Offering medical and dental clinics, job training programs, English classes, a food pantry and case management services in four locations, the Center offers holistic services to immigrants from around the world.  The multicultural staff at the Center speak more than eight different languages and have experience working with individuals from more than 72 different cultural contexts."  The Center works in the Latino and immigrant communities where poverty is most pervasive depending on private contributions and volunteer support to continue expanding its services to meet the emergency and long term needs of its community - "No matter your skill set or availability, we have opportunities to get involved."

In describing its work within the community, Catholic Charities states that "... [w]e believe in helping people develop the skills and strength to move from crisis or isolation to stability and growth. We focus on prevention when possible, intervention when needed and advocacy when resources or opportunities are either inadequate or unfair. We are guided in this work by the richness of Catholic Social Teaching."  To learn more about the Spanish Catholic Center, please visit www.catholiccharities.org.