Weekly Announcements: St. Thomas the Apostle Syro Malabar Forane Catholic Church
4922 Rosehill Rd, Garland, Texas, 75043

Dear Member,

Weekly Announcements from St. Thomas the Apostle Syro Malabar Forane Catholic Church, Dallas, Texas.

1. Sunday Holy Qurbana Schedule 

During this Covid-19 pandemic, there will be an additional Holy Qurbana on Sundays at 7:00 am.

Sunday Holy Qurbana Schedule:

8:30 am: Holy Qurbana in Malayalam

10:30 am: Holy Qurbana in English

8:30 am and 10:30 am Holy Qurbanas will be live streamed.

Note: Those attending Holy Qurbana are required to follow social distancing guidelines, wear masks and sanitize their hands inside the church.

2. Include Registration Number to write checks to the church

Please include your church registration number in the check as part of the memo when you write checks to the church. The registration number for your family is available in the October 2021 statement that was sent to you. If you still do not know your registration number, please contact James achan.

3. 2021 Annual contribution statements are available.

Annual contribution statements for the calendar year 2021 are now available. The statements were distributed via sealed envelopes at our parish on Sunday, February 6th. If you have not been able to pick up your statement or have any questions regarding the statement, please contact the Kaikkarans or James achan accordingly.

4. Three Days of Lent (Fast of Nineveh)

Prior to the Easter Lenten period, we will be observing the Fast of Nineveh which is three days of fasting starting from Monday, February 7th to Wednesday, February 9th. The three day fast of Nineveh commemorates the three days that Prophet Jonah spent inside the belly of the Great Fish and the subsequent fast and repentance of the Ninevites following his warning message in the Bible.

5. Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes

This year we will be celebrating the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes on Saturday, February 12th. We will have Holy Qurbana at the regular time at 8:30 am.

6. Solemn First Holy Communion on April 30th.

This year's solemn First Holy Communion will be celebrated on April 30th.

7. Inter Parish Sports Festival 2022

Registrations for IPSF 2022 are currently closed. If anyone wants to participate in IPSF, please contact the IPSF coordinators, Mr. Binish Mathew Pampackal @ 972-799-6855 and Mrs. Tessy Thomas Changankerry @ 469-618-1715.

Parish-level competitions for individual games will be held in February & March. Below are tentative dates for the parish-level games' tryouts and selection.

1. February 12th
   • Rummy / 28 - Game Coordinator - Sabu Augustine Mukkaladyil - 469-774-8326
2. February 19th
   • Arm wrestling - Game Coordinator - Sunil Edward - 214-455-6281
   • Caroms - Game Coordinator - Juliet Mulangan - 469-600-2765
   • Chess - Game Coordinator - Biju Mulangan - 612-382-7937
3. February 26th
   • Badminton - Game Coordinators - Biji Edward - 214-455-6133, and Tintu Dhore - 201-647-4882

8. Church Bookings

For church bookings, non-parishioners will be able to book the church 12 months in advance of their event date based on availability. Parishioners on the other hand will be able to book any time prior to their event based on availability.

9. Address, Phone number, or Email Change

If your address has changed, please contact your ward Representatives/Secretary/Trustees/Parish Vicar via text message or email to change the address in the church database.

If your phone number/email or spouse's phone number/email changes, please provide the new contact information to update the church directory.

Emails: Vicar@syromalabarchurchdallas.org, trustee@syromalabarchurchdallas.org, secretary@syromalabarchurchdallas.org

10. Prayer Ministry

If you have a prayer request, please contact the prayer ministry leaders, Mary and Michael Kallarackal at (201) 563-0727. Everyone is welcome to join the prayer ministry and also to be part of the intercessory prayer sessions. Please contact the prayer ministry leaders if you would like to join the ministry.

11. Society of St. Vincent De Paul Announcement

The St. Vincent De Paul Society members want to thank our parish vicar and all our parishioners for their overwhelming support with financial help and prayers, without which we would not have been able to support so many needy families in 2021. We look forward to another successful year in 2022.

We are looking for more parishioners to join our society as SVDP members. If you are interested, please contact one of the SVDP members.

If you know any family that needs financial assistance in India or here in the USA, please bring their application to our SVDP members. We will need the following documents supporting the application:

1. Letter from the person/family explaining the need for financial help

2. Letter from the applicant’s parish vicar endorsing the financial need

3. Letter from the applicant’s parish St. Vincent De Paul society endorsing the financial need

4. Any other supporting documents like a doctor's letter, panchayat letter, medical bills, etc.

Here is a snapshot of SVDP 2021 activities:

2021 Income

12. Safe Environment News

The following is a program and service of The National Catholic Risk Rentention Group Inc. - VIRTUS Online

As adults, we have the responsibility (and privilege!) of keeping children and youth safe from abuse and other harm. Although it is important to give minors the tools they need to help us keep them safe, it is the role of adults, not minors, to protect children and the vulnerable.  Please read over the following attachment.

Virtus Online February 2022

God Bless You.
Fr. James Nirappel

Kaikkarans (Trustees):
Jimmy Mathew (972)-951-7304
Charly Angadicheril (817)-296-8255
Tony Joseph (469)-951-6639
Jeevan James (972)-375-8763

Liturgy Coordinator:
Jose Paul (972)-589-0434

Parish Vicar:
Fr. James Nirappel (443)-414-2250