Many in Altar Society are also members of the Christian Mothers.  All ladies in the parish are welcome to be a part of the Altar Society.

Todas las mujeres de San Mateo están invitadas a convertirse en miembros activas de la Sociedad del Altar, trabajando con nosotros para cumplir nuestra cuádruplo misión: conservar el altar y el interior de la iglesia, educar cristianamente en el hogar a los hijos por sus madres cristianas, beneficiar de forma espiritual y económica a la parroquia y ayudar en el mejoramiento de las relaciones sociales dentro de la parroquia. Durante el año pasado, las damas de la Sociedad del Altar han realizado limpiezas semanales de el altar y la sacristía, limpiezas especiales de la iglesia durante días festivos y han servido atendiendo recepciones durante bodas y funerales.

For more information please contact Pam Waibel at 503-640-2196 or wwaibel@verizon.net.  

TO THE LADIES OF ST. MATTHEW PARISH
This is an invitation to all the ladies of our parish to become active members of the Altar Society/Christian Mothers Organization.  As you may already know, all women in the parish are members because you automatically became a member when you join the church.
 The purpose of this organization is fourfold:
1.  For the upkeep of the altar and interior of the church.
2.  For Christian home education of children by Christian mothers.
3.  For the spiritual and financial benefit of the parish.
4.  For forming better social relationships.
 Our main functions are: Taking turns cleaning altars every week, general church cleaning twice a year, serving luncheons for funerals, and sponsoring fundraisers. Our fundraisers have provided enough money that we have been able to donate to special projects in the parish.
Some of them are:

• A new furnace for the church some years back.
• Refinishing the pews at the cost of $30,000. (also some years back)
  
• A large donation to the school to help pay for the walk-in freezer.
  
• A $30,000 donation to help get the Parish Hall built, plus over $5,000 to purchase the refrigerator, freezer and other items in the Parish Hall.
  
• We donate $6,000 to the Church every year to help pay for hosts, wine and candles for the Masses.
  
• We also work with the pastor to determine our financial responsibility regarding the needs of the liturgy, such as new vestments, books, altar linens, refinishing of chalices, etc.  
  
• Our most recent large donation was $10,000 toward maintenance of the church. This $10,000 will be used for the Church Accessibility Project.
  

 We cannot take on as many fundraisers at we have in the past as our active membership is decreasing. As our fundraisers decrease, so do our donations, but we want to be able to do our share. We would like to see the Altar Society/Christian Mothers Organization continue in our parish and we invite all you ladies to become active members.
 Let us share a true story with you:  
About 10 or more years ago, St. John the Baptist Church in Milwaukie, OR got a new pastor. Not knowing what the Altar Society was all about, he decided the parish no longer needed the Altar Society, so he got rid of it. After a couple of months, the pastor was confused and wondered why things at the parish were not being taken care of. His question was "Who did all this before I came?"  The answer was "The Altar Society!"  Needless to say, he reinstalled the Altar Society in his parish.
 If you would like to work with the Altar Society on cleaning the church, serving at funerals, or working on fundraisers, please contact Pam Waibel, Altar Society President, at 503 640-2196 or email: wwaibel@verizon.net.