Mr. John P. Varghese has been elected the new Secretary of the Pastoral Council of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate in the USA. As the former Pastoral Council completed its term of three years on Dec. 31, 2014, the new Council was constituted and the first meeting of the new Council was held on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at the Exarchate Chancery. His Excellency the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius, Bishop of the Exarchate presided over the meeting. After the members took the oath, they elected the new Secretary by secret ballot. The term of office is for three years.

Mr. Varghese belongs to the St. Thomas Syro-Malankara Catholic Parish in New Jersey. He is a Chief Technology Manager (CTM) / Chief Information Officer (CIO) for a U.S. Federal Government Agency in Washington, DC. He is the son of Mr. John Varghese and Mrs. Aleyamma John. Mr. Varghese and his wife Tinsy have two sons, namely, Johann and Jeremy. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate extends hearty congratulations and best wishes to Mr. Varghese.

The newly elected Pastoral Council of the Exarchate had its first meeting on Saturday, January 10, 2015 at the Exarchate Chancery. The meeting started with a session of prayer and reflection. Rev. Fr. Johny Mendonca, Associate Pastor at the Parish of St. Catherine of Sienna gave an introductory reflection. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Peter Kochery made the opening prayer. After the prayer service, the new Pastoral Council members took the oath before His Excellency the Most Rev. Thomas Mar Eusebius. His Excellency officially welcomed all the members to this important ministry of the Church. That was followed by the election of the new Secretary of the Pastoral Council. Mr. John P. Varghese from the St. Thomas Malankara Catholic Parish in New Jersey was elected the Secretary for the next three years. The main item in the meeting’s agenda was the forthcoming Malankara Catholic Convention to be held from August 6 to 9 at Virginia. Various committees were constituted for the conduct of the Convention. The audited account of the Exarchate of the year 2014 was presented by Very Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath, the Finance Officer of the Exarchate. The meeting was concluded with the noon prayers and lunch. 45 members from all our parishes participated in the meeting.

St. Thomas Syro-Malankara Catholic Parish in New Jersey had a grand New Year Day celebration. The celebration started with a liturgical reception accorded to His Excellency the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius. His Excellency presided over the New Year Day Eucharistic celebration. Rev. Msgr. Peter Kochery, the Pastor, Rev. Fr. Jacob John, the Associate Pastor and Rev. Fr. Abraham Lukose were the concelebrants. After the celebration of the Holy Qurbono, there was a meeting in which Mr. John Varghese and Mrs. Aleyamma John, the most senior couple of the Parish were felicitated. Also, the budding musician, Mathew David was acknowledged for his musical initiatives at the Parish. His Excellency Mar Eusebius, Mr. George James and Arjun Abraham spoke on the occasion. Rev. Msgr. Kochery said the welcome speech and Fr. Jacob John proposed the vote of thanks. The celebration was concluded with an agape.

The Syro-Malankara Catholic community in Boston area celebrated Christmas on Dec. 20 at the St. Brigid Parish, Lexington. The celebration started with the Christmas liturgy followed by the celebration of the Holy Qurbono. His Excellency the Most Rev. Thomas Mar Eusebius was the main celebrant and Rev. Fr. Augustine Mangalath and Rev. Fr. Abraham Lukose were concelebrants. Bro. Jerry Mathew was the main server. After the celebration of the Holy Qurbono, all the members gathered in the parish hall for a cultural program. All the members – the children, the youth and the parents alike, participated in the program with various cultural items. It was a very meaningful being together. Mr. Thomas Abraham from our Rockland parish made a sharing on the importance of living our Malankara Catholic tradition in the US as a family and as a community. The celebration concluded with a common Christmas lunch. Special thanks to Mr. Prasanth Varghese who took the initiative to arrange this gathering. Around fifty people participated in the celebration.

The Southwest region Family Conference of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Exarchate was held from 28-30 November, 2014 at the St. Mary’s Malankara Catholic parish, Dallas. This was the third of the Regional Family Conferences organized by the Exarchate this year. The Conference was inaugurated by His Excellency the Most Rev. Dr. Thomas Mar Eusebius at 6.30 pm. on Friday, Nov. 29 and it was concluded with the Holy Qurbono on Sunday, the 30th. The main speaker of the conference was the renowned preacher Rev. Dr. Joseph Pamplany. The children, youth and the adults had separate sessions. The resource persons for the youth group were provided by Mr. Roy Varghese. His Excellency Mar Eusebius was present all through the conference and gave classes to the adults and the youth. Around 225 people participated in the conference from our parishes in Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and from Arizona. Rev. Fr. Joseph Nedumankuzhiyil was the coordinator of the conference. He and our parishioners in Dallas made all the arrangements for making this conference a fruitful and memorable one. The presence of Rev. Fathers John Puthenvila (Houston) and Kuriakose Mambrakatt (Los Angeles) further enriched the conference.