MGOCSM Ektaa

More than just A FEW WORDS FROM THE EDITOR:
EK’TAA: what is this all about?? Who came up with this funny title for a newsletter? I know curiosity is high but before I kill the suspense I want you all to join me in “Life aboard the fellow-SHIP (excerpts from IN THE GRIP OF GRACE by Max Lucado)

  God has enlisted us in his navy and placed us on his ship. The boat has one purpose—to carry us safely to the other shore. This is no cruise ship; it is a battleship. We aren’t called to a life of leisure; we are called to a life of service. Each of us has a different task. Some concerned with those who are drowning, are snatching people from the water. Others are occupied with the enemy, so they man the canons of prayer and worship. Still others devote themselves to the crew, feeding and training the crew members.

  Though different we are the same. Each can tell a personal encounter with the captain, for each has received a personal call. He found us among the shanties of the seaport and invited us to follow him. Our faith was born at the sight of his fondness and so we went. We each followed him across the gangplank of his grace onto the same boat. There is one captain and one destination. Though the battle is fierce, the boat is safe, for our captain is God. The ship will not sink, for that there is no concern.

  There is concern, however regarding the disharmony of the crew. When we first boarded we assumed the crew was, made up of others like others. But as we wandered the decks, we see some wear uniforms we have never seen, sporting styles we’ve never witnessed. “Why do you look the way you do?” we ask them. “Funny,” they reply. “We were about to ask the same of you.” The variety of dress is not nearly as disturbing as the plethora of opinions. There are some groups, for example, who cluster every morning for serious study, promote rigid discipline and somber expressions. “Serving the captain is serious business,” they explain. Another regiment is deeply devoted to prayer. Some others spend hours in the engine room, examining the nuts and bolts of the ship. They are occasionally criticized by those who linger on the top deck, feeling the wind in the hair and the sun on their face. “It’s not what you learn” those topside argue. “It’s what you feel that matters.”

  Some believe you volunteer for service; others believe you were destined for service before the ship was even built. There are those who speak to the captain in a personal language, and then there are those who think such languages are extinct. There are those who think the officers should wear robes, there are those who think there should be no officers at all, and then there are those who think we are all officers and we should all wear robes.

  And then there is the issue of the weekly meeting at which the captain is thanked and his words are read. All agree on its importance, but few agree on its nature. Some want it loud, some want it quiet. Some want ritual, some want spontaneity, Some want to celebrate so they can meditate; others meditate so they can celebrate.

  The consequence is a rocky boat. The trouble is on deck. Fights have broken out. Sailors have refused to speak to each other. There have been times when one group refused to acknowledge the presence of others on the ship. Most important some adrift at sea have chosen not to board the boat because of the quarrelling of the sailors.

The message of this story is self explanatory. Unity within the Church (not just the Orthodox Church) is essential in bringing people to Christ. Ek’taa is a Hindi word which means Unity. I would like to take this moment to thank Joyce Philip for suggesting this creative name. It emphasizes the need for unity within the 3 church MGOCSM units . 

  The Devil has been active in causing divisions from the early Church. Paul while writing to the Corinthians says Each one of you says something different. One says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Peter”; and another, “I follow Christ.”(1 Cor1:12) This tendency continues to the present time especially in our Church hence the joke “You know you are a Malayalee if the Church you went to as a kid is now 3 different Churches.” What could be the reason for this tendency? Politics? Pride? Let us as youth not fall into the same traps that our parents fell into. Forget not the admonishing of Paul who continues in verse 13 “Christ has been divided into groups. Was it Paul who died on the cross for you? Were you baptized as Paul’s disciples?”

  Our parents who pride themselves in the traditions of the early Church probably have missed the essence of “devoting themselves to the apostles teaching and to fellowship; to the breaking of the bread and to prayer,” as described in Acts 2:42. Let us remember then that we are all parts of one body, and we form a unit in Christ. No one part is more important than the other. God has arranged the parts, everyone of them, just as he wanted them to be. Let there be no divisions in the body each part having equal concern for the other. (1Cor 12:12-31)

 “What do we do?” we’d like to ask the captain. “How can there be harmony in this ship?” We don’t have to go far. On the last night of his life Jesus prayed a prayer that stands as a citadel for all Christians “All I have is yours, and all you have is mine; and my glory is shown through them. And now I am coming to you; I am no longer in the world but they are in the world. Holy Father! Keep them safe by the power of your name, so that they may be one just as you and I are one.” John 17.10,11. How precious the words that Jesus prayed. Knowing the end is near, he prays not for their success, their safety, or their happiness. He prays for their unit or their Ek’taa 

 Paul writes that we need to be completely humble and gentle, be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity in the Spirit through the bond of peace. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not onto your own understanding. Commit thy ways to the Lord and he shall direct thy paths. (Eph 4:2-4, Prov 3:5,6).

  It would be a pleasant sight to God and man to see us sailing together in harmony and unity/Ek’taa (hey we are in the same ship, might as well make the best of it). Let me stop with a verse from the Psalmist who wrote “How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity.

