Joshua currently works as the Director of Recruitment for Teach for America while also serving as a local representative on the Prince George's County Board of Education. My relationship with Josh began with me as a youth leader and him as an energetic and creative teenager, so hearing about his journey and accomplishments was especially rewarding.

Guest: Joshua M. Thomas
Interview Date: April 27, 2021
Parish: MTC Greater Washington

Related Links

• LinkedIn: Joshua M. Thomas
• Teach for America: https://www.teachforamerica.org/
• Josh's campaign: http://www.joshuamthomas.org/
• Prince George's County Public Schools: https://www.pgcps.org/board/thomas

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Dony Oommen has been a Marthoma choir enthusiast for many years both as a choir member and as a choir leader. More recently, he has been sharing his musical talents through his YouTube channel, DeeCee Music Productions. We discuss his journey, our shared experiences with MTC choirs, and his thoughts on opportunities for improvement.

Interview Date: April 3, 2021

Guest: Dony Oommen

Parish: Christos MTC (Philadelphia)

Links

• Dony on LinkedIn
• Dony’s music on Facebook
• Dony's music on YouTube: DeeCee Music Productions Playlist

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• Send me an email.
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Betsy Chacko is a Licensed Master Social Worker (LMSW), Therapist, Christian Counselor, and author of her blog, TheFamilyIBuilt.com. Our conversation covers her professional work, as well as how she goes about creating content for her site. We also explore how the topics she covers can benefit our community.

Interview Date: April 5, 2021

Guest: Betsy Chacko

Parish: Staten Island MTC

Connect With Betsy

• Linkedin - Betsy Chacko
• Instagram - @ByBetsyChacko
• Facebook - @ByBetsyChacko
• Thefamilyibuilt.com

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Captain Shibu Philipose currently serves as the Assistant Chief for the Investigative Branch of the Maryland-National Capital Park Police based in Silver Spring, Maryland. He also serves as the Vice President for America Malayalee Law Enforcement United (AMLEU). Their mission, “To be a conduit between law enforcement and the community it serves, primarily the Malayalee American community.”

Shibu and I discuss family, his path to becoming an officer, and more detail on how AMLEU hopes to serve the community.

Interview Date: March 2, 2021

Guest: Shibu Philippose

Parish: MTC of Greater Washington

Resources

• AMLEU.org
• Shibu on LinkedIn

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Guest: Merlin Kochunilathil

Parish: St. Thomas MTC Delaware Valley

Interview Date: February 9, 2021

This year’s Diocesan Leadership Conference was held virtually due to the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This was also the first MTC leadership conference that my guest, Merlin, has had a chance to attend, so I was curious to hear her thoughts.

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Guest: Divya Mathew

Parish: Carmel MTC (Boston)

Interview Date: February 2, 2021

Divya and I discuss how she was informed that she was ineligible to serve as a lay leader (executive committee role) for her parish based on her gender. We then go on to discuss the actions she’s taken since then along with the comments and feedback she has been getting as a result.
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Guest: Rev. Dennis Abraham
Mother Parish: St. John’s MTC (NY)
Current Parish: Vicar of the MTC of San Fransico Bay Area
Interview Date: January 26, 2021

I sit down with Dennis Achen to reflect on his path to ministry, his experiences as a Vicar, and how his current studies are broadening his views on the mission of the church, and the role the Mar Thoma Church must play moving forward.

As of this interview, Dennis Achen is furthering his education at the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA, and is studying Liturgical Studies in the Department of Religion and Practice.

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Guest: Been David
Parish: St. Thomas MTC (Lombard, IL)
Interview Date: January 19, 2021

In this interview, Beena and I have fun geeking-out on the challenges of singing an Eastern classic after years of training and experience as a Western classically trained vocalist.

The song, Yahoodiayile Oru Grammathil, is a popular Christmas devotional song that was made popular by Yesudas. Beena's version almost sounds like a different song, while still evoking the same feeling of Christmas. We explore what lead her to prepare and record the song, along with what was involved with the process. You can hear the song either on YouTube or Facebook.

