Category: FOCUS

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FOCUS MGOCSM

Annual Thanksgiving Potluck

On November 24th, the youth of the church held their Annual Thanksgiving Potluck. The evening started off with Saturday evening vespers followed by reflections by Amy George and Rebu Thomas. Both Amy and Rebu talked about the importance of offering up thanks to God every second of our lives even in the midst of suffering. Once Abey Achen offered his words, everyone gathered downstairs for a charity event involving arts and crafts. We used old t-shirts and cut them into strands to make bracelets for the less privileged children at St. Jude Children’s Hospital. Following this, we took a group picture and celebrated the birthday of Abey Achen. After pictures and cake cutting, everyone enjoyed the delicious Thanksgiving feast put together by the MGOCSM and FOCUS of the church. The evening overall was a great opportunity for the youth members to worship together and enjoy the fellowship with one another.

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FOCUS MGOCSM

Weekly Announcements – 11/26/2017

  1. Nativity Fast – December 1st marks the begining of the Nativity Fast. All able bodied members are requested to observe this fast. Here is some more information about the Nativity Fast.
  2. Parish General Body Meeting – will be held on Sunday, December 10th after service. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  3. MGOCSM Faith Study Series – will be held this Saturday, December 2nd at 4pm at church. All MGOCSM members are requested to attend.
  4. MGOCSM & FOCUS Bowling Night – The youth will be hosting a bowling night on Friday, December 22nd for all MGOCSM and FOCUS members. Details to follow in the coming weeks.
  5. FOCUS Christmas Charity – As the Christmas season is approaching the FOCUS of the parish is partnering with “We the People United Corp.” to sponsor some local needy families. Please contact Mrs. Sini Jablonski for more details and how you can support a needy family in this time of giving.
  6. FOCUS Meeting – will be held on Friday, December 15th. Location to be announced. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  7. Theophilos Thirumeni’s 40th Day Service – please see the flyer below for Theophilos Thirumeni’s 40th Day service. The service will be held at St. Mary’s Orthodox Church, Suffern.

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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

 

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FOCUS MGOCSM MMVS

Weekly Announcements – 11/19/2017

  1. Parish General Body – The next parish General Body meeting will be held on Dec. 10, 2017.
  2. Thanksgiving Potluck – MGOCSM and FOCUS will be having a Thanksgiving Potluck feast on Nov. 24th, 2017 at 5PM at the church. All MGOCSM and FOCUS members are kindly requested to attend.
  3. Christmas Caroling Practice – There will be a song practice for Christmas Caroling next Sunday, Nov. 26th at 5PM at church.  All members are requested to attend.
  4. MMVS Fasting Prayer – The weekly fasting prayer at church is cancelled for upcoming Friday, Nov. 24th, 2017.
  5. HTRC/St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Trip – The MGOCSM would like to thank all members who went on the trip to visit HTRC and St. Tikon’s Seminary.  Twenty parish members participated in this event, and a special thanks to all those who drove.  We encourage everyone to take the time to visit these spiritual centers of our faith.
  6. MGOCSM & FOCUS Donation – The MGOCSM and FOCUS of the parish donated $20,000 and $5,000, respectively towards the Church Building Loan Repayment. We would like to thank all of the youth members, both past and present, who have contributed to fundraising initiatives such as the annual basketball tournament.
  7. Baby Girl – Jeny and Shyni Koshy blessed with a baby girl Rianna Maria Koshy on Aug 11,2017.  We welcomed the baby to church  on Nov 5, 2017.  Let us uphold the new born baby and her family in our prayers.
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FOCUS MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 11/12/2017

  1. Christmas Caroling  – Christmas Caroling will be done on the weekend of Dec. 16th and 17th.  All interested in participating please contact Mr. Cheriyan Abraham.
    • Christmas Caroling Practice –  The first Christmas Caroling Practice will be held on Sunday Nov. 26th at 5pm at the church.  All who will participate in caroling are kindly requested to attend.
  2. 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.
  3. HTRC/St. Tikhon’s Orthodox Theological Seminary Trip – The youth is organizing a trip to the St. Tikhon’s Seminary, and the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center for all parents and youth. The date has been changed to Saturday, November 18th. Plan to arrive at the church at 6:30AM on Saturday, where breakfast will be provided.  The bus will leave promptly at 7AM. Please contact Manoj Varghese or Shojil Abraham at your earliest for further details. Click here to register.
  4. MGOCSM Thanksgiving One Day Conference – The MGOCSM of the Northeast American Diocese will be holding its annual one day Thanksgiving Conference on Saturday, Nov. 25th at St. Thomas Malankara Orthodox Church, Baltimore  .
    • The main speakers for the event are Rev. Fr. Sujit Thomas and Dn. Alexander (Pradeep) Hatcher.
    • The theme of the conference is “TRUST” (The Rest is Up to our Savior in Truth).
  5. Sunday School Centralized Exam and TTC Exam Results –  Special thanks to everyone that participated in the TTC and Sunday School Centralized Exams.  Congratulations to the below parish members who passed their exams:
    • TTC Exam – Mrs. Elcy Yohannan
    • 12th Grade Exam – Shainu George
    • 10th Grade Exam – Joshua Mathew
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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
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FOCUS MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 10/22/2017