News Update:

 St.Gregorios

The bible study for the Month of September was at Stanley Philip's apartment on Sep 27th. Following a fun filled Bible game, there was a lively debate on the common arguments against and the biblical basis of Infant Baptism. We want to thank Chris Mathew and Jake Kurien from St.Thomas who participated in the Bible study and contributed their thoughts. Jinsu Kunjcheria gave the monthly sermon for September during English Qurbana*, the topic being hypocrisy and why Jesus hated it. The annual Church camp was at Camp Allen. It was a time of fun and frolic with late nights, basketball, football, card games and lots and lots of fellowship. We also had a bible study led by Jaimy on the walk with Christ.  October: Cyril shared with us the Gospel message for English service in October the topic being” Can the wealthy enter heaven?” The MGOCSM also donated $250 to the medical mission to India (NRKA). Due to the loss of our ammachi (Peter Thachamattam Uncle’s Mom) and due to adverse weather the Buddy day program scheduled for October 26^th to the zoo was cancelled. Instead we had snacks followed by bible stories and activities for the kids. A few members of the MGOCSM also helped in building the bookshelves for the church library which was inaugurated by Kuriakose Achen during the Sunday School anniversary on Saturday, Nov 1^st 2003.

* Sermons during English service and the newsletter are now available at www.st.gregorios.org

Recent events: St.Gregorious Church celebrated its anniversary from Oct31-Nov 2. The church extends its heartfelt gratitude to all those who graced the occasion and joined our celebrations.- Contributed by Tina Peter (G.Sec)

St. Thomas Church

During the past 2 months we had two Bible studies, the first one was done by Ms. Susan Abraham and Ms. Anu Samuel. It was an emotional Bible study and all those who attended really grew spiritually. The other Bible study was conducted in a new format; we had an all female Bible study lead by Linsey Varghese. One of our members, Marina Mathew, who is in Hungary studying in medical school shared that she was very impressed that our ladies have such a venue. I’m so thankful that Susan Abraham and Anu Samuel have taken the initiative to start this Women's Bible Study, which helps them develop fellowship and grow spiritually together in an all female environment. I lead the Bible study for the boys and talked about the October 26^th’s Gospel reading from the book of St. Luke. We discussed how we could apply practically the message Jesus wanted us to learn from the story of the rich man who was not willing to sell all he had and follow Christ. Our Adult Advisor Mr. Peter K. Thomas also explained to us how we could apply this teaching now. We bid ‘good-bye’ to one of our beloved members, Arun Jacob, who was the Vice President for the MGOCSM last year. We took a few group photos and had him share a few words about his experience in our church and the upcoming challenges he was going to face as he leaves for the Navy. These past few months have been focused on working on our New Years Retreat for which we expect around 300 people –Contributed by Benji Mathew (V.P.)

St. Stephen’s

The past two months have been quite eventful for the MGOCSM of St. Stephen’s.  We’ve done everything from fun-day at Astroworld for all the Sunday School kids who had perfect attendance last year to Parish day celebrations to a great community service project.  Astroworld was a fun time for all those that attended, it was a something we had not done in ages but Leena and Anish brought it back to life with a new zest!!  There were about 20 kids who went and everyone had a BLAST! We were blessed this year to have His Grace Zachariah Mar Nicholavos come celebrate the Holy Qurbana. He graced us with his presence and great insight throughout the weekend speeches; it was great to have him with us for such a special occasion.  We also went to Hermann Park to help plant trees and beautify it. Thanks to all our youth as well as those that came to help us from St. Thomas – it was a great day and we had a ton of fun.  We are looking forward to beginning Christmas caroling which is probably our most favorite activity of the year!! –Submitted by Shena Cherian

Coordinated three Church activities

Bible Studies:

We were honored to have Iraneus Thirumeni lead the Bible study for the month of September. He shared words of wisdom on the importance of human life. He said that we are never alone in our journey through life as there is really never a time of solitude for Jesus has promised that he will never forsake us. Jesus also has given us his peace that passeth all understanding, his promise that if we cast all our cares/ burdens upon him he will grant us rest, pushing us to be perfect not just good. Even as you go through excruciating physical and mental agony, if you don’t feel like there is a reason to live, stop and meditate on these verses; Ps 23 “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are close to me.”; Psalm 73:8 again promises that He will stay close to you. Our God is a faithful God and though the world may tread on our dreams, though our friends may forget/betray/deny/confound /hate us, He is always there by our side for “He has carved you in the palm of his hands.” (Isaiah 49:16)

            Jennie Skaria led the Bible study for the month of October at St. Stephens. Bible study topic: Galatians’ 5:22-23 The Fruits of the holy spirit. After introducing the topic with an ice breaker quiz to analyze the morals in their own life, the participants were split into 3 groups (3 qualities in each so a total of 9). First group- love, joy, and peace- portrays a Christian's mind, depicts one's relationship with God. The second group- Patience, kindness, and goodness- contains social virtues relating toward fellow man, The final group- faithfulness, gentleness, and self control- reveals how a Christian should be. The groups constructed posters with their presentations about their findings from the Bible study. Jennie presented everyone with a bookmark with Galatians 5:22-23 on it, to help the remember the lesson from the Bible study-. Contributed by Jobi and Jennie Skaria.

MGOCSM Service Project - Memorial Children's Hospital Saturday, September 27, 2003

           Eight Houston MGOCSM members went to play with the sick/recovering children at the children's hospital.  Some played cards with the kids, while others indulged them with board games. The creative ones got busy doing crafts with the kids.  Overall, it was a rewarding experience.  Thanks to all who came out, to God be the Glory

3 Church Charity project: Painting an elderly woman’s house which was destroyed by Tropical Storm Allison

Parting messages:

Contributions are welcome. Please send in your information to kiddo263626@hotmail.com. If you have any questions please feel free to call me (Jobi) at 281-235-2571/281-580-9221