Author: Alex Abraham

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Happy Birthday to Our Vicar!!

The Assistant Vicar, Rev. Fr. Abraham(Abey) George, and the parishioners of St Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church of Long Island would like to wish our Vicar, Very. Rev. Dr. Yohannan Sankarathil, Cor-Episcopa, a blessed Happy Birthday!

Achen has been our spiritual mentor for the past 31 years serving at St. Thomas, LI. He has ceaselessly pushed our parish to grow in all levels. From the origins of the American Diocese, Achen’s hard work and dedication towards serving the Diocese cannot be forgotten. All the spiritual organizations of St. Thomas Long Island are very thankful to him for bestowing his knowledge and ideas to help the parish grow as God’s faithful children. Through his prayers and his ministry, the parishioners are strengthened and are moved to grow closer towards Christ and His Kingdom.

We want to wish him a very Happy Birthday, and a blessed ministry in the Lord’s vineyard!

       

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FOCUS MGOCSM

Weekly Announcements – 02/26/2017

  1. Great Lent – Just a friendly reminder that Great Lent begins tomorrow Monday, February 27th. If you would like to setup a time for confession kindly contact our clergy as soon as possible.
    • Evening prayers during Lent – we will be having evening prayer every Wednesday at 6:30pm starting this Wednesday, March 1st during Lent.
    • Choir Practice – After evening prayers on Wednesday, all the choir members are requested to assemble to go over the songs for Holy Week.
    • Please see the lectionary (bible readings) and devotional for Week 1 of the Great Lent at the following link. Great Lent Week1 Lectionary & Devotional.
  1. Monthly Prayer Meeting – Our first prayer meeting for the year will begin next Sunday at 5pm at the residence of Valiayachen and Kochamma. All are requested to attend.
  1. MGOCSM Meeting – our next MGOCSM meeting will be held on Friday, March 17th at 6pm. All Youth members are requested to attend
  1. FOCUS Meeting – our next FOCUS meeting will be held on Friday, March 10th at 7pm at the residence of Mr. Juby and Giny Thomas. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  1. Valiyachen and Kochamma – will be returning back from India this coming Saturday. Let us pray for their safe return.
Great Lent Week 1 – Lectionary
Great Lent Week 1 – Devotional
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MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 02/19/2017

  1. Sunday School Education Day – Yesterday we had our Sunday School Education Day led by the MGOCSM of our parish. I want to thank the youth for taking the initiative for organizing the program for the day.
  1. MGOCSM Meeting – Our next MGOCSM meeting will be held this Friday, February 24th at 6pm at the residence of Dr. Thomas Mathew and Mrs. Smitha Mathew. All MGOCSM members are requested to attend.
  1. Great Lent – Just a friendly reminder that Great Lent begins next Monday, February 27th. If you would like to setup a time for confession kindly contact Valiya Achen or Abey Achen as soon as possible.
  1. Lenten Evening Prayer – We will be having Lenten evening prayer every Wednesday during Great lent at 6:30pm beginning Wednesday, March 1st. All are requested to attend.
  1. March Monthly Prayer Meeting – The monthly prayer meeting for March will be held on March 5th at Vailya Achen’s house.
  2. Worship Schedule – of the year is finalized and printed. See below for details.
2017 Schedule of Worship
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FOCUS MGOCSM Sports Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 02/12/2017

  1. All Departed Faithful – Next Sunday is when we remember all the departed faithful. Kindly submit the names of your loved ones by Saturday evening.
  2. March Monthly Prayer Meeting – The monthly prayer meeting for March will be held on March 5th at Vailya Achen’s house.
  3. Basketball Tournament Meeting – on February 26th there will STYL Basketball Tournament meeting after Sunday School. All youth are requested to attend this meeting
  4. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS meeting will be held on Friday, February 17th at 7pm at the residence of Deepu and Leena Palakaddan. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  5. Altar Servers Meeting – will be held on Sunday February 19th after Sunday School. All Altar Servers are requested to attend.
  6. MGOCSM Meeting – Our next MGOCSM meeting will be held on Friday, February 24th at 6pm. It will be held at the residence Dr. Thomas Mathew and Mrs. Smitha Mathew. All MGOCSM members are requested to attend.
  7. New Hand Dryers –  New environmentally friendly air hand dryers will be installed in the bathrooms, if anyone wishes to sponsor them please reach out the Secretary or Treasurer.
  8. 2016 Accounts Finalization – Please finalize all 2016 accounts over the next 2 weeks, as accounts will be closed for 2016 on Feb 26th, 2017.
  9. 2016 Sunday School Newsletter – please find the Sunday School Newsletter for 2016.  It shows the various service events and activities that our Sunday School did over the 2016 school year.

