St. Mary's Church Ramamurthy Nagar

PARISH HISTORY

The Malayalee Catholics of Ramamurthy Nagar had an intense desire in their hearts; A church to fulfill all their various spiritual needs.This was fulfilled by the inception of the church on 15th August 2008. The foundation stone was laid by His Grace, Rev. Bernard Moras, Archbishop of Bangalore, at 8th cross, M.V Nagar, Ramamurthy Nagar. Our First Parish Priest Rev. Fr. Sonu Kulathur VC was present to lead us in this journey at the temporary structure.

Just like how God was with the Israelites as they traveled from Egypt to Israel, Our Lord was with us in our journey from 2008, along with the intercession of our Mother Mary. As matters were not in our favour, we had to move out, to the premises of St.Anne's Convent. The help provided by the sisters of St.Anne's, Bangalore was really the work of the Lord. With Rev Fr. George Parekandathil VC taking over as our Second Parish Priest. In due course we moved to a rented place in NRI layout. It was a shed used to rear sheep and goats. But our faith in the Lord led us on. With the arrival of our new Shepard Rev. Fr. Shijo Kodakkathanathu VC., Our dream church, started taking shape with the generous contribution of all parishioners, well wishers and benefactors, we were able to purchase this land, and as you can see the church at last. Physically, financially and spiritually and whole hearted effort and above all team work and trust that the Lord will lead us through all our hardships has lead us in the great mission. Various innovative ideas has helped us in raising funds for the church construction:

- Sale of raffle tickets
- Sale of pickles, sarees, breakfast by mothers.
- Youth, by their newspaper collection, contribution of their salaries.
- Regular visit to various churches in all the parts of Kerala, Chennai and other regions and requesting for their valuable contribution.
- In the urgent need of money, many of our parishioners even mortgaged their jewellery to raise funds.
- Grocery shop was functioning in our premises to raise funds.
- All parishners put their hands together to carry sand, bricks, etc. to bring down the cost of Labour.

Not only financially, we had many benefactors who spiritually helped us by their prayers. Our cake sale was one such endeavour. We were able to raise funds for church construction and also help in providing service to 3 children who were suffering from terminal sickness.

2014 – Baby Johnson – Heart disease
2015 – Baby Thanmay – Congenital Liver Disease
2016 – Baby Atifa – Uro genital disease
2017 - Master Sushant - T-Cell Lympho Blastic Leukemia

We plan to continue in this mission of service for which we plan to implement a DePaul scholarship scheme, which would function by us adopting one child's education from each of the numerous parishes who came forward to help us.

CATECHISM

catechism teachers

A well organised CATECHISM class are conducted in St. Mary's Church every sunday.Catechism staff included 25 teachers and 151 students.

We started with a humble beginning of 51 students in 2011.

Now our sunday school has 151 students and 20 teachers. The various units under catechism are Cherupushpa Mission League, Thirubalabsakhyam, Alter Servers.

Regular assessments conducted by the Catechetical centre, had appreciated our efforts taken in catechism.

Every month confession facilities are made available for the students. Parish priests, dedicated teachers and parishioners have greatly helped in the faith formation of our children. Sundat star and introduction of saints are conducted every sunday to motivate the students.

THIRUBALASAKHYAM

Thirubalasakhyam

Children were taught to grow better as a beloved child of Jesus.

Under the guidance of Thirubalasakyam animators , and Mission League, 4 funds were created:
Kunju malaha – helping medical treatment of unprivileged children
Kunju missionary - helping missionary activities of our diocese
Save a Child - helping education of unprivileged children
Idayan - A fund to sponsor the studies of those going for Priesthood in our diocese.

Activities included
Action Songs
Sukruthajapam
Learning Prayers
Value of doing good deeds through story telling
Simple activities to help in church construction
Participation in feast celebrations
Attending mass regularly and prizes were given to those who attended mass regularly

ALTER SERVERS

Retreat conducted by Br.Leo for Alter Servers

A program for Alter servers that is intended to help children grow in knowledge and responsibilities within the role of Alter Server. Serve God and God's People by helping the Priest and his fellow worshippers to praise God as well as they can.
A strong desire to serve at the Alter of Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Be an active member of the parish community and believe in the teachings of the Holy Catholic Church.

Details
Alter servers are devided as four groups.
Alter service for 1st group for 1st Sunday 2nd for 2nd Sunday and so on.
Each group with 10 members ,4 boys and 4 girls and 2 boys for dhoopam.
Special practice sessions given to boys for taking dhoopam.
Meetings are conducted at least once in two months.
Orientaion programmes are conducted for alter servers

CHERUPUSHPA MISSION LEAGUE

BL.Mother Theresa feast celebrated by Cherpushpa Mission League

The Cherupushpa Mission League is an indigenous lay missionary organization, established on 3rd October 1947 at Bharananganam, in the diocese of Palai. The patrons of CML are St Theresa of Lissieux , St Francis Xavioer , St Alphonsa and St Thomas. CML has its presence in our parish also. All the catechism students who have received Holy Communion are part of the CML in our church. CML members are actively involved in a lot of activities in the church which helps to strengthen the faith formation among the children and introduces the missionary spirit among the children.

