Visit to St. Thomas M T C, Marathahally, Bangalore.
Holy Qurbana was celebrated at Marathahally Parish and conducted the dedication service of the first communicants. The Parish was briefed to conduct the collection for the Mar Thoma Centre, Beersandra. The Parish is in an effort to construct a new place of worship.
Conference for the Seminary Students.
A conference for all theological students, sponsored and non – sponsored was conducted at the T M A M Orientation centre Manganam on May 26 and 27. Mar Theodosius attended the conference, met the students and celebrated the Holy Qurbana on May 27. Classes on the Sacraments and Sabha Constitution were part of the programme.
Diocesan Youth Conference
The Annual Diocesan Youth Confernce was held at the Hindustan Engineering College Padur from May 21 to June 1. There were 254 youths in attendance. Rooting for Fruiting was the theme of CEDAR 2008. Rev. Vinod Victor (C S I) and Rev. Abraham Skariah were the leaders. The Diocesan Episcopa inaugurated the conference and stayed with the delegates. It was decided to have the next conference at Coimbatore.
Episcopal Visit to the Parishes in Malaysia.
The Diocesan Episcopa visited the Mar Thoma Parishes at Seremban, Klang and Johore Bahru and conducted Holy Communion Services from June 5 to 8. He also inaugurated the Dammansara Mar Thoma Chapel of the Klang Mar Thoma Parish on Sunday, June 8 with a Holy Communion for the members.
Zonal Assembly of Malaysia.
The Zonal Assembly of Malaysia as per the new special rules met on June 7 at the Mar Thoma Church, Kuala Lumpur. The following are the decisions.
1. Passed Annual Report and statement of Accounts for the year 2007.
2. Approved the Zonal Budget for the year 2008.
3.Approved the interim budget / quota allocation of the Zone for 2009.
4. Authorized the Zonal Council to appoint members for the following committee.
i. Members to the Mission Board
ii. Members to the Editorial Board of Suara Mar Thoma
iii. Members to the Mar Thoma Malaysia Homepage Committee
iv. Members to the Lay Training Committee
v. Members to the Metropolitan Fund, Scholarship/Memorial Funds
vi. Members to the Malaysian Mar Thoma Centre Committee
vii. Members to the National Disaster Fund Committee
A resolution was passed to the following effect:
“Every committee will have one Zonal Council member as the Convener. The Council may co-opt non-Assembly members with special expertise if required. Each committee has to submit half-yearly Report/Accounts to the Zonal Council/Diocesan Episcopa. If any of the committee is not functioning the Diocesan Episcopa will have the freedom to reconstitute it and then report that in the next meeting of the Zonal Assembly.”
5. Election of the Office bearers for the term 2008-2011.
The following are elected to the Zonal Council.
Vice President - Rev. Dr. Thomas Philips. - Vicar, Klang M T C
Hon. Secretary - Dr. Thomas Varughese - Kuala Lumpur
Hon. Treasurer - Mr. Philip Thomas - Seremban
Council Members - Mr. George Thomas - Banting
- Mr. Verughese Mathew - Klang
- Mr. Suresh Thomas - Seremban
- Mr. Tommy Thomas - Kuala Lumpur.
All the Vicars of the Parishes.
6. Appointed the following persons as the Internal Auditors.
Dr. Mathews Thomas (Klang Parish)
Mr. Koshy Samuel (Banting Parish)
The Diocesan Assembly of Chennai- Bangalore Diocese
The meeting of the Diocesan Assembly met at the Mar Thoma Church, Chetpet on June 14th . The Assembly elected office bearers an members of the Diocesan Council for the new 3 year term. The following decisions were made.
1. Passed Annual Report and statement of Accounts for the year 2007 - 2008.
2. Approved the Diocesan Budget for the year 2008-2009.
3. Authorized to spend an amount not greater than 5/12 of the expenditure of 2008-2009 for the first 5 months of 2009-2010.
4. Decided to appoint M/s Abraham & Philip, Chartered Accountants as external auditor for the year 2008 – 2009.
5. Resolution to purchase a plot of land in the vicinity of Chennai
Resolved that a plot of land in the vicinity of Chennai be purchased for development of a Mar Thoma centre at Chennai, subject to the availability of land at convenient location and also the necessary resources
6. a) Elected Rev. Mathew Baby as the Diocesan Secretary for the term 2008 - 2011.
b) Elected Mr. Abraham Zachariah as the Diocesan Treasurer for the term 2008-2011.
c) Elected Diocesan Council comprising of 24 members for the term 2008-2011.
