Prayer Groups
Our organizations are the strength of this parish. Every organization has their own committees and they convene regularly for bible studies and other activities.
Prayer groups are the backbone of our church and prayer is the cornerstone of our faith life. Let me thank each and every prayer group leader for coordinating the prayer group meetings. We have three area prayer groups - South, North and Portland. They come together every month regularly and conduct bible studies at houses. Portland prayer group comes together for the Holy Communion service on 3rd Saturdays.
South Area Prayer Group
The South Area Prayer (SAP) group met every 3rd Sunday of the month for the year 2020 that was coordinated by Mr. Santhosh Varughese. We thank Mr. Santhosh Varughese for his time and efforts. Unlike the previous year, church members led most of the sessions. We thank the following members for leading the monthly sessions –Mr. Joseph Manaloor, Mr. Abraham Thomas, Mr. Prakash Meloot, Mrs. Susan Manaloor, Mrs. Jolly Meloot, Mrs. Saramma Titus, Mrs. Neeni George and Mrs. Elizabeth Daniel. Rev. Sam Philip was an instrumental presence throughout the year and led the first and last meetings of the year. We thank all members who came forward to help with the meetings by singing, praying and bible reading as most of the meetings were conducted virtually via Zoom, thus pre-arranged. We were blessed by God to be provided with the opportunity to continue this service virtually amidst the pandemic. Mr. Santhosh Varughese is the coordinator for the year 2021.
North Area Prayer Group
For year 2020, we had meetings by Zoom because of Covid. However, we were able to have meetings almost every month and the Zoom format worked very well. We started a new WhatsApp group for NAP and used that as the primary mode of communication. We explored the topic of faith in depth during the course of the year - the discussions were deep and meaningful and often quite enjoyable. Some of the topics that we discussed included faith at work, faith in our daily lives, faith in the black community, which was contextual given the Black Lives Matter movement. Our thanks to all those who presented including Rev. Sam Philip, Mr & Mrs. Ajay Abraham, Mr. Aben Kovoor, Mr. John Samuel, Mr. Sabu Oommen, Mr. Toji Oommen, Mr & Mrs. Deepak George and Mr & Mrs. Abraham George. Thanks to all those who contributed through lesson reading, singing and prayers including Mr & Mrs. Zubin Alexander, Mr & Mrs. Navin Johnson and Master. Evyn, Mr. Abraham Mathan, Mrs. Reena Sawkar, Ms. Hannah Oommen, Mr. Jonathan Joseph, Mrs. Geetha Cherian, Mrs. Annie George, Ms. Miriam Joseph and Mrs. Shema Joseph. We express our special thanks to Sam Achen for his support and guidance during the year. We thank Mr. Ivan Joseph for coordinating the North area prayer group this year. Mr. Aben Kovoor is the coordinator for year 2021.
Portland Area Prayer Group
Portland Prayer Group conducted 3 in-person prayer meetings and Holy Communion service from January to February 2020, but had to cancel the remaining in-person events because of the Covid situation. Portland had one more in-person socially distanced Holy Communion for Christmas. From April-December, Portland Prayer group had 30 Zoom based Prayer meetings on Fridays.
Thanks to the initiative from Rev. Sam Philip Achen and Seattle office bearers, Portland members have been able to take part in all of Seattle's Zoom based Holy Communion service on Sunday's and prayer meetings every Tuesday and Thursday, along with the VBS, Church retreat in Summer, Yearend meditation. Portland Group kids benefited greatly from the combined Zoom based Sunday school, VBS, Retreat, thanks to the help of Mr. Sunu Mathew. Portland Group was able to conduct a Zoom based Christmas Carol service in December, thanks again to the encouragement from Rev. Sam Philip Achen and Liba Kochamma, and the Seattle office bearers. Mr. Biju Kunjummen served as the Secretary and Mr. Sujit Thomas as Treasurer. Mr. K.C Mammen represented the Portland Prayer Group in the executive committee. We thank the executive committee of the Portland Prayer group for their coordination this year. Mr. Saju Chacko is the coordinator for year 2021.