CML prayers and Anthem are recited on every Sunday. A special day was set apart last year to celebrate the feast of St Alphonsa. The children showcased presentations and events about St Alphonsa. CML Organized a quiz about Mother Theresa to celebrate the feast of Mother Theresa. The quiz was followed by a rally where all the students held placards with quotes said by the saint. The CML students along with parents, teachers and little ones visited the Suryodaya boys home at Carmelaram and shared their meals with them and entertained them. The Mission Sunday was celebrated by special mass and CML managed to set up food stall, art stall and a lot of games. This year Feast of Nativity of Mother Mary was celebrated by CML. There was a rally by the children singing songs in praise of Mother Mary. We will continue with a lot of missionary activities so that the missionary spirit will be inculcated in the children.

MARIAN VOICE

The Parish choir group 'Marian Voice' formed by the first Vicar, Rev. Fr. Sonu Kulathur VC is a team of vibrant and talented musicians of varied age groups, lead by Mr. Teni Chakala John and Mr. Peter George. This choir was established with a motto to encourage the parishioners to utilise their talents to praise & worship the Lord . We actively participate in various music competitions and also dedicate our time and efforts in training our little children to participate in the Holy Mass and other worship ceremonies. Other than leading our community in praise & worship during Holy Mass and adorations, we also emphasise on organising Christmas carols and making Sacramental ceremonies like weddings, baptisms, funerals etc. sound divine and holy. New talents are always welcome and encouraged to join us.

VINCENT DE PAUL

vincent de paul

The Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVP or SVdp or SSVP) is an international voluntary organization in the Catholic Church, founded in 1833 for the sanctification of its members by personal services of the poor.
Innumerable Catholic parishes have established “conferences”, most of which affiliate with a diocesan council. Among its varied efforts to offer material help to the poor or needy.

Mission: The St Vincent de Paul Society is a lay Catholic organisation that aspires to live the gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope and joy, and by working to shape a more just and compassionate society.

Vision: To be recognized as a caring Catholic Charity offering “a hand up” to people in need by respecting their dignity, sharing our hope and encouraging them to take control of their own destiny.

Our Impact: The St.Vincent de Paul society is committed to actively and passionately speaking out against the causes of poverty and inequality of the people we serve.

In our church SSVP was established a year ago and we have delegated teams to implement the objective of the society like:

- Adoption of families and visit them every month.
- Adopt students from any religion and take care of their education.
- Education of poor children from any religion.
- Visit Aged & Sick at home and hospitals.
- Medical assistance to needy within the parish and outsiders / free dialysis etc.
- Regular Orphanage visits – Financials & Material support to the orphanages
- Set up food stalls for fund generation.

MATHRUVEDI

On 18-4-2009 this organisation for all the mothers in our parish was inagurated. It was a forum for all the mothers to put forth their services for the church. The ever obliging nature of our mothers has been a driving force in all the activites they have undertaken. All feast celebrations, holy week ,onam and any other celebrations they have proved their culinary skills. No caterers would be able to provide the number of items they serve. In raising money for the church construction, they raised money by selling pickles, sarees, breakfast.They were always an integral part of the group which travelled to kerala for fund collection.Their constant prayer and support has lead us to great heights.Their creative personalities and leadership qualites were proven at the forane meet of Mathruveedhi. Our parish hosted the 2015 Mathruveedhi get together.They conducted visits to orphonages and old age homes.Thus showing their concern for the poor and needy.

YOUTH WING

The St.Mary's Youth (SMY) association is home to all youngsters of the Parish within the age group of 18-30. SMY, consisting of 75+ vibrant young adults, is a place where the youth of the parish come together to grow in a deep relationship with Christ and also for the different needs contributing to the welfare of the parish. Being one of the most active groups in the parish, SMY undertakes numerous activities to help raise funds for the ongoing construction of the Church and also to reach out to the lesser privileged members of the society in our own little ways. Members get together weekly to grow spiritually and also to strengthen personal bonds through various fun activities. Under the astute leadership of the Parish Vicar and the Deacons who lead the group on a yearly basis, SMY continues to progress in love and fellowship with the rest of the community and spread the love of our Father everywhere. Hearty welcome to every youngster who wishes to join us.

YOUNG WOMEN's ASSOCIATION

“We see in all motherhood the reflection of a beauty which mirrors the loftiest sentiments of which the human heart is capable: the self-sacrificing totality of love; the strength that is capable of bearing the greatest sorrows; limitless fidelity and tireless devotion to work; the ability to combine penetrating intuition with words of support and encouragement” (Pope John Paul II).

Young Women’s Association of St. Marys church is an initiative of Rev Fr. Shijo Kodakkathanathu V.C. All mothers of catechism students are active members of YWA. The members take special effort to cleaning the church and its surroundings, arrangements for the feasts and other events of the church construction activities.

Mothers are living examples of self-giving love and truly the teacher of love to all humanity. We invite all the young mothers to spread this love to the world.