List of Diocesan Council Members for the term 2008-2011
1. Rev. Raju P George, Andamans
2. Rev. Thomas Cherian, Coimbatore
3. Rev. Ginu Abraham, Mundugod
4. Rev. D. Devadas, Hydrabad
5. Rev. P G Mathew, Velloore
6. Rev. Ranji Varughis, Chennai
7. Rev. K. Y. Jacob, Bangalore
8. Rev. Manoj Idiculla, Bangalore
9. Rev. Thomas George, Bangalore
10. Rev. Baiju Markose, Mydakoor
11. Rev. K. P. Johnson, Devanahalli
12. Rev. Gigy Thomas, Mangalapuram
13. Rev. Thomas Mathew, Honavar
14. Mr. Madhu George Mathai, Abudhabi
15. Mr. S Chacko, Bangalore
16. Mr. Biju Mammen, Hyderabad
17. Mr. James Daniel, Bangalore
18. Mr. Baboo Joseph, Chennai
19. Mr. Jacob Mathai, Chennai
20. Mr. P. J. John, Chennai
21. Mrs. Sally Thomas, Bangalore
22. Mrs. Mary Akamma John, Bangalore
23. Mrs. Molly Kurian, Chennai
24. Mrs. Lysamma Phlip, Bangalore
* The Presidential address by the Diocesan Episcopa is given at the Message page.
Regional Clergy Conferences
The Regional clergy meeting for Tamil Nadu met at the Mar Thoma Church Salem on June 17th and for Karnataka at the Hoskotte Mar Thoma Church. The meeting for Andhra Pradesh was held at Gajulappally MTC on July 1st. The clergy met for fellowship in each area and to evaluate the Ministry of the Church in Various places.
Visit to North Madras Mar Thoma Parish, Thiruvettiyoor.
Holy Qurbana was celebrated at North Madras Parish and conducted the dedication service of the first communicants on 15th June. A souvenir was released at a function held at the Church after the worship service.
Visit to Bangalore East M T C.
The Diocesan Episcopa visited the Parish and Conducted the Vidyalaya Varsharambha Sthothra Susrusha ( School re-opening - thanks giving service) along with the Holy Communion Service on 22nd June. Thirumeni met the theological students studying in United Theological College, Bangalore in college campus.
Visit to Mar Thoma Opportunity School, Bangalore
The A G M of the of the School Society was held at the Opportunity School, Bangalore after a Holy Qurbana Service on 29th June 2008. The worship service was attended by a good number of people form the parishes in Bangalore.
Annual Meeting of the Ecumenical Christian Centre, White Field.
The 15th M A Thomas Memorial lecture was delivered by Dr. Samuel Rayan on the topic : ‘Economics, Religion and all Else as if people mattered’. He said: ‘People matter. Persons come first. The human Community is central, ultimate and decisive. That is a truth we recall today. A truth to which we do well to rededicate our selves on this occasion’.
The Lambeth Conference 2008
I am glad that I could attend the Lambeth Conference representing the Mar Thoma Church. The whole conference was centered around Jesus Christ and the Word of God. There was a three day retreat and the conference started and ended with the Eucharist at the Canterbury Cathedral. I could understand the meaning of the Anglican Communion when I spent about 20 days with the Bishops who came from far and wide representing various continents gathering together daily for prayer and Holy Communion. The social witness of the Church was marked by a Walk in London insisting that the world leaders respect the Millennium Goals to eradicate poverty and empower the marginalized.
You can read more details in the website www.lambethconference.org
New Study Material On Holy Qurbana
This is a study material prepared in June with a view of helping the Mar Thoma Members to understand the significance and importance of the Holy Qurbana as practiced in the Mar Thoma Church. The material is organized into 123 slide notes ( PC - CD Rom). This can be used as a teaching material for the first communicants and also for conducting classes in various organizations. It can be presented on the screen, the notes can be used as reference material. It can be a material for self study or for the study of family members together. Copies can be had form the Mar Thoma Bhavan (mtbhavan@yahoo.co.in).
Visit to the Parishes in UK
Holy communion services were conducted at the Mar Thoma Parishes in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol and Hounslow.