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FOCUS MGOCSM MMVS

Weekly Announcements – 02/05/2017

  1. Three Day Lent (Nineveh lent) – begins tonight onto Wednesday. As we cut down on food and spend more time in prayer, let us also spend time reading the book of Jonah. I suggest that you spend time discussing the book with your spouse and your children.
  1. Evening Prayer & Qurbana this Week – Friendly reminder that we will be having evening prayer Monday and Tuesday evening at 6:30pm this week. On Wednesday evening we will be celebrating Holy Qurbana for the end of the Nineveh fast. Evening prayer will begin at 6:30pm. All are requested to attend.
  1. Thomas LI Visits St. Bernards RC Church – Last Sunday we visited St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church. The Church community gave us a warm welcome: the Fr. Ralph Sommer, the priest at the parish, along with the members of the congregation. We had a little over 20 people from our parish for this visit. Special thanks to all who participated in this event.
  1. Marth Mariam Vanitha Samajam Meeting – will be meeting today right after refreshments. Going forward the samjam will be meeting every week unless otherwise notified. All Samajam members are requested to attend.
  1. MGOCSM Study Series – The area MGOCSM is launching a 4 part study series on the Holy Qurbana led by Aju Achen. The First class today from 2pm-3:30pm at St. Basil’s Church, Franklin Square. The fee is $20 to attend all four sessions. I encourage all the Youth, particularly those who are teaching Sunday school to attend.
  1. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS meeting will be held on Friday, February 17th at 7pm at the residence of Deepu and Leena Palakaddan. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  1. Altar Servers Meeting – will be held on Sunday February 19th after Sunday School. All Altar Servers are requested to attend.
  1. MGOCSM Meeting – Our next MGOCSM meeting will be held on Friday, February 24th at 6pm. It will be held at the residence Dr. Thomas Mathew and Mrs. Smitha. All MGOCSM members are requested to attend.
  1. FOCUS Nation – Abey Achen will be away this week starting Thursday, he will be flying out to Houston, Texas for the FOCUS Nation 2017 Conference and will be returning Sunday Night. Kindly uphold him in your prayers. We will be having a guest achen celebrating Holy Qurbana next Sunday. Also, since next Sunday is the Sunday commemorating all the departed clergy, kindly write down and submit the names of the departed clergy that you would like to be remembered to the Altar Servers for next week.
  1. Newborn Baby Boy – Kindly join me in congratulating Mr. John Abraham (Sarasan) and Naisy Abraham on their new born baby boy Aaron Mathai Abraham. Let us keep the new born and the family in our prayers.
  1. Our Last Stand Film – A documentary film about the persecuted Christian community living in Syria and Iraq called “Our Last Stand”  is going to be screened at a theater here in Long Island on Sunday February 12th, from 6:30pm -7:30pm followed by discussion and a reception.   The event is hosted by St. Peter’s Syriac Orthodox Church in Hicksville, and is open to the public. Kindly see the flyer for more details.
Our Last Stand Film
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MGOCSM Sports

Weekly Announcements – 01/22/2017

  1. MGOCSM Faith Study Series – will be held this Friday, January 27 at 6pm at church. For this month we will be discussing on the topic of how to discern the will of God in our journey in life. All MGOCSM members are requested to attend.
  1. Basketball Tournament Meeting – The next Sunday, January 29th after Sunday school there will be a STYL basketball tournament meeting. All youth are requested to attend this meeting.
  1. Visiting St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church – We will be visiting St. Bernard’s RC church next Sunday the 29th at 3pm. We will gather at the Church first by 2:30pm and go together as a group.
  1. Newborn Baby Boy – Kindly join us in congratulating Mr. Bills and Nancy Varghese on their newborn baby boy David Varghese. Let us keep the newborn and his family in our prayers.
  1. Back to college – Many of you are heading back to college this week and next week. Make sure you are on top of your work right from the beginning so it won’t pile up. The greatest medicine against procrastination and Laziness is discipline. Having a set routine for yourself- setting time apart to prayer, to study, to play, to do chores.
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FOCUS MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 1/1/17

