The character of St. Matthew the Apostle is very much defined by the value we place on outreach in our community. Inspired by the Baptismal covenant, the Outreach Committee chose the motto: “To seek and serve Christ, the Outreach Committee reaches out in humility and love to promote justice through education and community service”

Outreach ministry at St. Matthew the Apostle is extremely important and we have a very active Outreach Committee.

Through our monthly Clothing Sale we seek and serve this community and beyond, in humility and love over and over again. Our first Clothing sale was in September 1996, we are now in our 10th year! Every Tuesday over forty volunteers mostly elderly, spend many hours sorting, pricing and organizing clothes. The sale takes place on the last Friday of each month, except during Summer and at Christmas. We’ve served many over the years and often see the face of Christ in our customers. The funds from our sales are evenly divided between Outreach work in our local area and ongoing parish expenses. Here is a synopsis of areas sponsored by the Outreach Committee on behalf of St. Matthew’s Parish:

Moorelands through Downtown Church Workers Association, Community Information Fairview, Flemingdon Park Ministry, North York Women’s Shelter, Anglican Foundation (membership), and Mission to Seafarers are all areas we financially supported.

The Clothing Sale 50% return that goes to the community are annually disbursed to the following areas: Loft Community Services, PWRDF, Lansing Foodbank (our Local Foodbank), and to Flemingdon Park Ministries.

Each year the Outreach Committee host an Open House. This event is held on the first Saturday in December. Our focus at this time is to help in the growth of the Holy Comforter Church in Rankin Inlet and foster good fellowship amongst our own St. Matthew community. The incumbent of Church of the Holy Comforter was a one-time member of St. Matthew who moved to Rankin Inlet in 1980 as the parish priest.

The dedication and commitment of parishioners, manifests the spirit of cooperation and fellowship characteristic of our desire to reach out and to help others.

We encourage all to attend the Outreach Committee meetings and become more involve in your parish and community. Meetings are held monthly in the Welcome Room on the Sunday that follows each Clothing sale @ 9:00am between the 8 and 10 o’clock services.