EpiscoPals is a fun, social time of food and fellowship. Each month, a family (or group) from the congregation, opens their home to all who attend either St. Matthew’s or St. John’s. It’s a time for everyone to “let their hair down” and get to know one another.

If you’re interested in hosting an EpiscoPals night, please email the church at episcopalchurchingarrettcounty@gmail.com for our upcoming schedule.

We hope to see you there!

On the next to last Thursday of every month, the Episcopal Church in Garrett County welcomes members of the community to share dinner - free of charge - at Saint Matthew’s Parish Hall in Oakland. Those in need of a hot meal are met by volunteers who prepare and serve the food offered.

The meals are held from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM. If you can help in any way (you do not have to stay the entire time), please reach out to Kip Senholzi at kwsenholzi@comcast.net or simply show up. The Nearly New will be open during this time also.

The dates for 2024 are as follows: January 18, February 22, March 21, April 18, Mary 23, June 20, July 18, August 22, September 19, November 21, December 19.

It’s in the Bag provides backpacks of kid-friendly food to needy children in Garrett County. The program operates through the public schools and distributes backpacks each weekend during the school year. Each week, more than 300 backpacks are filled by volunteers and delivered to schools, preschools, and Head Start programs throughout the County.

If you would like to join the volunteers who buy the food, pack the bags, and make the deliveries, please contact Linda Eisenhart at lleisenhart@gmail.com. If you would like to donate to help fund this program, please find It’s in the Bag in the drop down menu under the GIVE button for Episcopal Church in Garrett County on the Tithe.ly app home page.

The Nearly New offers gently-used clothing for kids, women, and men, as well as kitchenware, decor, bedding and linens, toys, and books. Staffed by volunteers, the Shop’s proceeds support the community outreach of the Episcopal Church in Garrett County.

Established in the 1950s, our volunteer-staffed resale store offers good quality, attractively-priced merchandise to a wide range of customers, locals and visitors alike. We welcome donations of clothing, housewares, toys, and books that are in very good condition. Donations may be made when the shop is open (10 AM to 2 PM on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays as of June 1, 2021). Donations left by the front door can be damaged by the weather; please bring your items to us when we are there to receive them properly.

St. John’s has been a distribution site for the House of Hope food pantry for over thirty years. We work with Sisters Joanna and Mary Ann to determine families in need. Currently volunteers are serving on a rotating basis every Tuesday and Friday to pack groceries which are picked up by those families.

For more information, call the House of Hope at (301) 334-2357. Anyone who is interested in volunteering for this important service to the community can call the church office or email Pat Mullinix at pmullinix@verizon.net.

The St. Matthew’s house church is a group that is open to all adults in the greater Oakland region who want to deepen their relationship to God through a bi-weekly evening small group. During this time, the house church will share refreshments, prayer requests and do a study together.

The study may be a book of the Bible, a spiritual non-fiction, a sermon or podcast series, or topical study. The group currently meets every other Wednesday at 7:30 PM in Mountain Lake Park. For more information, please email Kendall at mkendallludwig@gmail.com.

Each Sunday at Saint Matthew’s at the 10:45 AM service, Assistant Rector Anne Byrne-Deitch holds Sunday School upstairs in the parish hall. Anne and the children spend their time together learning about the church year and sharing Bible stories. Older children mentor younger in a safe space where all can share questions and laughter.

If you would like more information about the school, please email us at episcopalchurchingarrettcounty@gmail.com.

The “Seekers” Youth Ministry is made up of Middle and High School age students who gather once a month to share a meal, and give back to our community by acts of service. Rev. Anne Byrne-Deitch, our Assisting Priest, comes alongside the students in their faith journeys.

Their mission statement, created by the students, is the following:

“Seekers
Of faith
Of community
Of love and goodness
Who embrace everyone...”

A generous gift from parishioners Jessie Harris and Woody Cunningham has enabled the establishment of an endowment at Saint Matthew’s that will allow the parish to fulfill its mission more completely by developing its ministries beyond what is possible with operating funds. The fund’s earnings may be used for outreach and new ministries, capital projects and maintenance, and special one-time projects.

If you would like to learn how to donate to grow the endowment, please contact us at episcopalchurchingarrettcounty@gmail.com.

The parishes of Saint John’s and Saint Matthew’s each offer columbaria, a sacred place nearby the church set apart for the memorialization of loved ones lost and for the care, placement and interment of their cremated remains.

A columbarium allows one to visit a final resting place in a serene environment.

For information please contact the church office at episcopalchurchingarrettcounty@gmail.com.