Author: Joshua Mathew

Categories
Uncategorized

Happy Birthday to our Abey Achen!

The Vicar, Very Rev. Dr. Yohannan Sankarathil Chor Episcopos and the members of St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church, LI would like to wish our Achen, Rev. Fr. Abraham (Abey) George a blessed Happy Birthday! As a Church, we really appreciate everything Achen has done for us for the past couple of years. Within the past year, our Church was able to continue to grow spiritually and further explore the world of Orthodoxy. His new position as the Director of the FOCUS of our Diocese allowed his spiritual drive to encourage the passion for Christ into the hearts of the members of the Church.  Achen’s life has been the model by which our parishioners have sprung up within recent years in trying to hold the Church in the correct faith. He has become a spiritual father for many individuals and has motivated them to seek further knowledge of Orthodoxy to become closer to God. Achen has truly blessed us all, through the grace of God, with his life and spiritual demeanor. We pray for Achen and his ministry in the Lord’s vineyard as a priest. May God grant our Achen many years!

 

Categories
FOCUS MGOCSM

Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center & St. Tikhon’s Seminary/Monastery Trip 2017

On November 18th, a group of our parish members took a trip, organized by the church’s MGOCSM, to visit our Diocese’s newly acquired Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center and Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk’s Orthodox Seminary and Monastery. The day began at St. Tikhon’s where we were introduced to the the beautiful monastery church, filled with radiant iconography. We were also able to venerate the icons and some of the relics there (such as St. Seraphim of Sarov’s, St. Nicholas of Japan’s, etc.).  We were then taken to the seminary campuses, the classrooms, and the library which was filled with books about our faith and other faiths. Our Assistant Vicar, Rev. Fr. Abraham (Abey) George had attended seminary at St. Tikhon’s and was able to give us, as well as members from St. Stephen’s Orthodox Church, Franklin Square, a tour. We then took some time to visit the bookstore and the Burning Bush Cafe which sells coffee and other products made by the monastic community. We said our goodbyes to the community at St. Tikhon’s and went for a fellowship lunch before heading to the Retreat Center. After arriving at the Retreat Center, we were taken around the facility to see the newly furnished rooms, ready for future camps and retreats, as well as the chapel and the library. We were filled with awe by the breathtaking landscape, which the children especially enjoyed as they were able to run around and play. Our Vicar, Very Rev. Dr. Yohannan Sankarathil Chor Episcopos could not attend the trip but expressed great joy that the Church was able to attend these spiritual havens and learn more about the faith. We praise our Triune God for guiding these spiritual centers in the building up of the Holy Church as well as thank the MGOCSM of our church for organizing this amazing trip.

Carved by a monk many years ago

 

Categories
FOCUS MGOCSM

WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS – 11/05/2017

  1. FOCUS Meeting – The next FOCUS meeting will be held at Sunil and Amy George’s house on November 17th at 7 pm. We will be continuing our review and discussion of the book, Beginning to Pray.
  2. HTRC/St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Trip – The youth is organizing a trip to the St. Tikhon’s Seminary, and the Holy Transfigiration Retreat Center for all parents and youth. The date has been changed to Saturday, November 18th. Please contact Manoj Varghese or Shojil Abraham at your earliest for further details. Click here to register.

    2017 HTRC & St. Tikon’s Trip
Categories
MGOCSM MMVS Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 08/27/2017

    1. Parish OVBS – We had our parish OVBS yesterday. We had close to 60 children participate. Special thanks to all the volunteers, teachers and parents, especially the children who spent the entire day at the church.  Please see the slide show presentation on YouTube https://youtu.be/3VRP4vxC4xI