Yahoodiayile oru grammathil / യഹൂദിയായിലെ ഒരു ഗ്രാമത്തില്‍

• Hear the song on YouTube: https://youtu.be/6La0JtFd6WY
• Hear the song on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mezzomama/videos/10159110645241399/?__tn__=%2CO-R

Other Samples of Beena's Operatic Singing:

1. higher register - https://mezzomama.bandcamp.com/track/o-pallida-lamico-fritz-p-mascagni
2. lower register (start at 0:25) - https://mezzomama.bandcamp.com/track/o-ma-lyre-immortelle-c-gounod-sapho

East vs. West -- the myths that mystify (TED Talk referenced by George)
https://www.ted.com/talks/devdutt_pattanaik_east_vs_west_the_myths_that_mystify/up-next?language=en

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Guest: Pushpa Samuel
Parish: Silicon Valley MTC (CA) & Horeb MTC (Los Angeles, CA)
Interview Date: January 5, 2021

Pushpa shares the story of her journey to the present day where she is getting ready to finish her theological studies (M. Div.) with plans to become a board-certified chaplain. She hopes that sharing her story will be an encouragement to others interested in ministry, especially women, and looks forward to remaining active in our community.

CHAPTERS
00:00:35. Introduction & Background
00:04:13. Pushpa's path to seminary
00:10:22. George's Response/Experience
00:12:56. Volunteer to Principal
00:20:55. Joining the local MTC
00:27:55. Neighborhood Missions
00:32:20. Motivations to Join Seminary
00:40:50. Reactions to joining seminary
00:43:25. What is Chaplaincy?
00:46:11. Chaplaincy in the MTC
00:57:15. A broader vision

LINKS

City Impact: https://www.sfcityimpact.com/

Pushpa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/pushpa-samuel-1500a12/
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Guest: Ron Jacob
Parish: Long Island MTC (NY)
Interview Date: December 30, 2020

KEY TOPICS:

Part 1 (Previous Episode)

• Ron's background
• Experience of serving in the Diocesan Assembly and Council
• The Mar Thoma Church Constitution

Part 2

• Women serving as lay leaders (lay ministers)
• "The Revolution" (Article by Ron, originally published in the Marthoma Messenger, click here for the full paper)
• Background on "Be The Match"

Ron on LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-jacob-md-b3779a6/

Be The Match
https://bethematch.org/

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Guest: Ron Jacob

Parish: Long Island MTC (NY)

Interview Date: December 30, 2020

KEY TOPICS:

Part 1

• Ron's background
• Experience of serving in the Diocesan Assembly and Council
• The Mar Thoma Church Constitution

Part 2

• Women serving as lay leaders (lay ministers)
• "The Revolution" (Article by Ron, published in the Marthoma Messenger)
• Background on "Be The Match"

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ron-jacob-md-b3779a6/

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Guest: Merry Thomas
Parish: Horeb MTC of Los Angles (Los Angeles, CA)
Interview Date: December 14, 2020

After ending our interview, we decided to hit record again and explore the topic of women serving as lay leaders in the madhbaha (altar). We also hear the story of how she was asked to do just that.
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Part 2 of 2 (Go back and listen to Part 1 first!)

Guest: Merry Thomas
Parish: Horeb MTC of Los Angles (Los Angeles, CA)
Interview Date: December 14, 2020

Our interview continues as we reflect on the role that Youth Chaplains play in our diocese, and we discuss the possible future of a lay chaplain ministry.
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Guest: Merry Thomas
Parish: Horeb MTC of Los Angles (Los Angeles, CA)
Interview Date: December 14, 2020

EPISODE SUMMARY

Merry and I share our observations and thoughts after attending this year’s Diocesan Assembly meeting as representatives for our respective parishes.
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Go back and listen to Episode #11 for Part 1 of this interview!

Guest: Rev. Larry Varghese
Parishes: MTC of Silicon Valley, Sacramento Congregation
Interview Date: 6/4/2020

“The church exists by mission as fire exists by burning.”
-- Emil Brunner, Swiss Reformed Theologian

References Mentioned:

• The Marthoma Church Heritage and Mission by Alexander Mar Thoma
• Mission and Liturgy: Contest, Convergence and Congruence with special reference to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Contact Larry Achen: https://www.facebook.com/larrypv
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Don't miss the second half of this interview in episode #12!

Guest: Rev. Larry Varghese
Parishes: MTC of Silicon Valley, Sacramento Congregation
Interview Date: 6/4/2020

References Mentioned:

• The Marthoma Church Heritage and Mission by Alexander Mar Thoma
• Mission and Liturgy: Contest, Convergence and Congruence with special reference to the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church

Contact Larry Achen:
https://www.facebook.com/larrypv
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Guest: Shaun Rajan
Parish: St. Andrews MTC (NY)
Interview Date: 5/30/2020

During my conversation with Shaun, I also got to hear some of Shaun's thoughts around an article by Charles Samuel that he had shared on Twitter several days before. It didn't quite go with the episode topic, so I've broken out as a bonus episode. Enjoy!

