Hospitaller Region - Washington, DC

In the spirituality of the Order faith and works are inseparable, one sustains the other.

• Celebrating Liturgy Together - Members attend monthly Masses in parishes around the DC area where they come to pray and then gather afterward. During the year, we celebrate special Masses for Lent and Advent, Order of Malta feast days, healing, and other occasions as a regional group. We also offer a Retreat /Day of Reflection based on a theme with presentations by the retreat director, to read and reflect on scripture, to mediate and to attend Mass.

• Order of Malta Pilgrimages - In May, the Order of Malta brings the sick and disabled from around the world to Lourdes in a pilgrimage of caring and healing. Knights, Dames, and Auxiliary escort, attend to, and care for our beloved Malades. But in fact, the sick take us there, so that God’s work can be done. The United States Associations also make a pilgrimage to the Marian Apparition site at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion.  
• Weekly Prayers and Intentions and Devotions - Members gather on Wednesday evenings to pray the Rosary using Zoom. The group shares intentions and prays for the those have asked for prayers through our widely distributed Prayer Storm text. Through our Prayer in Action project, we keep in touch with Members who can no longer attend masses and activities.  In Lent, we host “Way of the Cross” prayer services including Stations developed by the Prison Ministry Committee for inmates.

St. James writes in his epistle, “Show me your faith without deeds, and I shall show you my faith by my deeds.” Our deeds manifest our faith, which grows by our deeds. Below is a list of our service projects.

• Malta House is an assisted living facility for low-income residents that was founded by a Dame of Malta. On Wednesdays, Members supplement the spiritual work of the seminarians who serve the residents by saying the Rosary with them. On the first Saturday of the month, Members bring a morning of fun activities to the residents of Malta House by playing bingo, doing crosswords or singing songs with the residents.
• Mercy Health Clinic is a community clinic serving low-income, uninsured adults though primary and specialty care, medications, and health education free of charge. Also founded by a Member of the Order, the majority of the clinic’s patient are immigrants, many from Latin America, and women.  Several doctors who are Members volunteer at the clinic, as can others as there are numerous other volunteer opportunities.
• Care for the Homeless involves several projects. Our Blessed Gerard Project reaches out to homeless in the encampments one Saturday a month. Volunteers also can help serve the homeless at the Gift of Peace residence in NE Washington by accompanying them and praying with them. In advance of winter, we work with the McKenna Center and Catholic Charities to provide and distribute coats to the homeless.
• St. Ann’s Center for Children, Youth and Families provides residential care and support to single mothers with children and pregnant adolescents in crisis. We host celebrations for a few hours on Saturday mornings with the children and their moms around holidays several times during the year.  The Annunciation Parish group offers a donation drop off site to collect supplies and items to help the moms care for their kids.
• The Food Insecure are served by another organization Order of Malta Members helped to create – the SHARE Food Network.  This food bank in Landover MD is an important source for both individuals and groups that distribute food to those in need through out our local area. Volunteers work to prepare food packages for pickup and to help to distribute food. 
• Veterans and the Military are also served by Order of Malta activities in partnership with the Walter Reed Medical Center. We host a monthly group dinner for wounded warriors, and  their families who support them, as well as the medical staff on base who care for them at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
• Prison Ministry offers several programs for Member involvement responding to the Grand Master’s request that the US Associations serve those in prison. Members can support inmates by writing letters in the Order of Malta Pen Pal program to reach behind the walls. Locally, we also support returning citizens working to rebuild their lives after prison by working with both Gatekeepers in Hagerstown MD at their Resource Group and Jubilee Housing in Washington DC by providing group dinners.
• Building Renovation and Refresh Projects occur about twice a year as our local regions help an Order of Malta partner, such as Catholic Charities, spruce up their facilities. We have done projects at SHARE, St Ann’s Center and most recently Angel’s Watch a women’s shelter where we painted the hallways of the first floor.  We will be going back to paint the second floor of Angel’s Watch in 2024.
• L'Arche is an international community, with group homes in DC and VA, that builds networks of relationships with its members, both with or without an intellectual disability, by sharing lives together. Holy Trinity’s parish group leads local service projects that build relationships with the special needs individuals in local L’Arche group homes.

Our Prison Ministry has prisoners seeking pen pals. The level of effort is a monthly letter. All correspondence is anonymized. If this is a fit for your time and talent, contact the DC Regional Hospitaller for more information.

Jesus tells us, whatever we do for another, we do for him.

Annunciation/OLV/St. Stephen's – second Saturday, 9:00 am at Annunciation Church.  Contact: David Brown

Blessed Sacrament - second Saturday, 8:00 am.  Contact:  Shep Abell

Holy Trinity - second Friday, 8:00 am.  Contact:  Tom Hughes

Downtown Group: second Wednesday, 7:00 a.m., St. Matthew's Cathedral. Contact:  Adam Carter

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