Category: FOCUS

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FOCUS

Weekly Announcements – 03/26/2017

  1. Week 5 Of Great Lent – Please see the lectionary (bible readings) and devotional for Week 5 of the Great Lent at the following link. Great Lent Week 5 Lectionary & Devotional.
  1. Lenten Retreat At Holy Trinity Orthodox Church – Fr. Mark Vassilakis of the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church of East Meadow have invited us to their Lenten Retreat happening this Saturday, April 1. It will take place at the church. It is a full day program which begins with the Divine Liturgy in the morning at 10am followed by lunch followed and a lecture.  The speaker will be the Very Rev. Archimandrite Vasilios Bassakyros, pastor of St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church of NYC.  He will present a documentary on St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt and lecture on his experiences there.  After the lecture 2pm-5pm, followed by a light meal and vespers at 6pm.
  1. Parish General Body – our parish General Body meeting will be held next Sunday, April 2nd right after refreshments. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  1. Monthly Prayer Meeting – Our next prayer meeting will be held next Sunday, April 2nd at 5pm at the Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Vinod and Mibby Abraham. All are requested to attend.
  1. FOCUS Meeting – Our next FOCUS Meeting will be held on Friday, April 7th at 7pm, at the Residence of Mr. and Mrs. Mariusz and Sini Jablonski. All FOCUS members are kindly requested to attend.
  1. Lenten Retreat and Confession – Our Parish Lenten Retreat and Confession will be held on Saturday, April 8th at 9:30am. This year we will be having two speakers, one for the youth and one for adults. Dn. Shawn Thomas will be here to address the Youth and FOCUS at 2:30pm and Rev. Fr. Biju Paranthal will address the adults at 4pm. All are requested to attend. Kindly see the Holy Week Schedule below for more details.
  1. Catholicate Day – Next Sunday Morning prayer will begin at 8:00am next Sunday since we will be celebrating Catholicate Day and because of the General Body meeting.
Great Lent Week 5 Lectionary
2017 Holy Week Schedule
Holy Trinity Orthodox Church Retreat 2017

 

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FOCUS MGOCSM Sports

Weekly Announcements – 03/19/2017

  1. Mid-Lent Service – will be held this Tuesday, 21st evening at 6:30pm.
  1. Feast of Annunciation – will be held on March 25th. Morning prayers will begin at 8am.
  1. STYL Basketball Tournament Meeting – next Sunday the 26th after Sunday School. All youth and FOCUS are requested to attend this meeting.
  1. Parish General Body – meeting date is changed and will be held Sunday, April 2nd. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  1. Lenten Retreat – Our Parish Lenten Retreat and Confession will be held on Saturday, April 8th starting at 2pm. This year we will be having two speakers, one for the Youth and one for adults. Dn. Shawn Thomas will be here to address the Youth and FOCUS and Rev. Fr. Biju Paranthal will be here for the adults. All are requested to attend.
  1. Holy Week Schedule – Please see the schedule for Holy Week on the Calendar. Just a reminder that we will be having evening prayer every evening during Holy Week. Kindly make arrangements to attend.
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FOCUS MGOCSM

Weekly Announcements – 03/05/2017

  1. Great Lent Evening Prayer – During Great Lent we will be having evening prayers on Wednesday at 6:30pm.
    • After evening prayers on Wednesday, I request all the choir members to assemble to go over the songs for Holy Week.
    • Please see the lectionary (bible readings) and devotional for Week 2 of the Great Lent at the following link. Great Lent Week 2 Lectionary & Devotional.
  1. FOCUS Meeting – will be held this Friday, March 10th at 7pm at the residence of Juby and Giny Thomas. All FOCUS members are requested to attend.
  1. MGOCSM Meeting – will be held week next on Friday, March 17th at 6pm. We will be beginning to read a new exciting book and discussing it. We will begin with Evening prayer followed by the meeting. All Youth members are requested to attend.
  1. Parish Committee Meeting – will be held on Saturday, March 18th at 3pm. All Committee and members are requested to attend.
  1. Parish General Body – meeting will be held on Sunday, March 26th. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  1. First Day at Church – Kindly join me in welcoming the newborn baby girl, Evelyn Panicker, of Linu and Remya Panicker. Let us uphold the new born baby and her family in our prayers