  1. Weekly Fasting Prayer – Our weekly fasting prayer will be held this Friday from 10am – 12pm at the parish. Rides can be arranged for those who need them.
  2. Holy Qurbana – Two days during the week we will be having Holy Qurbana. September 7th Thursday evening at 6:30pm for the Birth of St. Mary, the Mother of God. Wednesday, September 13th at 6:30pm for the Feast of the Holy Cross. Kindly make arrangements to attend.
  3. MGOCSM Blood Drive – The youth has organized a blood drive in association with the Red Cross that will be held on Saturday, September 30th from 11am to 4pm at the parish. For anyone interested in donating blood please contact Vineeth Varghese or Danniya Samuel at your earliest.
  4. MGOCSM Charity Drive – The youth will be hosting 2 charity drives for the month of September.
    • The first is for the Jamaica Women’s Shelter. They will be collecting toiletries, cleaning supplies, and household items.
    • The second is a children’s shoe drive for pediatric psych patients at Nassau university medical center. Please see the flyer posted on the downstairs bulletin board for details.
  5. Area Level Sunday School Competition – The Area Level Sunday School talent competition will be held on Saturday, September 23rd at St. Mary’s West Sayville church. If anyone is interested in volunteering to help run the event please contact Danniya Samuel.
  6. MMVS Annual Conference – Our annual conference is on Oct.14th Saturday at the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center. Anyone interested to go for the conference please contact the MMVS secretary or trustee. There is a fee of $35 for the bus and needs to be collected as early as possible.
  7. AmazonSmile – Do you shop on Amazon? If yes, it is easy to support our parish with each purchase via AmazonSmile.  AmazonSmile is a simple and automatic way for you to support your favorite charitable organization every time you shop, at no cost to you. When you shop at smile.amazon.com, you’ll find the exact same low prices, vast selection and convenient shopping experience as Amazon.com, with the added bonus that Amazon will donate a small portion of the purchase price to your favorite charitable organization. You can choose from nearly one million organizations to support.  A few minutes to set up is all it takes.  Please click the link below to select our parish to support with your Amazon purchase. https://smile.amazon.com/ch/11-3077671
  8. Recent Graduates – Please give the names of all recent graduates (August 2016-June 2017) to the Secretary.
Categories
FOCUS MMVS Sports Sunday School

Weekly Annoucements – 08/20/2017

  1. Weekly Fasting Prayer – Our weekly fasting prayer will be held this Friday from 10am- 12pm at the parish. Rides can be arranged for those who need them.
  2. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS Meeting will be held this Friday, August 25th, at 7pm at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Sinu and Giby Jacob. All FOCUS members are kindly requested to attend.
  3. Parish OVBS – Our Parish OVBS will be held this Saturday at the Parish. Those who have registered kindly make sure that you come on time since we have a full day schedule planned.
  4. BQLI Area Convention – The annual B/Q/LI area convention. The main speaker for all three days will be Rev. Dr. Ninan. K. George, professor of Orthodox Theological Seminary in Kottayam. August 25, 26, 27 Friday, Saturday and Sunday at 6:30pm at Our Lady of Snow Roman Catholic Church.
  5. Parish Sunday School Trip – The Sunday school children, parents, teachers took a trip to a Minor League baseball game of the Long Island Ducks.  We wanted to thank everyone who took the time to attend. Please see some pics below.

BQLI Combined Area Convention
Categories
MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 07/31/2017

  1. Fast of the Dormition– This Tuesday, August 1st , we are starting the Lent of the Dormition of the Mother of God.
  2. Holy Qurbana– On Monday, August 14th evening we will have Holy Qurbana for the Feast of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Evening prayer will begin at 6:30pm.
  3. Weekly Fasting Prayer– Our weekly fasting prayer will be held this Friday from 10am-
    Noon at the parish. All are kindly requested to attend.
  4. Parish Committee Meeting– Our Parish Committee meeting will be held next Sunday after service. All committee members are requested to attend this meeting.
  5. Parish General Body Meeting– Our Parish General Body meeting will be held on Sunday August 20th after service. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  6. Area Martura Conference– Just a friendly reminder that our parish will be hosting this year’s area MGOCSM Martura conference. All MGOCSM members from our parish are requested to register.
  7. Parish OVBS– Our parish will be hosting a one-day OVBS on Saturday, August 26th from 9am – 7pm. Reach out to either Mrs. Giby Jacob or Ms. Shilpa Mathew to register. The deadline for the registration will be tomorrow, Monday July 31st . There will be a $5 charge for each student signing up. Kindly see Mr. Nevin Joseph for more details.
Categories
MGOCSM MMVS Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 07/23/2017

1. Weekly Fasting Prayer– Our weekly fasting prayer will be held this Friday from 10am-12pm at the parish. All are kindly requested to attend.

2. Parish Picnic– Our Parish Summer Picnic was held yesterday. Special thanks to all the volunteers, especially the youth who helped out.

3. MGOCSM Meeting– Our next MGOCSM Meeting will be held this Saturday, July 29th at 4pm here at the Church. All MGOCSM Members are requested to attend.

4. Parish OVBS– Our parish will be hosting a one day OVBS on Saturday, August 26th from 9am – 7pm. If you are interested in signup for registration will begins today. Reach out to either Mrs. Giby Jacob or Ms. Shilpa Mathew for registration. The deadline for the registration will be Monday July 31 st . The Theme for the Conference is “Be Perfect as your heavenly father is perfect” There will be a $5 charge for each student signing up. Kindly see Mr. Nevin Joseph for more details.

5. 2017 AJM Tournament Pics – Click the following link to see photos from the 2017 Anil John Memorial Basketball Tournament.

Parish Picnic 2017