  1. Annual STYL Talent Show  – We had our Annual STYL Talent Show this past Friday. Special thanks to the coordinators and participants. Danniya Samuel and Emily George.
  1. Sunday School Anniversary – Today right before Kaimuthu, We will have our parish Sunday School Anniversary. It will be a short 10-15 min program.
  1. Feast of Baptism of Our Lord  – This Thursday Evening (the 5th), we will be celebrating the Feast of the Baptism of our Lord. Evening prayer will begin at 6:30pm. Nicholovos Thirumeni will be celebrating. Kindly make arrangements to attend.
    • Those will be preparing to receive Holy Qurbana make sure you come prepared- through bodily fast- that would include food and drink unless you have a medical condition advised by your physician (at least by 1pm).
  1. Schedule For the Year – Valiachen and I have been working on a schedule for the year with all the feast days and important days.
  1. Combined Orthodox Christmas Program – Flyer: Sunday, January, 8th, 2017 at 4pm Glen Oaks High School.
  1. FOCUS Meeting – For the month of January will be held on Friday, January 20th at 7pm at the Residence of Mr. Cheriyan Abraham. All FOCUS members are requested to attend. A friendly reminder to bring you Sheehimo Books and Beginning to Pray books.
  1. MGOCSM Faith Study Series – for the month of January will be held on Friday, January 27 at 6pm at church. All MGOCSM members are requested to attend.
  1. Altar Servers Meeting – will be held January 15th after Sunday school. We will have a special class on Hesychasm and the practice of the Jesus Prayer. After that we will have fellowship lunch and all Altar Servers are requested to attend.
  1. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church – visited us a few months back. They have invited us over now to visit their church. We have arranged for Sunday, January 29th Sunday at 3pm. It will be important for us to pay a visit back and spent time with their community as they were so gracious to come and spend time with us.
  1. Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center –  A friendly reminder that collections are still ongoing.
  1. Confession – Those who would like to do confession kindly inform either of the Achens at your earliest convenience.
  2. 2016 Year In Review – Please see the video montage of 2016, from many of the events we’ve done over the year.

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FOCUS MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 12/25/16

  1. Christmas Carolers – Special thanks to the Christmas Carolers who spent their time and energy to go around to visit the houses.
  1. Christmas Service Song Practice – Special thanks for all who attended the Christmas song practice. We had it this past Wednesday and Thursday evening. Also, special thanks to the altar servers who came early yesterday to go over the service.
  1. Christmas Service English Books – Special Thanks to the youth for making arrangements for the English Copies of the Service. Many of the youth pitched in to ensure that parts of the service were done in English. Thank you all for your generosity.
  1. Annual Talent Show – Will be held this Friday, December 30th at 6:00pm. If you have not signed up kindly reach out to either Danniya Samuel or Emily George.
  1. New Year’s Day Service –  next Sunday is New Year’s and Morning Prayer will begin at our usual time 8:15am. We will have Evening prayer as usual at 6:30pm on New Year’s Eve.
  1. Sunday School Anniversary – The Sunday School Anniversary will be held next Sunday right before Kaimuthu. All Sunday school students and teachers are requested to attend.
  1. Parish Elections 2017 – Last Sunday we had our Parish Elections for 2017. The results will be posted and officially announced next week.
  1. Feast of Baptism of Our Lord – Thursday evening, January 5th, we will be having celebrating the feast of the Baptism of our Lord. Evening prayer will begin at 6:30pm. Nicholovos Thirumeni will be leading the service. All are requested to attend.