Great Lent Week 2 Lectionary

Great Lent Week 2 Devotional

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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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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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FOCUS MGOCSM MMVS Sunday School

St. Bernard’s welcomes St. Thomas

 On Sunday afternoon, January 29th, the St. Thomas Long Island parish community visited St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church located in Levittown, NY. The Assistant Vicar, Reverend Father Abraham (Abey) George, along with many faithful were welcomed by the priest of St. Bernard’s, Father Ralph Sommer, along with many of the members of the parish.

The afternoon began with a welcome hymn, followed by Father Ralph addressing the guests on the history and the traditions of the Roman Catholic Church. Few of the administrators of the church introduced themselves and explained at what capacity they each served within the parish. The address was followed by a question and answer session where both priests answered questions regarding their respective ecclesiastical traditions. Father Ralph displayed and explained the use of various holy oils used in various sacraments of the Roman Catholic Church. The afternoon came to an end with a closings hymn followed by our parish chanting an intercessory hymn to St. Mary, the Mother of God, in Malayalam. After a group photo, Father Ralph invited us for coffee and refreshments where we had the opportunity to meet and interact with the members of the parish.

On behalf of the Clergy and the parishioners of St. Thomas, Long Island, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to Father Ralph Sommer and the administration of St. Bernard’s Roman Catholic Church who organized this event. We would like to offer our sincere thanks to all the parishioners for their hospitality and for everyone who welcomed us into their community. We look forward to working with St. Bernard’s family on various levels for the benefit of the Levittown community we serve.

IMG_4055.JPG

Please click link below for additional pictures:

https://stthomasli.org/media-gallery/photos/

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FOCUS MGOCSM MMVS

Weekly Announcements – 01/15/2017

  1. MMVS Meeting – There will be meeting today after refreshments. All MMVS are requested to attend.
  1. Altar Servers Meeting – Will be held today after Sunday school. We will have a special class on Hesychasm, dealing with intrusive thoughts and the practice of the Jesus Prayer. After the session we will plan to have fellowship lunch at a restaurant nearby. All Altar Servers are requested to attend.  Please find some pictures from the fellowship lunch below.
  1. FOCUS Meeting – Will be held this 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 Shehimo Books and Beginning to Pray books.
  1. General Body Meeting – will be held on Sunday, January 22nd. All eligible members are requested to attend.
  1. MGOCSM Faith Study Series – This month’s will be held on 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. MGOCSM Education Series – The MGOCSM is hosting a 4-part education Series on the Holy Qurbana. It will be taught by Aju Achen on the first Sundays of February, March, April and May. The first of these series is on Sunday, February 5th from 2-3:30 at St Basil Franklin Square. The fee is $20 for all four classes and a registration link will be made available in the coming weeks. If you are interested or have questions regarding this event, please contact one of youth members.
  1. New Jersey Leadership Camp – The camp will be held this July and in the hopes of fundraising for this camp, the committee has released 2017 calendars which will be available for purchase for $10. The calendar contains important information regarding saints as well as weekly bible readings. If you would like to purchase one, please see Julia Mathew and Manoj Varghese.
  1. Family Conference 2017 – will be held from July 12-15th (Wednesday-Saturday) at Kalahari Resorts at Poconos Manor in Pennsylvania. Discounted rates will be given till end of this month. To register go online to www.fyconf.org.
  1. New Born Baby Girl – Kindly join me in congratulating Mr. Linu and Remya Panicker on their new born baby girl, Evelyn Lizbeth Panicker. Let us keep the newborn and the family in our prayers.

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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.