Message from the Rector
Holy Week Then and Now
Holy Week is always so special at St. Matthew’s. Thousands of people come to celebrate the greatest week of the liturgical year, heralded by the blessing of palms, marked by beautiful and somber liturgies, and ending with the triumphant Resurrection of our Lord. The preparations for these overflowing celebrations are a labor of love - how we look forward to welcoming you and to being uplifted by your love of the Lord!
This year our Lenten desert brings us to making sacrifices not of our choosing. In his first Holy Week at the Cathedral, Archbishop Gregory will celebrate liturgies that are limited, brought to you online via livestream with only a few assistants. Absent will be the Schola Cantorum and our liturgical ministers. NO people - no assembly - no packed Cathedral. No alleluias ringing up to the dome. This year is different. The sacrifices we are all making will not be forgotten.
Yet we will celebrate new life and hope. We will gather with our Archbishop and one another in spirit, and as Church we will shout out the Hosannas on Palm Sunday and the Alleluias at Easter. We will pray for the dead, the sick and the dying – including many of our loved ones – confident in the new life Christ has won for us. Our catechumens will not be baptized at the Easter Vigil, nor our candidates received into full communion, but we will celebrate with them soon. When we do, it will indeed be a celebration!
To Those Who Can Give, We Ask for Help
I thank all who participate in FaithDirect and otherwise give faithfully to support our Cathedral parish. The reality, however, is that due to the church closure we are missing most of our income from the Sunday offertory collections, which already were in decline. We have received very few envelopes or checks in these past few weeks.
Before Christmas I reached out to you and your response was so generous that we were able to begin paying overdue bills. Then we were forced to deal with a $57,000 plumbing problem, and now the effects of COVID-19, devastating in so many ways.
We are in trouble financially, as are many parishes. The Archdiocese is discussing possible solutions, including increasing use of FaithDirect, pursuing increased giving programs, furloughing employees, and reducing staff hours.
Offertory donations lost during this year’s Holy Week and Easter seasons will be significant. Our parishioners and visitors always have responded so generously. I know that many of you also may be facing financial losses in this crisis. I’m sorry to turn to you again, but I really need your help, especially if you are in a position to give at this time.