  1. MGOCSM Meeting – There will be a MGOCSM Meeting on Saturday, October 28th at 4pm at the Parish.  All MGOCSM members are kindly requested to attend.
  2. FOCUS Meeting – There will be a FOCUS Meeting on Friday, October 27th at 7pm at the residence of Mr. Bills and Nancy Varghese.  All FOCUS members are kindly requested to attend.
  3. Sunday School Talent Competition – Our parish had five participants at the diocesan level talent competition: Giana Paul, Sara Solomon, Swagath Thomas, Mariel Mathew, and Sonia Joseph.  Two of our students won prizes for their efforts
    • Swagath Thomas – 2nd Prize for Solo Malayalam Song
    • Sonia Joseph – 3rd Prize for Solo English Song
  4. Feast of St. Geevarghese Mar Gregorios (Parumala Thirumeni) – The feast of is observed every year on Nov. 2nd.  The feast will be celebrated this year on Sunday, Nov. 5th.  Please see the following link to learn more about thirumeni’s  life and deeds: Parumala Thirumeni 
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FOCUS MMVS

Weekly Announcements- 10/15/2017

  1. MMVS Quiz Competition – Congratulations to the ladies of our MMVS, who won 2nd place for the Annual Quiz Competition at the MMVS Competition that took place at HTRC.
  2. Baby Boy Born – Mathew & Annie Thomas were blessed with a grandson, Nathan Samuel on October 11th.
  3. Parish Committee Meeting – There will be a Parish Committee meeting next Sunday, October 22nd, after refreshments. All Committee Members are requested to attend.
  4. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS Meeting will take place on Friday, October 27th at the residence of Mr. Bills & Nancy Varghese. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
2nd Place Winners of Annual Quiz Competition
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FOCUS MGOCSM Sunday School

Weekly Announcements – 09/17/2017

  1. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS meeting will be held this Friday, September 22nd at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Alex and Tigi Abraham. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  2. 2017-18 Sunday School Academic Year – Just a friendly reminder that Sunday school classes will began this week. All students are requested to assemble in the sanctuary soon after refreshments.
    • TTC Exam Participants – Congratulations to our Kochamma who went to the TTC Training and took the TTC Exam. She passed the exam with a high score!!
    • Area Sunday School Competitions – Friendly reminder that the area Sunday School Competitions will be held on this Saturday, September 23rd . The flyer for the event will be posted on the website.
    • Parents/Teachers Meeting – Achen and the principal has called a meeting of all the parents and Sunday School teachers for next Sunday before Sunday School. Kindly make arrangements to attend.
  3. MGOCSM Charity Drives – The youth will be hosting two charity drives for the month of September.
    1. Jamaica Armory Women’s Shelter – They will be collecting toiletries, cleaning supplies, and household items.
    2. Children’s Shoe Drive –  A children’s shoe drive for pediatric psych patients at Nassau University Medical Center.
  4. 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.
  5. CROP Hunger Walk – This year the parish is planning to participate in the CROP Hunger Walk, a charity event organized around the nation to help raise funds to fight against hunger. The event is to sponsor the efforts of Church World Services (CWS) who fights hunger all around the world. Saturday, October 7th at 10am at Eisenhower Park. For more details, kindly reach out to Leslie Babu. Please see the following link for details about the event: CROP Hunger Walk.
  6. Hurricane Relief Buckets – CWS has opened up a temporary depot on Long Island and we have contacted them. We are hoping to put relief buckets together on the evening of Thursday 21st at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Levittown, Long Island. We do need volunteers for the event. We also hope to deliver the finished buckets to the depot the next day
  7. Holy Qurbana Classes – The Holy Qurbana classes originally scheduled for today will be postponed to a later Sunday in October.

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FOCUS MGOCSM MMVS Sunday School

WEEKLY ANNOUNCEMENTS – 09/10/2017

  1. Weekly Fasting Prayer– The weekly fasting prayer will take place every Friday unless otherwise notified.
  2. Sunday school – classes for the 2017-18 year will begin next Sunday- September 17.
  3. The Feast of the Holy Cross – will be celebrated on Wednesday, September 13th at 6:30pm at our parish.
  4. FOCUS Meeting – will be held on Friday, September 22nd at the Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Alex and Tigi Abraham. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  5. MGCOSM Charity  Drives – The MGOCSM will be hosting two charity drives for the month of September:
    • Jamaica Armory 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.
  6. MGOCSM Blood Drive – The MGOCSM 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.
  7. CROP Hunger Walk – As a parish, this year we are planning to participate in the CROP Walk, a charity event organized around the nation to help raise funds to fight against hunger. The event is to sponsor the efforts of Church World Services who fights hunger all around the world. Saturday, October 7th at 10am at Eisenhower Park. For more details, kindly reach out to Leslie Babu. The flyer for the event is posted on the below.
  8. MMVS Annual Conference – The annual conference is on Saturday Oct.14th at the Holy Transfiguration Retreat Center. Those who are interested in attending the conference, kindly contact the MMVS secretary or the trustee.
  9. Holy Qurbana Classes – We will be starting classes on the Holy Qurbana starting next Sunday- September 17th Sunday after refreshments for everyone. All are requested to attend.
  10. Hurricane Harvery Relief Fund – Those who would like to donate towards the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund kindly give the donations to the Secretary or the Trustee of the parish.