05/06/07: To ensure that all mission trips have the adequate resources in order to be fruitful and effective, we kindly request that if you are interested in participating in any of these upcoming mission trips. please e-mail mission@mtcyouth.org no later than the following dates specified:
Mission Trip: Respond by:
Mexico Medical (May 24 - 26, 2007) ASAP
Alabama (June 10 - 16, 2007) Sunday, May 13, 2007
Mexico Hygiene (June 20 - 24, 2007) Sunday, May 20, 2007
Oklahoma (July 4 - 8, 2007) Sunday, June 3, 2007
Mexico Medical (July 18 - 22, 2007) Sunday, June 17, 2007
Mexico V.B.S. (July 29 - August 2, 2007) Sunday, June 24, 2007
Mexico Education (August 6 - 10, 2007) Sunday, July 1, 2007
New Orleans (August 31 - Sept 2, 2007) Sunday, July 8, 2007
India (October 3rd week) Sunday, July 8, 2007
Come and join your brothers and sisters from around the Diocese to share God's love! For more information about the mission trips, please visit the "Missions" section of the DYF website:
http://mtcyouth.org/cs2/missions/default.aspx.
Condolence and Comfort
04/20/07: We join in mourning the student community of Virginia Tech who lost their friends in the heartless shoot out on Monday. We are shocked by the depth of heinous act which snuffed out so many promising life as they were blooming. We share the sorrow of the families and friends. We express solidarity with the student community all over the world that they would rise up against the forces of evil in their struggle for a safe and meaningful learning environment
We also sympathize with the trauma of the family of the person who is responsible for this tragic act.
We sincerely express our deep condolences to parents and extended family of Ashley George who is mourning over the loss of their grandfather.
May God give peace and comfort to all.
Rev. Ninu Chandy
Vice President of the Diocesan Youth Fellowship
2007 Mission Activities
04/18/07: By God's grace, the Mission Board of the Diocese of North America and Europe has been able to arrange mission trips in Alabama, Oklahoma, New Orleans, Mexico, and India. God has opened the doors of opportunity for us to share His good news and love with the Native American, Mexican, and Indian communities in these various locations. Specific mission trip dates can be obtained from the "Missions" section of the DYF website: http://mtcyouth.org/cs2/missions/default.aspx. Please support these mission activities with your prayers and participation. If you willing and able to support and participate in these mission activities, please e-mail mission@mtcyouth.org.
Mar Thoma Messenger - April 2007 Issue
02/25/07: The April 2007 issue of the Mar Thoma Messenger has been dedicated to the Mar Thoma Youth Fellowship and Sunday School. This is a great opportunity for every Youth Fellowship in our Diocese to share news about their recent and upcoming programs and activities (conferences, mission programs, local community involvement, etc...). Individual youths can also submit opinion articles on the Mar Thoma Church and its activities, Christian perspective articles on general issues, poems, photos, and other information that can be shared with the subscribers of the Mar Thoma Messenger, who are all over North America and Europe. We strongly encourage all Youth Fellowships to be represented in this issue of the Mar Thoma Messenger and send all materials to be published to Mr. Eapen Daniels, Chief Editor, at eapen4@hotmail.com by March 25, 2007.
2006 Youth Fellowship Annual Reports
02/22/07: As per the By-Laws of the Mar Thoma Youth Fellowship of the Diocese of North America and Europe, which can be found at http://mtcyouth.org/cs2/files/folders/generalinfo/entry343.aspx, each Youth Fellowship (Parish, Regional, Zonal, and Diocesan) is required to create an Annual Report that summarizes the organization's activities for the report year and present it to the Youth Fellowship General Body for approval. After the report has been approved by the General Body of the Youth Fellowship, please e-mail a copy to the DYFC Secretary at secretary@mtcyouth.org. Once received, the report will be published on the DYF website at http://mtcyouth.org/cs2/files/15/default.aspx.
Sharing this information with others around the Diocese will provide a way for people to find out what's happening (programs, missions, etc...) in the different Youth Fellowships and may inspire others to implement similar programs and activities. Please respond to this request as soon as your 2006 Youth Fellowship Annual Report has been approved by your General Body.