 

Categories
FOCUS MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 12/04/16

  1. Nativity Lent – We are in the season of the Nativity lent. I hope the cooks of the house makes dishes that are conducive for lent. As we abstain from food, let us add prayer and reading of the scriptures to our lives. Let us train to keep our bodies and our minds sober during these days. It is also the appropriate time for confession.
  1. Thanksgiving Potluck Dinner – Last Sunday we had our Youth/FOCUS Potluck Thanksgiving Dinner.  Please see the post on the Potluck Dinner and the Photos page for pictures from the event.
  1. Christmas Caroling – We will being Christmas Caroling this afternoon. All those who are able to come kindly.  The schedule for areas being visted are posted in the parish hall bulletin board.
  1. Sunday School UNICEF Collection – I am pleased to announce that our Sunday school children raised $222.07 towards UNICEF. This money will be used to help provide food, clean water, and healthcare for children around the world. Special thanks to all the children parents and Sunday school children that participated.
  1. Sunday School Christmas Tree Gift Program – The area Sunday school will be participating in a Christmas tree gift program with the Salvation Army. Our Church has been assigned to buy 15 gifts for the program. If you are interested in purchasing a gift, please contact the Sunday school principal or Vice principal.
  1. Orma Qurbana for Barnabas Thirumeni – This Thursday, Dec 8th evening, our parish will be hosting the diocesan commemoration of 4th memorial of H.G Mathews Mar Barnabas. Evening prayer will begin at 6:30pm. All are requested to attend.
  1. General Body Meeting – On Sunday, December 18th we will be having the parish General Body to the elect the new Governing body members for the year 2017. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  1. FOCUS Meeting – This Friday we will be having our FOCUS Meeting at 7pm at the residence of Sinu and Giby Jacob. All FOCUS Members are requested to attend. Kindly bring your Shehimo books and Beginning to Pray books.
  1. FOCUS Nation 2017 will be held from Thursday February 9th through Sunday, February 12th, 2017 at Camp Allen in Houston Texas. The Theme of the Conference will be “Becoming Human: A Journey through Orthodox Spirituality”. The Main speaker of the Conference will be Rev. Fr. Abraham (Abey) George. He is the asst. Vicar of St. Thomas Orthodox Church in Long Island. Registration is currently open. Those interested kindly register online by using the following link, FOCUS Nation 2017.
  1. Christmas  Schedule – Special Christmas Evening prayer will be held on December 24th at 6:30pm. Christmas Service on Christmas day will begin at 7am.
  1. Annual Talent Show – The annual talent show will be held on Friday, December 30th at 6:00pm. Mark your calendars and those who are interested in performing the 30th kindly reach out to Danniya Samuel or Emily George.
  1. Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center
    • Each family should donate a minimum of $2000 (within 3 year span)
    • Loans accepted up to 3% interest. We were directed by Thirumeni to collect as a parish for the Dukrono of Valiya Thirumeni December 11th, Sunday.
    • The funds should be send in to the Aramana by Thursday, December 15th.
Categories
FOCUS MGOCSM

Weekly Announcements – 11/20/16

  1. St. Bernards RC Church Visits – Last Sunday afternoon. We had the St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church of Levittown, NY visit us. We had about 80 people. I received a thank you email from Diane, appreciating the parish for being so welcoming and shared how much they all enjoyed and appreciated visiting us. Special thanks for all who volunteered for the event.  Please see the post from last week for more information: St. Bernards RC Church Visits
  2. Mrs. Roshini Mathew 40th – This past Tuesday was 40th day of remembrance of our beloved Roshni, we will be offering incense at the cemetery this afternoon.
  3. Altar Servers Training – Our next Altar Servers Training will be held next Sunday, Nov 27th right after Sunday school. All Altar Servers are requested to attend.
  4. Annual Youth Potluck – Next Sunday, the 27th, the FOCUS and the Youth will be having a Potluck Dinner here at Church from 4:30pm till 7pm. It will be a time for all of the FOCUS and Youth to come together to spend time in fellowship. We will be having charity activity stations and fun activities/games as well. To sign up for items you wish to bring kindly contact Manoj Varghese
  5. Christmas Carol Song Practice – We will be beginning Christmas Carol Song practice. Once the schedule for the house visits are finalized it will be announced soon.
  6. Orma of Barnabas Thirumeni – Thursday, Dec 8th we will be celebrating the 4th Dukrono (Orma) of Barnabas Thirumeni. Evening prayer will begin at 6:30pm. All are requested to make arrangements to attend.
  7. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS Meeting will be held on Dec 9th, Friday at 7pm at the residence of Mr. Sinu and Giby Jacob. All FOCUS Members are requested to attend.
  8. MGOCSM Faith Study – Our next MGOCSM Faith Study Series will be on Dec 23rd.
  9. Vailyachen & Kochamma – God –Willing Valiyachen and Kochamma will return this Tuesday from India. Let us uphold in our prayers for their safe return.