Mary Ross joined St. Matthias Church in the past year.  She is originally from Brownsville, Tennessee. She taught high school physical education here for 12 years.  After that she became a home improvement contractor. She also taught home improve-ment skills in adult education courses. Before transferring to St. Matthias Church, Mary attended Memorial Episcopal Church in Bolton Hill for 18 years. Since she started attending services here, she has been helping out wherever needed. She has a big blue Toyota truck that is coming in very handy with the many building and grounds activities. She is very friendly and loves helping other people.

Almost five years ago Linda Lingner joined St. Matthias Church  where she has been a very active member, always lending a hand.  She has lived in Hamilton for the past 39 years.  Linda was a dedicated teacher for 40 years in Baltimore City Schools.  Now that she is “retired”, she has more time to give to her many charitable endeavors.  She is very interested in outreach.  She keeps abreast of what is happening worldwide and is always on the look-out to do her part whether it’s helping American Indians, or underprivileged children in 3rd world countries.

Pris Sicard moved to Baltimore from Massachusetts two years ago. Soon thereafter she became a very active member of St. Matthias Church, becoming Junior Warden and chairperson of the Building & Grounds Committee.  Pris became an Associate with the Sisters of   St. Joseph in Springfield, MA five years ago.  This Catholic Order allows its Associates to be members of other faiths, so Pris is able to continue her ministry to others that she began in MA as she works at St. Matthias Church.  She has a particular ministry working with the elderly, infirmed, or homeless population, and has really enjoyed working with the Loaves & Fishes Outreach at St. Matthias.

We Remember and Pray

Thirty colorful prayer shawls, lap robes, and baby blankets were displayed on the front pews for the first quarterly prayer shawl blessing on March 29. It was a wonderful showing of the group's generosity of time and talent. Some of the shawls and lap robes will be used for members and friends of St. Matthias; some will be donated to the Diocesan Prayer Shawl Ministry for distribution at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Erika and Michelle Shadow hold their sleeping baby near the baptismal font on the occasion of Lilly’s baptism on Easter Sunday by Rev. Eleanor Holland at
St. Matthias Church

Hats, Hats and more Hats!
At Saint Matthias, we have a
plethora of ministries, but have you ever heard of a Hat Ministry? Yes, Helen Sommers, Fern Grumbine's sister, has generously made over three hundred colorful and warm hats over the last fifteen years for our students at Rosemont School and previously at John Eager Howard School. This is especially beneficial for our students when you consider the demographics of our school. Rosemont is located in a high poverty, high drug, high crime area and is considered a hub for gang activity. On any given day, children can be seen coming to school without hats, gloves, and sometimes with-out socks when temperatures are below freezing. Our Rosemont students are so excited about their unique hats where no two hats are exactly alike. Most importantly, our children are warm and amazed that someone would take the time to make hats just for them!
Kudos to Helen Sommers (pictured left) for making the fantastic hats and to Fern for transporting the hats from Cali-fornia to Baltimore each year. What a ministry!!! These gifts of love and warmth are very much appreciated.
Our students are proud to model a few of their sassy and original hats Please enjoy these hats and the happy, grateful faces.

Sandra V. Ashe, Executive Director Rosemont Elementary/Middle School

We Remember and Pray
The St. Matthias WRAPs (We Remember and Pray) are producing shawls, stoles and lap robes of all styles and colors for the Prayer Shawl Ministry! Our experienced knitters and crocheters are helping the beginners, who are making excellent progress. Parishioners who are working on projects are: Leslie Amtmann, Deni Arrup, Ellen Berk, Virginia Brown, Maria Grande, Rev. Eleanor Holland, Cindy Humphrey, Lois Johnson, Jim Jacoby, Krista Korbar, Helen Langa, Linda Lingner, Marilyn Mathis, Libby Ohl, Lois Phelan, and Lily Tedla. We thank Donna Jacoby for the generous donation of yarn.
Want to help but don’t know how? Every Sunday between services and following the 10:30 a.m. service; yarn, patterns, and participants are available to help you get started. If you are not inclined to knit or crochet, a cash donation would be gratefully accepted.

Desta Family

         
Left: Desta with Dad, Mom, and Austin Jordan; Right: Aunt Tezeta, Desta, & Mom

Hi! My name is Desta Y.T. Aklile.
My family and I have attended St. Matthias Church for six months. We are very happy to worship with the members of St. Matthias church and enjoy the community. I am writing this in order for you to get to know my family and me a little bit better.
I’m in the 7th grade. I like recess, physical education, and science. When I have free time, I enjoy playing soccer, football, running, and playing video games on Xbox Live. I also like going to eat at P.F. Chang and Kobe’s when we go out as a family. I have had many achievements growing up. In 2005 and 2008 I received two soccer trophies. In 2003, I won a taekwondo trophy and two medals. I am proud of these trophies and medals because I worked extremely hard to get them.
My whole family is comprised of a lot of people. My nuclear family is my dad, Aklile Gessesse who is a hydro-geologist and works in Alexandria, Virginia; my mom, Lily Tedla, who is an Artist/ Educator and who used to work on remodeling houses; and my older brother, Adam, who is in the Air Force and a student; and myself, Desta. Pictures of my cousins, Aman and Zoma Abey, are on the photo page of this website. They came to the Pancake Supper at St. Matthias this past February. My aunt, Tezeta T. Desta, sometimes comes to the Sunday service with us. She lives in D.C.
We lived in many places before we came to Baltimore; among them were Washington D.C., California, and Vir-ginia. I’ve also visited Hawaii, Arizona, Florida, Texas and many other states in between as we traveled on cross country trips.
I think I might want to be a lawyer when I grow up. We have two dogs: one a Husky (“Buddy”) and the other a golden retriever lab mix (“Hope”).
The origin of the cross we gave to the church is Lalibela, Ethiopia. My family brought the cross from Ethiopia in 1998 when we were there for the funeral of my grandfather. My grandfather had strong roots in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church as his father was at that time equivalent to a Bishop in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and Monastery. My grandfather, H.M. Tedla Desta, was a very successful businessman; but he was also a humble humanitarian and just person. The city the cross came from, Lalibela, is in northern Ethiopia and is one of the holiest cities which receives thousands of pilgrims each year. It has religious significance to Ethiopians in that its builders intended it to be a “New Jerusalem” in response to the capture of Jerusalem by Muslims in 1187. Churches were hewn in the moun-tains to avoid detection and ensure safety for believers.
I am including a picture of 1 of the 11 under-ground rock-hewn churches in Lalibela (below right).

