How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in Unity – Psalms 133:1

The Young Family Fellowship & Yuvajana Sakhyam of the St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church, Houston played a key role in the day-to-day activities of the church. The Y’s organization focuses on the community aspect of the church deeply rooted in the faith and practices of the Mar Thoma Church, organizing cultural activities & events, organizing, and participating in sports activities and playing a key role in leading, supporting and participating in the everyday activities of the church. The members actively participate in Holy Communion and the organizations focuses on bringing forward youngsters and families into active participation of the Mar Thoma Church.

In 2022, the members of the Y’s group played an active role in the following activities.

1.     STMTC Blood Drive – The Y’s group partnered with the Sevika Sangham & Gulf Coast Regional Blood Center in organizing a Blood drive at the Church. The members of Sevika Sangham, & Yuvajana Sakhyam actively participated in the blood drive by coordinating the various activities of the blood drive and donating blood.

2.     Regional Badminton Competition – The SW Region Yuvajana Sakhyam hosted a badminton tournament at Trinity Mar Thoma Church on April 2, 2022. 3 teams represented St. Thomas Mar Thoma Church in this tournament. One of the teams moved forward into the Quarter final rounds. Special thanks to Junnu Sam, Joel Sam, Linu Kurian, Kenneth Kurian, Sony Thomas & Jathesh Varghese who participating in this tournament.

3.     Cricket Pitch & Volleyball Court Development– The Y’s group lead the initiative of cleaning and clearing the church premises to develop a Cricket pitch and Volleyball court. Special Thanks to Sony Thomas for helping with the purchase of the cricket and volleyball kits and equipment. Thanks to Junnu Sam and Joel Sam for their leadership in getting the pitch and volleyball court ready.

4.     VBS – The Y’S group lead the initiative of arranging food for the VBS children and volunteers. Our members contributed generously and participated in VBS by volunteering to procure & prepare food items & snacks, grilling, cooking, and cleaning. Thanks to Sicy Johnson for co- leading the efforts and special thanks to all members who helped with the food committee.

5.     Christmas Carol Rounds – The Y’s group plays and active role in spreading the Christmas spirit to our members and friends in the Houston area. The group led the efforts starting with song selection, printing song books, familiarizing everyone with the songs and spreading the Joy of Christmas the ‘Malayalee Way’. Special thanks to Sonu Achen, Joel Sam & Junnu Sam for helping with the instruments.

6.     Rhythms of Bethlehem – The SW region Yuvajana Sakhyam hosted a Christmas program by the name Rhythms of Bethlehem. The member of Y’s group member and their children played a key role by performing melodious Christmas Carols followed by a Christmas play.

7.     Houston Church Tournament – The members gather for sports activities at the church premises and also participated in the Houston Marthoma Churches cricket match held on February 5, 12 & 19.  Special thanks to the cricket team Captain Johnson George & the members of the cricket team. The following members participated:

1.     Rev. Sonu Varghese

2.     Johnson George – Captain

3.     Chris Cherian – Vice Captain

4.     Joel Sam

5.     Arun Philip

6.     Jathesh Varghese

7.     Junnu Sam

8.     Abraham Vellor (Aby)

9.     Abu Thomas

10.  Sony Thomas

11.  Rajesh Thomas Koshy

12.  Regi Thomas George