Metropolitan's Navathy Project
02/16/07: The Navathy project has been initiated as part of the celebration of the 90th birthday of His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostom Mar Thoma Metropolitan, which falls on April 27, 2007. This is an occasion of thanksgiving and celebration for the church and society. Let us praise God for the enormous contribution that the Metropolitan has made to the Mar Thoma Church and to society, irrespective of religion or caste. The Metropolitan has made millions of people laugh, think, and act with the golden words that flow from his lips and hence it is meaningful to celebrate this great occasion of "Navathy". The Church has decided to commemorate this great occasion by constructing houses for 1500 unfortunate families, irrespective of religion or caste. For more information, please visit the Navathy website at http://www.navathy.org/.
Census Gathering Trip - Mexico Mission Field
02/13/07: The DYF will be conducting a census gathering trip in the Mexico Mission field from Thursday, March 22 to Sunday, March 25, 2007. The purpose of this trip is to gather detailed information about the islanders (children, adults, families) that will be used to create programs that will address their specific needs during the upcoming summer mission trips. The information will also be used in the construction plans for the Boys and Girls Hostels. The DYF Mexico Mission Leadership Advisory Team is looking for a team of 4 - 6 youths who are interested in visiting the islanders and conducting the interviews (along with local Spanish translators). If you are interested in participating in this trip, please e-mail Betty Vattakunnel at mission@mtcyouth.org by Friday, March 2, 2007.
112th Maramon Convention
02/11/07: The 112th Maramon Convention of the Mar Thoma Church was inaugurated on Sunday, February 11, 2007 by the Most Rev. Dr. Philipose Mar Chrysostam Mar Thoma Metropolitan. This year's convention speakers include Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, World Council of Churches (WCC) General Secretary, Anne Graham Lotz, AnGel Ministries founder and daughter of Dr. Billy Graham, Rajkumar Ramchandran, Bishop Dr. Robert Solomon, President of the Council of Churches of Singapore, and many more. You can find more information about the convention at http://www.mtconvention.com/. Please keep the convention in your prayers.
Weekly Conference Call Prayer for the Mexico Mission
02/09/07: The Mar Thoma Youth Fellowship has made a commitment to increase our leadership and role in the development of the Mexico Mission field. As presented at the Diocesan Leadership Conference in Baltimore, the Youth Fellowship has specifically committed to the following two areas:
#1. Create programs and organize mission trips to support the spiritual development of the people in the Mexico Mission field.
We are in the process of organizing a trip in late March to gather detailed information about the people in the Mexico Mission field (specific needs, issues, etc...). More information about this trip and the trips planned for the Summer will be conveyed in later e-mails and in the mission section of the website (
http://mtcyouth.org/cs2/missions/default.aspx)
#2. Raise funds to purchase land and construct buildings that will house the children of the mission field closer to schools, hospitals, etc... As mentioned at the Leadership Conference, the land for the hostels costs approximately $50,000. We will be submitting the down payment of $10,000 in the next few days, and will need to raise the remaining $40,000 by the end of March. We will be looking to the working youth of the Diocese to support this cause through their donations.
These are obviously monumental tasks that will only happen with God's grace and through the prayers and support of all the youth in our Diocese.
To join together in prayer, we have scheduled a conference call for Sundays @ 10:00 p.m. EST. We will spend a few minutes in prayer for our commitments to the development of the Mexico Mission. If you are interested in attending this conference call prayer, please contact the DYFC Secretary for the specific conference call dial-in information at
secretary@mtcyouth.org. If you are unable to join us, please continue to keep our commitments to the Mexico Mission in your prayers.
2007 Diocesan Leadership Conference – A Blessed Event
01/07/07: The 2007 Diocesan Leadership Conference was truly a blessed event in the history of the DYF! Coorilos Thirumeni’s opened the conference with a challenge to all the delegates to live their lives as servant leaders for Christ through a life of service, sacrifice, and suffering. Our main speaker, Rev. Kemper Crabb, used his unique and in-depth knowledge of our culture and the Mar Thoma traditions and worship, to challenge the delegates not to conform to the world’s ideas, but to be transformed by the Spirit of the Lord whom we worship in the St. James liturgy every Sunday. Rev. Manoj Zacharia took the delegates through several passages in the Old and New Testaments to illustrate how God transformed people to be instruments of His love and work towards the extension of His kingdom. On top of this, the delegates spent almost 8 hours engaged in the study of Worship (led by Rev. Skariah John and Rev. Kemper Crabb), Mentoring (led by Rev. Biju Cherian and John C. Thomas from St. Thomas MTC, NY), Mission (led by Rev. Ninu Chandy and Sam George from Chicago MTC), and Hermeneutics/Homiletics (led by Rev. Skariah John and Alex Kolath from Dallas Farmers Branch, TX). As if this wasn’t enough, during the break sessions, Manoj Achen led an informal discussion on the topic of “Servant Leadership” and Sam George presented information about his book “Coconut Generation” (http://coconutgeneration.com/). Friends, this was a unique event that was blessed by God with great leadership in a great city, Baltimore!
