March 2009

Dearly beloved in Christ,

We have come to the time of the Valiya Noyambu (Great Lent).  We include the 40 days in which our Lord fasted and 10 days to commemorate the passion of Christ and together observe 50 days as the lent period.  The faithful are urged to observe  some restrictions  in eating and drinking and in their life style during this period.

Lent is the time of spiritual preparation for Easter, purifying our actions and motives from spiritual obstacles and participating in the passion and death of Christ through self sacrifice in the belief that with Christ we will rise again.

It is a time of purification. This is the season for  everybody  to set apart  time for serious reflection and  self examination  with  fasting and prayer.  We have to give priority to the spiritual rather than the physical and to prove that man does not live by bread alone (Lk.4:4) This is the time we wait upon the lord in fellowship. We have to get rid of the  spiritual obstacles which hinder us from responding fully to God's love.  We must try to remove even our small faults for men stumble on stones, not on mountains.

Not only the end of our actions but the means we use to obtain them have to be also good.  Jesus refused to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple (Lk.4:12) for that was not God's way to make his mission a success. May this year's lent may help us to start our life with a new decision and determination to follow Jesus' footsteps.

This year we are celebrating Sunday, March 1 as the Diocesan Sunday.  It is the time to remember and acknowledge God's blessings and guidance in and through  the Diocese. Rev. George M. Kuruvilla will be visiting our parish on that day. The amount fixed for our parish as contribution is $6510.00, besides the offering of that Sunday. All are urged to contribute generously for the life and mission of the Diocese.

May the Almighty bless each one of us.

Yours in His Service,

Babu Achen

Rev. P. E. Mathew

Rev. P. E. Mathew (Vicar)

We are blessed to be under the pastoral guidance and leadership of Rev. P. E. Mathew as Vicar of St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church NY. Achen's native place is Kallooppara and Laly Kochmma is from Varikkadu, Tiruvalla. They have one son, Eby, who is finishing his BSc in Mangalore.

Achen and family had been in the Karnataka Missions Field (Hoskote, Mundugod, Sirsi Sankeshwar, Kunta) for several years and then served in Kerala. The last parish they ministered at was in the Sultan Bathery and Nilambur area.

email Rev. P. E. Mathew at
babuachen@yahoo.com 

Vicars of the Past Quarter Century
(including Vicars of the Mar Thoma Congregation of Greater New York)

Mar Thoma Congregation of Greater New York

Rev. Oommen Koruthu

(Student Achen later elevated as 
Bishop Zacharias Mar Theophilus)

May 1975 — Aug. 1975

Rev. K. S. Mathew 

(Student Achen)

Sept. 1975 – Sept. 1977

Rev. Thomas P. George  

(Student Achen)

Sept. 1977 – Aug. 1979

(Late) Rev. M. V. Benjamin  

Sept. 1979 – May 1981

St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church, New York

(Late) Rev. M. V. Benjamin

Co-Chairman Ad-hoc Committee Church in formation   

Oct. 1980 - Jan. 1981

Vicar                                     

 Jan. 1981 - May 1981

(Late) Rev. K. J. Philip

Co-Chairman  Ad-hoc Committee Church in formation

 Oct. 1980 - Jan. 1981

Associate Vicar                    

Jan. 1981 - Aug. 1981

Rev. N. M. Cherian

Vicar of all Mar  Thoma Congregations in New York

May 1981 - June 1983

Rev. Dr. T. Jacob Thomas    

(Student Achen)

Assistant Vicar

July 1981 - May 1983

Vicar   

June 1983 - Mar. 1985

Rev. George Varghese

Mar. 1985 - April 1989

Rev. Johnson Varghese      

June 1989 - May 1992

Rev. Dr. T. P. Abraham  

June 1992 - May 1995

Rev. P. M.  Thomas

May 1995 - April 1999

Rev. K. Y. Jacob         

May 1999 - June 1999

Rev. Thomas P. Chandy   

June 1999 – May 2002

Rev. Dr. K. A. Abraham     

May 2002 - August 2004

Rev. Jojan Mathews John

May 2004 - April 2007