Dear Friends, 

We're writing to you today about the people who do most for our Church… But who often stay in the shadows and are forgotten… 

We're sure you’ve guessed that we're talking about matushkas, the clergy wives. And we hope so much that you can help. 

Matushkas are probably some of the most dedicated and unrecognized volunteers to their parishes. They are the stopgaps between success and disaster: 

• The Sunday school teacher is sick!
• There are no prosphora for tomorrow’s Liturgy!
• The Bishop is coming and needs an air ticket/accommodations/a meal!
• There’s nobody to sing/direct/mow the lawn!
• The vestments need fixing!

If a woman has been a matushka long enough, she’s quietly taken care of many of these things and more. And yet…

…her services are often taken for granted. And if – God  forbid – her husband dies, she’s often left with almost nothing. 

That’s what happened to Matushka Natasha Kotar. 

For a quarter of a century, Matushka Natasha served her parish in Seattle, WA alongside her beloved husband Fr. Alexei. Together, they helped build a thriving Orthodox community, and even a flourishing parish school. 

Her constant labors helped Fr. Alexei do what priests do – and what we so often take for granted! – celebrate the divine services, administer the Sacraments, tend to Christ’s flock, be a shoulder to lean on for the faithful, and take care for the holy temple so many of us consider a second home.

This year, Fr. Alexei fell asleep in the Lord after a protracted battle with cancer. Yet for Matushka Natasha, the crushing tragedy didn’t end there, because… For many years the couple lived in the parish house. 

So – even though the parish graciously gave Matushka several months – she now must pack her belongings and leave her home forever. Along with losing her soulmate, she also lost her home, income, and medical insurance. 

Maybe – in a perfect world – things could have been planned better. Or maybe these things happen because the Lord simply wants His people to help carry some of the burden that clergy families carry every day… 

As St. Paul says, “Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ” (Gal.6:2). 

Won’t you, please, help Matushka Natasha bear her burdens today? We are hoping to raise $15,000 by Nativity. 

When you give $20, $50, or even $100, you will be providing direct assistance to help Matushka Natasha with covering her most pressing expenses. Please help! Matushka needs help now. 

Tragically, Matushka Natasha’s story is extremely typical. 

In the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, when a man decides to get ordained, he signs himself and his family up for a lifetime of economic sacrifice, because…  

In ROCOR, few parishes pay their priest a living salary. Usually, at most, most parishes can only afford to give the priest a small monthly stipend ‒ enough to cover gas money and a couple of meals. 

For the clergy family to survive, the priest (usually) must obtain a full-time secular job on top of taking care of things in the parish. Which means that, in fact, he has two full-time jobs: the parish (because it always comes first) and his secular employment.  

And yet the priest is there at the parish ‒ serving as many services as he can, meeting with parishioners, ministering to the sick, teaching the catechumens, answering phone calls late at night, visiting the dying in every weather and any time of day or night. 

And his matushka is right by his side: helping him every step of the way. 

Won’t you, please, consider helping Matushka Natasha who dedicated her whole life to our Church by sending a gift today?

When the kids start school, a matushka will often devote even more time to her parish: heading the sisterhood, cleaning the church, baking prosphora, singing and reading during services. 

Remember the widow with the two mites? Christ Himself said that she gave more than all the others, because she gave all she had. I keep wondering what He would say about ROCOR matushkas, because…  

…Sacrifice is a matushka’s job description. These women give up everything for the Lord – and their parish – day after day, year after year, decade after decade. And they do it quietly and unobtrusively. Many times, their labors are taken for granted and they are missed only when they quietly disappear. 

Won’t you, please, help the widows of our clergy by sending a donation today? You will be directly fulfilling the law of the Lord to take care of orphans and widows (Isaiah 1:17, James 1:27). 

When you give today, you will be directly helping Matushka Natasha and other clergy widows like her with moving expenses and any urgent need that they have today. 

The truth is, Matushka Natasha is really struggling right now. She’s a new widow without any provision outside of the small assistance her family can help her with. 

Matushka Natasha is the proverbial widow who gave her two mites – i.e., her whole life – to God and the Church. Won’t you, please, step in and bless her with your mite? The Lord never forgets a sincere sacrifice. 

Won’t you, please, help a matushka in need? Most people send $20, $50, or even $100? 

When you give today, you will be:

• helping Matushka Natasha at her darkest hour

• assisting her directly – as if you came over to the parish house and lifted her heaviest boxes out of her arms

• taking care of her most pressing needs

• giving her real, tangible love at a terribly difficult time

And – most importantly – you will be fulfilling the Lord’s commandment to take care of widows and orphans. 

Won’t you, please, help today, so we can send our joint gift to Matushka for Nativity?

If we are blessed to raise more than Matushka Natasha needs for her immediate needs, we can keep this blessing going and help other clergy widows in need. This way, your gift will keep on giving. 

Won’t you, please, help today? Think of a matushka who did something kind for you. And give in her honor.  

When you give a gift of your love today, you will be helping Matushka Natasha and clergy widows like her (there are over 40 in ROCOR alone!) at the worst time of their lives. Thank you so much for reading my letter. I know that you do a lot for your Church and I am so grateful. 

With sincere love in Christ, 

Mark Selawry

President
Fund For Assistance to ROCOR

P.S. Please, don’t delay. Every day of delay adds to Matushka Natasha’s burden. Please take out your checkbook and write out a check for $20, $50, $100, or any other amount you can spare. 

P.P.S. And if you can’t give at the moment, please pray. We all need each other’s prayers, and your prayers are powerful. May the Lord always bless you for your loving kindness.