Referenced Article: I Still Believe The 'Indian Church' Must Die
https://www.charlessamuel.com/

Shaun's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-rajan-a4848178/
Shaun's Twitter: @MCIronMan
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Guest: Shaun Rajan
Parish: St. Andrews MTC (NY)
Interview Date: 5/30/2020

Back in May, I spoke with Shaun about his thoughts on the impact that COVID has had on both his teaching and on our worshipping community as a result of the push to go exclusively virtual.

Shaun is an assistant professor of mathematics at Westchester Community College in New York and is currently a member at St. Andrews MTC, NY.

REFERENCES:

The Sunday Seven YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJyh65f-XLO6ldqCEHWEKaMaPaVdl9HBA

The Sunday Seven Instagram page:
https://www.instagram.com/the_sunday_seven/

Get in touch with Shaun:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shaun-rajan-a4848178/
Twitter: @MCIronMan
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Guest: Nirmala Abraham
Parish: Philadelphia MTC
Interview Date: 5/16/2020

I chat with Mrs. Nirmala Abraham about how she, as a grandparent and an elder in our community, works to "stay relevant" in the eyes of her grandchildren and our MTC community.

Our conversation ranges from her engagements with her children, grandchildren, and their peers to our missions fields among Native Americans, Sevika Sanghom, and navigating the future of the MTC. Finally, we hear her thoughts on how we can bridge the gap between the young and old.

Having come to America in 1968, Nirmala Aunty has played an active role in the establishment of our [North American & European] diocese and has held many different leadership positions over the years. She currently serves as the Mandalam representative for her parish.
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Danielle Verghese, an internal medicine resident, recently helped to organize demonstrations supporting #WhiteCoatsForBlackLives in Philadelphia. Her original tweet from their first event has had over 44K views as of this post, and was "liked" by 2.5K people. But more importantly, Danielle tells us the story of why she felt the need to get involved, how the initial event came to be, and what the experience has been like so far.

The full video version of this interview (via Zoom) is also available for viewing on YouTube (click here).

Related Link: https://whitecoats4blacklives.org/
Danielle on Twitter: @DanielleVMD
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Thanks again to Beena David for the interview. Check out the links below to learn more about Beena or hear some of her work.

Instagram: @beenabeenabeena

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgeQ9nHdzrss37QT5WWfiCw

Beena’s Quartet: thesecondfire.com
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In this episode, I sit down with Sajan Joseph - one of the leaders and founding members of Redeemer MTC in New Jersey. Being a parish made up primarily of 2nd generation immigrant families, we talk about what went into the process of forming the church and how it is both similar and different from other parishes in North America.

CONTACT REDEEMER MTC

www.redeemermtc.org

https://www.facebook.com/redeemermtcfamily/

https://www.instagram.com/redeemermtc/

info@redeemermtc.org

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Brian Thomas is a young engineer, musician, and entrepreneur from Philadelphia, PA. Together we cover topics including pressures to participate in everything the church had to offer while growing up, navigating his undergrad years, and looking ahead to developing his non-profit, Heartbeat Mission.

CONTACT BRIAN
https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianbthomas/
https://www.facebook.com/thebrianbthomas
https://www.instagram.com/brianbthomas/

HEARTBEAT MISSION
https://www.linkedin.com/company/theheartbeatmission/
https://www.facebook.com/theheartbeatmission
https://www.instagram.com/theheartbeatmission/

LIGHTBULB MINISTRY
https://www.facebook.com/thelightbulbministry
https://www.instagram.com/thelightbulbministry/

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In part 2 of the interview (see Episode 3 for part 1), OC Uncle describes the early days of the Marthoma community in Philadelphia, and goes on the describe the various mission projects that he has helped to establish in conjunction with the diocese, including plans for the next phase of missions work here in the US.
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OC Abraham shares the story of his arrival in America in 1960, nearly 60 years ago. This episode contains Part 1 of this two part interview.  Be sure to check out part 2 as well!
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Mrs. Sindhu Aby, serving as Sunday School superintendent for the St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church of Delaware Valley, shares some memories from her days as a Sunday School student along with her thoughts on being a parent and what it takes to serve in her current role.

Bonus: Check out her YouTube channel, “Meals and Memories,” for some easy to follow recipes!
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Rev. Abraham Kuruvilla and I discuss the idea of a "scattered church" and the evolving role of technology in ministry today.
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Before getting into our content, I take a moment to orient you to What the Mar Thoma Church is (in case you're not a Marthomite), who I am, and what I hope to accomplish with the podcast. In short - I look forward to having conversations with the members of our community about whatever it is they'd like to share with you.

Thanks and don't forget to subscribe for future episodes!
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