Photo caption: St. Matthew’s members and Southwest neighbors at last year’s Christmas tree giveaway.
After many years of working toward building a new church, St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church (222 M St. SW) will finally break ground in January. This means their lot will be available to for one more Christmas tree giveaway before construction begins. From 2008 to 2013, St. Matthew’s sold trees at cost to the Southwest community. Last year they surprised the community by giving away trees as a way to say “thank you” for the community’s support.
On Saturday, Dec. 12, the congregation will give away 130 Christmas trees to their neighbors. The Reverend Phillip C. Huber, pastor of St. Matthew’s, said, “We are very pleased we could do this one more year before construction begins. Many in the community look forward to decorating their homes with a St. Matthew’s Christmas tree for the holidays. We may not be able to make trees available to the community again until after construction is completed in 2017. So, we are glad we can provide this to our neighbors for another year.”
The Christmas tree giveaway will begin at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 12. Only those who have obtained a reservation before Dec. 12 will be able to receive a tree from 10 a.m. to Noon. Reservations will be given on a first-come, first-served basis and can be obtained by either emailing (stmatthewsdc@hughes.net) or calling (202.484.3189) the church. Reservations can be made at St. Matthews’ lot beginning at 10 a.m. to pick up a tree, if any remain, after the noon hour.
The congregation will be offering free food and beverages for the community and will have a display showing the design of the new building. There will be opportunity to meet with church leaders, the architect, and development staff to talk about the design and community benefits of the project.