Special thanks to Rev. Saji P. Thomas and our host, the Baltimore Mar Thoma Youth Fellowship, for all their hard work and dedication to make this conference a huge success!
2006 Christmas Drive Results
12/25/06: By the Grace of God, the Diocesan Youth Fellowship was able to provide toys, gifts, clothing, devotional material, and many other donations to the children and adults of the Mexico Mission field in our last visit to the islands on Tuesday, December 19, 2006. Led by our Diocesan Bishop, Rt. Rev. Dr. Euyakim Mar Coorilos, youths traveled to Fantasia Island and Puntilla Norte in order to distribute these Christmas gifts to the people. Thanks to the generous donations of many youths and Youth Fellowships around the Diocese, over $3,000 was collected in order to purchase toys, food, hygiene products, and other much-needed items for the people of the Mexico Mission field. It was truly a blessing to share the resources God has given us with those in need.
Bringing Christmas to the Mexico Mission Field
11/16/06: As another Christmas season is approaching, many of us will have an opportunity to experience joy and fellowship with friends and family while enjoying good food and the other comforts that we have been graciously blessed with. Unfortunately, there will be many people who will not be able to experience the same joy due to the difficult circumstances they face in their lives.
As Christians, we are called to share the love of Jesus Christ with others. One way that we can share His love is by sharing the blessings that He has provided us with those in need. Friends, there are many people in the Mexico Mission field who are in need of our love and support.
Unfortunately, there are many children who wake up Christmas morning without experiencing the joy that we do and many adults who don't have the resources to make Christmas a special time for their family. But it doesn't have to be this way and by the grace of God, we have an
opportunity to make a difference!
The Diocesan Youth Fellowship is collecting donations that will be used to bring Christmas to the Mexico Mission Field. Coorilos Thirumeni, along with members from the church, will be making a trip to the Mexico Mission Field from Monday, December 18 to Wednesday, December 20, 2006 to deliver supplies, toys, gifts, and other donations to those people in need.
There are approximately 200 children that are spread throughout the 3 islands that are part of the Mexico Mission. As you know, back in September, we conducted a very successful "Operation Backpack" to provide school supplies to some of the kids; however, there is still a need for some additional items as you can see below.
1. Bibles (in Spanish)
2. 30 Backpacks with wheels
3. 10 Calculators
4. Pens, pencils
5. Toys
6. Christian material (i.e. books, games) in Spanish
7. Clothing
To assist in adults with basic hygiene, we can provide the following:
1. Soap
2. Shampoo
3. Toothpaste and Toothbrush
4. Deodorant
There are many other items that can help improve their quality of life, and I'm sure that you will think of them and respond accordingly. In order to facilitate the collection of these Christmas donations, we kindly request that you send your donation to our Diocesan Youth Fellowship Treasurer, Anoop George, via a check payable to the Diocesan Youth Fellowship (memo: Mexico Mission Christmas) along with a list of the items that should be purchased with those donations. He, along with our friends in Houston, will purchase the items accordingly and make the appropriate arrangements to transport them to the Mexico Mission Field. This arrangement will eliminate the shipping charges that you will incur if you purchase the items yourself. However, if you want to purchase the items and ship them, that's fine too. In order to make the appropriate
transportation arrangements on time, we request that you send your donations to Anoop by Sunday, December 10, 2006.
