Matushki Meet-Up Piloted at the Diocese of the South Pastoral Conference
The 2026 Pastoral Conference of the Diocese of the South, held February 4–6, 2026, marked an important milestone with the introduction of a dedicated clergy wives track, the Matushki Meet-Up. Held alongside the annual diocesan gathering for clergy, the Matushki Meet-Up brought together twenty priest wives, deacon wives, and prospective seminarian wives from across the Diocese for three days of fellowship, reflection, and shared encouragement.
The intentional programing was organized through the national Office of Pastoral Life’s Clergy Wives Ministry of the Orthodox Church in America, and served as a pilot initiative for future diocesan and Church-wide gatherings. The conference offered a thoughtful blend of informal connection, guided conversation, and participation in select elements of the broader Pastoral Conference, allowing clergy couples to share in the rhythm of the week while also honoring the unique needs and experiences of clergy wives.
Throughout the three days, participants shared vignettes of joy in the midst of growth, reflected on spiritual practices that strengthen their marriages, and learned of resources for financial and hierarchical support. Clergy wives joined their husbands for services, as well as half of the Pastoral Conference sessions focused on the current convert surge. Time was also set aside for dinner and dialogue with the bishops, as well as matushka-only gatherings, offering space for open conversation, laughter, and mutual understanding. Conversations focused on reframing overwhelm into awe during this season of rapid growth, as well as various strategies for meeting personal and parishioner needs in a growing parish.
Clergy wives shared how the experience fostered authentic connection, mutual encouragement, and meaningful learning among matushki:
“Highlights for me were meeting other clergy wives and deepening my relationship with ones I know already, being mutually encouraged with each other’s faith and worshipping together in a beautiful setting,” said Mka Barbara Burch. “It was helpful learning about the extent of the convert surge and how to address the challenges involved in their reception. Finally, there were lots of opportunities to simply get together to enjoy great meals and each other’s company.”
Reflecting on the gathering, Mka Carrie Foley, Program Director of the Clergy Wives Ministry, emphasized the broader significance of the event:
As Mka Juliana Schmemann of blessed memory so eloquently wrote, to be a clergy wife is “a joyous burden.” We are called to a life of sacrifice in a myriad of ways. However, one thing a clergy wife is not called to give up is fellowship. My goal with Clergy Wives Ministry is to give my sisters to one another. By God’s grace this happened at the Matushki Meet-Up through intentional programming focused on our shared experience. I’m thrilled at the overwhelmingly positive feedback we’ve received, not only from the clergy wives themselves, but also from diocesan clergy. My sisters told me they felt supported and encouraged in a way they never felt before. I look forward to offering the Matushki Meet-Up to all clergy wives across the entire Church!
Feedback from participants consistently affirmed the importance of intentional care for clergy families and identified the Pastoral Conference as a fitting and meaningful setting for this work. The Matushki Meet-Up complemented the conference’s broader pastoral themes while creating a space where relationships could deepen and trust could take root.
As the Office of Pastoral Life’s Clergy Wives Ministry continues its work, it is actively exploring a variety of ways to create intentional spaces where clergy wives can gather to build health, sisterhood, and shared strength. This growing attention to the well-being of clergy families reflects a wider pastoral conviction: when clergy couples are supported and strengthened, their stability and vitality help to nurture resilient, flourishing parishes.
The Diocese of the South’s Matushki Meet-Up stands as a hopeful sign of the Church’s deepening commitment to the health, connection, and flourishing of clergy families—recognizing that the life of the parish is closely tied to the well-being of those who serve it and their families.
About the Office of Pastoral Life
The Orthodox Church in America’s Office of Pastoral Life supports the well-being of clergy and their families, the foundation of parish life across North America. Believing the health of the Church is inseparable from the health of her clergy, the Office offers programs that build resilience, connection and pastoral joy. Programs include Thriving in Ministry peer-learning groups, Financial Health Initiatives, quarterly Synaxis Gatherings, Retreats and Clergy Wives Ministry. In partnership with bishops, dioceses, parishes and our generous donors, the Office of Pastoral Life helps create sustainable conditions in which priests, deacons and their families of the Orthodox Church in America can flourish spiritually, vocationally and personally through every season of parish ministry.