      
Lily with Desta holding cross

Update on Prayer Shawl Ministry

Fifteen parishioners are working on projects for the Prayer Shawl Ministry. The first meeting was very exciting! After a few remarks about the Ministry, attendees selected patterns and yarn. Experienced knitters and crocheters helped beginners get started. Each Sunday, after Church, members of the group are available with patterns, yarn, and helpful tips and techniques.

Bishop Sutton Visits St. Matthias Church
Sunday • November 30, 2008

      

 Holiday Bazaar November 21 & 22, 2008

M.C. Day, Lois Johnson, Pat Franey, Jeanne Barnes, Ellen Berk, Maria Grande, Christa Jones, Libby Ohl, Fern Grumbine.  (Linda Lingner, Pris Sicard, Michele Pittelli, Beth Chmielewski & Pat Hartmann not in picture)

Michele Pittelli, Phyllis Alban, Rev. Eleanor,  & Christa Jones with the 1st Prize Basket won by Phyllis Alban

   Andy Madore played quarterback for the        Parkville High School Junior Varsity  football    team. The team went 9-0 and were    Baltimore County Champs in the 4A     Division. The team outscored their opponents    243 to 55.

Joey Madore was an all-around player for the Parkville Patriots 6-8 recreation football team.  He played quarterback, linebacker, and left tackle.  Although the team struggled without a win, they had fun and learned a lot about the fundamentals of football.  On    Saturday, December 6 an awards banquet was held and Joey received an Unsung Hero Award. 

 Linda Lingner’s

Four years ago Linda Lingner joined St. Matthias Church where she has been a very active member, always lending a hand.  She has lived in
Hamilton for the past 39 years.  Linda was a dedicated teacher for 40 years in Baltimore City Schools.  Now that she is “retired”, she has more time to give to her many
charitable endeavors. 

“Lindsay” a 12 year old shih tzu is sitting proudly in Linda’s lap in the picture at top left. Recently Linda opened her home to a very adorable golden retriever puppy named "Roxy". "Sugar" is Linda's 6 year old yellow lab, adopted from the Lab Rescue of the Potomac.

Roxy and sugar are shown at the left, romping in Linda's spacious backyard in Hamilton. Linda has a heart of gold and never misses an opportunity to help friends and neighbors.

Lucky is a male  8- month- old
schnauzer mix puppy from
a Virginia Rescue Organization.

Cindy and Mark Humphrey
      at home with Abby

Rev. Eleanor & Helen at home
with Lucky

Abby is a female 3 year-old
Australian cattle dog from Virginia.
by way of the Baltimore SPCA

Exciting Times at St. Matthias

Beth Madore played for the Parkville Thunder 12U Girls Fast Pitch Travel Softball Team this past summer as an outfielder and back-up catcher. Their record was 44-7.  They were 3 time tournament champions winning the Bengies Chase Invitational, Forest Hill Frenzy, and the Mid Summer Challenge.  They came in first place in their Kingsville 12U Summer League and received 9th place out of 30 teams in the National Championships in York, Pennsylvania.  Joey Madore assisted at games as a score keeper.

In the pictures above, Beth shows her batting skills.  The picture on the right is her team photo.  Beth is standing behind the trophy and Joey is squatting in the first row wearing his red hat.

Congratulations Marilyn! 
Marilyn Mathis graduated with a MBA (Masters of  Business Administration with a specialization in Leadership), from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) on  May 18, 2008.

September Flea Market Nets $1,600

Thanks to everyone who helped make our Church Flea Market a success!  Many people worked as a team to get things done and in the process helped our community neighbors find great bargains on needed household goods.  Among the many helpers were Ellen and Mel Berk, Lois Johnson, Pris Sicard, Pat Franey, Maria Grande, Linda Lingner, Jenny Brinkley, Mary Ross, Libby Ohl, Krista Korbar, Jeanne Barnes, M.C. Day, Eleanor Holland, and Helen Langa.  Thanks also to all those who donated baked goods to sell at the bake table and donated their “treasures" for resale.  A special thank you to Pat Hartmann who worked tirelessly pricing items, generously bought lunch every day for the workers, and took charge of the checkout table.  Please forgive me if I forgot to name anyone.  There were many other church members who contributed behind the scenes to this successful fundraiser. 

Bill and Barbara Lambert and Valerie, Rob, and Timmy Prenger celebrated their wedding anniversaries this past August in Hawaii.

The Lamberts were married 55 years ago August 1st by Father "Hank" Fairbrother at St. Matthias.  Valerie (their daughter) and Rob were married 25 years ago on August 6th at St. Joseph's, Fullerton.

Each one enjoyed a glorious two weeks visiting Oahu, Hawaii and Maui. Ten year old, Timmy, thoroughly made the most of each day swimming, snorkeling, playing with dolphins, becoming familiar with volcanoes, learning to surfboard, and parasailing along with "mom and dad".

The very best part was being able to celebrate "together" in one of God's most beautiful creations on earth!
- Barbara Lambert