2007 Diocesan Leadership Conference
11/15/06: The X Diocesan Leadership Conference will be conducted from Thursday, January 4 to Sunday, January 7, 2007. This year's conference will be hosted by the Baltimore Mar Thoma Youth Fellowship. The theme that we will be studying on during this conference is "Not to Conform, but to be Transformed" based on Romans 12:2. Track sessions will be conducted to study the following areas:
Mission/Outreach
Bible Study/Hermeneutics & Homiletics
Mentoring/Disciples hip/Counseling
Worship
For this conference, we are blessed to have the presence and leadership of our Diocesan Bishop, Coorilos Thirumeni, Main Speaker, Rev. Kemper Crabb, Bible Study Leader, Rev. Manoj Zacharia, our Youth Chaplains (Rev. Ninu Chandy, Rev. Biju Cherian, Rev. Mathew Skariah, and Rev. Skariah John), and many other youth leaders from around our Diocese.
The Baltimore Mar Thoma Youth Fellowship has prepared the conference brochure and registration which will be sent to your church. As this is the leadership conference, we encourage participation by all youth ages 20 to 35 who are interested in developing as servant leaders in the church for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Please keep this conference (its preparation, host, leaders, delegates, and all other aspects) in your prayers. We look forward to seeing you in Baltimore.
Operation Backpack Results
09/10/06: By the Grace of God, the Diocesan Youth Fellowship collected over $3,000 to purchase backpacks, calculators, pens, pencils, paper, and other school supplies for the children in the Mexico Mission field. Special thanks to all the youths who supported this effort with their prayers and generous donations. The children of the islands were very appreciative of the supplies that they received!
Operation Backpack
08/30/06: From Monday, August 14 to Friday, August 18, 2006, 18 youths from around our Diocese joined together as a Diocesan Youth Fellowship Mission Team and participated in a mission trip to the Mexico Mission Field. This trip was truly a blessed experience as we had the opportunity to share the love of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ with the local community on three islands through our fellowship and various activities. During this trip, we were also exposed to the needs of the local people. The people of that area really need our assistance in many areas (spiritual, medical, educational, financial, etc...) and as a Diocesan Youth Fellowship we are committed to support them in whatever way God allows us to.
One immediate need that was brought to our attention was in the educational area. Fortunately, some of the children of these islands are able attend school; however, due to their poor financial situation, they do not have the school supplies necessary to have a complete education experience. To assist in this area, the DYF is reaching out to all Youth Fellowships around the Diocese to help provide these children with school supplies under the name "Operation Backpack". If you are willing and able to assist in this effort, you can collect\raise funds that will be used to purchase backpacks, calculators, pens, pencils, notebooks, and other school supplies. Send a check payable to the Diocesan Youth Fellowship (memo: Operation Backpack) to our DYFC Treasurer, Anoop George.
Mexico Mission Trip
08/14/06: From Monday, August 14, 2006 to Friday, August 18, 2006, 18 youths from around the Diocese participated in a mission trip to Mexico organized by the Diocesan Youth Fellowship. During this trip, the youths had an opportunity to share the love of God through various programs and activities (VBS sessions, crafts, singing, sports) with the people of the Mexico Mission field. It was truly a blessing to be able to have fellowship with the people of that community and to witness the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Mexico Mission Fundraising Raffle Winners
08/13/06: On Sunday, August 13, 2006, the Diocesan Youth Fellowship held the drawing for the Mexico Mission Fundraising Raffle during the closing ceremony of the XXVII National Mar Thoma Youth Conference in Toronto. The raffle was conducted to raise funds to support the reconstruction of homes that were destroyed in the Mexico Mission field during the Summer of 2005 by Hurricane Emily. Tickets were distributed to all Youth Fellowships throughout the Diocese of North America and Europe. The drawing was conducted in the presence of the conference main speaker, Rt. Rev. Joseph Mar Barnabas, Episcopa, Bible Study Leader, Rev. Dr. M.J. Joseph, Rev. Joseph Oommen, Diocesan Secretary, our Youth Chaplains, Rev. Mathew Skariah, Rev. Biju Cherian and the Conference President, Rev. Mathew Thomas. M.J. Joseph Achen drew the winning tickets and the prizes were awarded as follows:
• 1st Prize (Laptop Computer): Mr. Benjie Varghese (St. Thomas MTC, NY)
• 2nd Prize (Digital Camera): Mrs. Susan George (Philadelphia MTC, PA)
• 3rd Prize (iPod Shuffle): Mr. Jobi Mathai (Philadelphia MTC, PA)