Vodcasts
- Sermon Link – Mar Thoma Church Day – Church: The way of Christ (Rev. Santhosh Varughese)
Upcoming Prayers, Meetings & Events
- December 24 (Wednesday)
- 7 PM: Intercessory Prayer (via Zoom)
- December 25 (Thursday)
- 9 AM: Christmas Holy Communion Service (English)
- December 26 (Friday)
- 10:30 AM: Fasting Prayer (via Zoom)
- December 28 (Sunday)
- 9 AM: Sunday School
- 10:15 AM: Holy Communion Service (Malayalam)
- December 31 (Wednesday) – Watch Night Services
- 9:30 PM: Testimonials and Thanksgiving session
- 11 PM: Holy Communion Service (English)
Condolences
- It is with deep sorrow that we announce the sad demise of Mr. Shaji Baby John(65 years), dear nephew of our member Mrs.Daisy Thomas on Dec 15. Mr.John was the elder son of late Mr.Baby John, former minister of Kerala, and served as the CMD of Kings Infra Ventures, one of the leaders in the aquaculture industries in India.
He was a pioneer in the Shrimp Aquaculture sector and received several Export excellence awards for his contributions.
He is survived by his wife Rita S.John, and sons, Baby John Junior and Peter John. Funeral services was held on Tuesday, Dec 16 at the St.Sebastian Church, Neendakara,Kollam, Kerala.
Detroit Mar Thoma Church expresses our deepest condolence and kindly upholds the family in our prayers as they grieve the loss of their loved one. May our Almighty Lord grant them strength at this hour of mourning and comfort them with His peace.
Circulars/Kalpanas
- # 171 – Sabha Tharaka Month
- # 172 – Mandalam Elections Notification
- # DC/536/2025 – Assembly Elections Notifications
Youth Group
- The Youth Midwest Regional Conference starts this Friday, Dec 26th through Monday, Dec 29th at Michindoh Conference Center. Rides will be arranged both to and from the venue for participants. Please arrive timely at Christina Cherian’s house (18972 Vanderhaven Ln, Livonia) by 11:30am on Friday, Dec 26th.
An email has been sent to all registered participants with more information on what to bring and rules of conduct.
Ecumenical Christmas Program
- Detroit Ecumentical Christmas program is on Dec 28th at 5 PM at St. Thomas Syro Malabar Church in Southfield. 12 churches in the ecumenical community will be presenting their carols and programs. This year, the Christmas message will be delivered by our vicar Rev. Santhosh Varughese. Inviting every one to attend the celebration. There is a deadline of Dec 15 to let them know about the program details. Please let me know so that we can inform the ecumenical committee about the details.
Our church is part of the ecumenical community in Detroit and it is important that we have participation in the Christmas Carol service. This is also an opportunity to meet people from other denominations. Please support the program through our participation.
Christmas Carol Service
- We had a blessed Christmas Carol Service Yesterday. We had very good attendance and great participation from our members and several guests attended our service. On behalf of the Executive Committee and Office bearers, we want to thank everyone once again for making it a blessed experience for every one who had attended. I want to thank Mr. Prashanth Mathew and Jojo for covering yesterday sessions with their Camera. We forgot to mention that.
We also wants to thank those who have stayed back after service to clean up the sanctuary and parish hall for todays service.
We have published a program book, fully sponsored by businesses from our own members. Please take a copy home if you haven’t got one and use their services if needed. I also want to mention Tiffy and Alan John for helping with the program book. Without their help it would not have been possible to publish it in the short time that we have decided on it.
I want to send a special thanks to the Samji and the refreshment team for stepping up and providing dinner yesterday working along with our office bearers. They did that even though the refreshment account for this year is currently in red and had to tap reserve funds. We request everyone that, if you haven’t paid for the refreshments this year, please give your check as soon as possible before the 31st. They are doing a great service to church.
On behalf of the Executive Committee and Office bearers, I would like to thank Mr. Philip Varghese and Mr. Thomson David for leading the carol rounding this year and successfully finishing it. Thanks to all carolers, all those helped in all the logistics of carrying this large undertaking and completing it successfully. Thanks to all the families who have opened their homes to carolers and also treating the carolers with lots of treats.
Maramon Convention Logo Competition
- Marthoma Evangelistic Association is inviting Logo designs for representing the 131st Maramon Convention which is going to be conducted from Feb 8 to 15. If you are interested in creating and submitting the logo, please contact us for details for submission.
Trustees Update
- Year – End Contribution Reminder: As we are reaching the end of the year and Christmas season, kindly request everyone to check on your voluntary contribution & Refreshments account and submit any pending dues as soon as possible. Per Trustees, Accounts for 2025 will close on Dec 31 midnight and any amount paid after that will be accounted for next year. Please take a moment to check and make your payments promptly. Voluntary Contribution is 85 dollars per month as decided by parish. If you are unsure about how you have contributed so far, please stop by at the office or send them an email with your name to trustees@detroitmarthoma.org. Also, if you have any expense accounts that you want to settle with the trustees, please do that before Dec 31st. Our accounts will be closing on Dec 31 Midnight
- Mar Thoma Theological Seminary Centenary Celebration- Fund raising : If you would like to donate towards the construction project, please send your checks to Trustee with memo as Theological Seminary fund collection
- Another note from the Trustees, the Church doors (front and back) are unlocked during Sunday school, and worship service. Please do not prop the doors open, please keep them closed, this will enhance security for our church, as well as minimize maintenance concerns as we approach the colder weathers.
Showers of Blessings
- Our members Abin Varghese & Bincy are blessed with a baby boy, Isaiah James Varghese, born on Dec 03rd at 2:10 AM. Both baby and mom are doing well. Congratulations to both parents and the grand parents
- Our members Sam George & Susan is blessed with a baby girl, Catherine Marie George, born on Dec 11. Both baby and mother are doing well. Congratulations to both parents and also to the grand parents
Refreshments
- Our thanks to refreshment team for the arrangements
- Note from the refreshment team:
- Refreshments will be served for 30 minutes only and the cleanup will start after. Requesting every one to join the fellowship time as soon as we finish the benediction.
- They are also requesting those who haven’t contributed to the annual refreshment fund to do so soon. The minimum expected is 100 dollars.
- We also request everyone—kids and adults alike—to please dispose of used plates, cups, and glasses in the trash cans provided. Leaving them around the parish hall creates extra work for our volunteers, who already dedicate their time to arrange the refreshments, clean up all the plates, coffee makers and other vessels used in the refreshments and make the space ready for the next event. Let’s all do our part to keep the hall clean and reduce the burden on our volunteers and office bearers. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation!
Birthdays & Wedding Anniversaries
- DMTC Family wishes all our fellow members celebrating their Birthday and Wedding Anniversary this upcoming week. May the Almighty Lord bless each one of you and your family in the New Year and the years ahead.
Acknowledgements
We want to thank Rev. Santhosh Varughese for conducting the Holy Communion service and for the message, We also would like to thank the Lay Leaders, Choir, Livestream and Audio teams for assisting in today’s service
Please uphold our near & dear ones who are sick and those grieving the loss of their loved ones.
Thank you all for participating, have a blessed week.