Author: Alex Abraham

1. Passing of Mr. P. A. Verghese – brother of the late Mr. P. I. John and uncle of Dr. Joshi John and Mr. Raju Abraham, on Saturday in Niranam, Kerala.  He was 87 years old.  Please keep the bereaved family in your prayers.
2. Holy Week Donation – Thank you to all the members who donated $100 to help meet the expenses for Holy Week.
3. Anil John Memorial Basketball Tournament – This year the STYL Presents: Anil John Memorial Basketball Tournament will be held at the Island Garden Basketball Gym on July 16th.  Ticket sales will commence the coming Sunday after service, in the parish hall.  As in years past, all church members are kindly requested to support this event by purchasing tickets from youth members and attending the event.
4. 2022 Holy Week Pictures – please see following link: 2022 Holy Week
5. Kalpanas from His Holiness the Catholicos of the East & from the NE American Diocesan Metropolitan

Kindly refer to the flyer below regarding the Holy Week schedule for this year.

1. Holy Week Donation – All members are kindly requested to make a donation of $100 for Holy Week. Please give your donation to the Treasurer as soon as possible.
   1. Special thanks to Dr. Paul Thottathil and family for donating the palm leaves for Palm Sunday.

1. Passing of Mrs. Rachel Daniel– the mother of Mr Koshy Daniel, Thursday in Arivannor Madam Haripadu, India. She was 93 years old. The family has been with her in India. Funeral took place this Saturday. Please keep the bereaved family in your prayers.
2. 40th Day of Lent – is on Friday, April 8th. We will be having Holy Qurbana at 6:30PM on Thursday, April 7th. All members are kindly requested to attend.
3. Baby Boy – Mr. Denny & Mrs. Liya Samuel were blessed with a baby boy, Neo Alexander Samuel, on Fri, March 25th. Please keep the baby, mother, and family in your prayers.
4. Palm Sunday service (April 10th) – Liliyo prayer will start at 7am and morning prayer at 7.30am.

1. Parish Lenten Retreat – We will be having our Parish Lenten Retreat on Saturday, April 2nd, starting at 9am. The English retreat message will be given by Rev. Fr. Dennis Mathai in the parish hall. The Malayalam retreat message will be given by Rev. Fr. Dileep Cherian in the sanctuary. Refreshments will be provided and followed by confession.
2. 40th Day of Lent – is on Thursday, April 8th. We will be having Holy Qurbana at 6:30PM on April 7th. All members are encouraged to attend.
3. Holy Week Donation – All members are kindly requested to make a donation of $100 for Holy Week. Please give your donation to the Treasurer as soon as possible.
4. Combined Lenten Retreat – The Council of Indian Orthodox Churches of Brooklyn, Queens, Long Island will be conducting its Lenten retreat on Saturday, April 2nd from 9am to 1pm at St. Gregorios Orthodox Church, Cherry Lane. Rev. Fr. Dr. Varghese Daniel, Vicar of St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, Bronx (Diocesan Secretary of NEAD), will lead the retreat.

1. Upcoming Mid-Week Services – All those who are able and wish to participate are welcome. 
   1. Mid-Lent Service – There will be Holy Qurbana on Tuesday, March 22nd, beginning at 6:30pm.  
   2. Feast of Annunciation to St. Mary – There will be Holy Qurbana on Thursday, March 24th, starting at 6:30pm.  
2. Holy Week Donation – All members are kindly requested to make a donation of $100 for Holy Week. Please give your donation to the Treasurer as soon as possible.
3. Anil John Memorial Basketball Tournament – After the hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the youth and FOCUS of this parish have decided to resume the annual basketball tournament.  This year the STYL Presents: Anil John Memorial Basketball Tournament will be held at the Island Garden Basketball Gym on Saturday, July 16th. The youth and FOCUS members will be organizing this event and participation is requested from all the parishioners to ensure it is a success.
4. Parish Lenten Retreat – We will be having our Parish Lenten Retreat Saturday, April 2nd.

1. General Body Meeting – There will be an in-person General Body meeting held on Sunday, March 13th after Holy Qurbana.  All members are kindly requested to attend this meeting.  The 2021 Annual Report and 2022 Budget were emailed Monday; both will be discussed during the meeting.  If you have not received the report and budget, please email the secretary@stthomasli.org account.
2. MMVS Monthly Meeting – The next monthly video interactive MMVS meeting will be Sunday, March 13th at 4:30pm via Zoom.  Please refer to WhatsApp for the link.
3. 1st Annual Memorial – The 1 Year Memorial for Very Rev. Dr. Mathai Yohannan Sankarathil Cor-Episcopa, will be Sunday, March 20th.
4. Holy Week Donation – All members are kindly requested to make a donation of $100 for Holy Week. Please give your donation to the Treasurer as soon as possible.
5. Livestream Discontinued – Livestream and the current dismissal process will be discontinued.  For now, masks will still be required and families can continue to sit together.  However, there will be no required spacing.  For special events and instances, refreshments can once again be offered in the parish hall.  If there is a COVID surge and the need arises, all protocols will be reinstated at that time.  
6. Charitable Efforts/Donations – If any members would like to assist local charities, please contact the Community & Interchurch Relations Team via email at comrelationsteam@stthomasli.org. 
7. GROW One Day Conference – The GROW Ministry will be conducting an in-person conference at three different locations on Saturday, March 19th beginning at 9am.  The main speaker will be Phoebe Farag Mikhail on the theme ‘Women of Worship’ based on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  In this area, the conference will be held at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Levittown, NY.  Register as soon as possible at www.thegrowministry.com.
8. Kalpana from the Northeast American Diocese

1. Great Lent Begins – Monday, February 28th
   • Wednesday Evening Prayer – During the Lenten season, there will be evening prayer on Wednesdays at 6:30pm, in addition to Saturday evening prayers.

1. Fast of Nineveh (3-Day Lent) – The Fast of Nineveh will be held from Monday, February 7th to the 9th.  There will be evening prayer every day during the fast and will be concluded with Holy Qurbana on Wednesday, February 9th at 6:30PM.
2. 5 Management Teams – As was discussed and announced in last year’s General Body meetings, the Management Teams for the parish have been created, which include Facilities, Hospitality & Events, Marketing & IT, Legal & Risk, and Community & Interchurch Relations.  If you are interested in assisting any of the teams, contact the Secretary or Treasurer.
3. Marketing & IT Team Request – Any parishioners, who are willing and able to create flyers and other marketing materials for the church, please notify the team lead, Ms. Lincy Thottathil.
4. Kalpana from His Holiness the Catholicos of the East

1. The Feast of Lord’s Entry into the Temple (Mayaltho) – There will be Holy Qurbana on Tuesday, February 1st, starting at 6:30pm. All those who are able and wish to participate are welcome. The live-streaming links will also be sent via text message.
2. Test Kits & Masks – The committee will continue handing out COVID-19 test kits and KN95 masks, which were ordered from Nassau County. For families who have yet to receive kits or masks, both will be provided after dismissal next week.
3. Kalpana from the Northeast American Diocese