There is again the provincial lockdown, for the time, church service not affected.

Let us keep in prayer. It is glad seeing the vaccination program reaching more people fast and quick. Let it be completed soon and all be immunised. The world needs to be free from this fear.

Face mask is mandatory inside the church and should be brought by parishioners. We request parishioners to leave the church premises after attending the Liturgy and please refrain from gathering or socialising.
 
When our members are at Church, we suggest all to maintain physical distancing in the parking lot, church entrance and within the Church. Pews/chairs and aisles have signs to remind participants to distance physically. Family members who live together will be allowed to sit together, but distance must be maintained from other members.
 
Following are the guidance to be adhered when we visit Church:
1. Strongly recommend congregants to use online self-screening tool (https://covid-19.ontario.ca/self-assessment/) before every visit to Church. We discourage any person to visit Church when they are feeling unwell.
2. Members should not attend in person if they are experiencing the most common symptoms of COVID-19 (cough, fever, shortness of breath, runny nose or sore throat).
3. Congregants are prohibited by law from entering in the Church with symptoms of COVID-19, individuals who have travelled internationally in the last 14 days.
4. Family/members to sit at the marked designated place in the Church.
5. Request parents, families to keep children younger than two be kept close and not allow them to wander.
6. Physical distancing should be followed throughout the Church premises.
7. We encourage all to follow hand hygiene. We have hand sanitizer at the entrance or wash their hands in washroom.
8. We encourage all attendees to wear properly fitted non-medical masks & gloves.
9. Shaking hands, hugging, touching, or passing items between people is prohibited in the Church.
10. Everyone in the place of worship should follow proper respiratory etiquette practices at all times. These practices include coughing and sneezing into the elbow or a tissue, discarding tissues into a garbage bin and washing hands afterwards.
11. No socializing is permitted in Church premises or outside.
12. Please avoid unnecessary moving within the church.
13. There will be no kiss of peace, but a mutual bowing instead.
14. No Kaimuthu (kissing of the cross) shall be conducted for dispersal.
15. Please limit taking Holy Communion if only absolute necessity. For Communion, disposable spoons and cups shall be used.

Gregorian Seniors Forum is initiating a charity drive ‘Share Your Blessings’.

God has blessed us abundantly. The Bible constantly teaches us to share what we have with those who are less fortunate than us. Also, sharing gives us an elevated sense of responsibility towards our society.  Share what you have to show how much you care and remember when you care for others the Almighty Lord cares for you more. The fund collected shall be donated towards Mental Health Wellness in Peel Region. Our share can be transferred to treasurer@sgoctoronto.org.
“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Hebrews 13:16

Please support our parish by contributing financially.

Please remember to pay the Catholicate Day share along with monthly subscription. We are continuing to collect Holy Week donations and any contribution will be highly appreciated. Only a few have contributed so far. While we thank all those who have participated in this, we request the rest of the members to join in as well.

We have started receiving emails from members with details of their beloved departed ones and have started adding them to our list.

Please continue to let us know as we would like to keep this list going forward for remembrance prayers on the respective Sundays just like we do for Birthdays and Wedding Anniversaries.

We had a memorable and highly elevating spiritual journey with various prayer and liturgical sessions.

God has been so gracious to us. Whatever good we have received, all praises and thanks to His Holy Name. May His Mercy and Grace guide and guard always.
We sincerely acknowledge, appreciate and thank:

The Ministry and Department of Health: For their kind concern for keeping the worship places open for member participation. It has been a great provision for us to experience the blessings of the Great Lent and Holy Week. We have been keen on keeping the Covid protocol.

Parish Members: for their presence, participation both virtual and in person, various supports, encouragement and prayer. We are proud and glad that our members have utmost dedication and commitment. For every program scheduled, all were there to join. We highly appreciate each and every member including children in observing fasting, attending daily offices of prayer, contributing financially, taking the turn for devotional talks and for the Friday night vigil. The positive responses of our members brought good fruits to our plans and labours. You all deserve a big salute. Love you all.

Parish Managing Committee: For their relentless support and cooperation. Special thanks to Treasurer Thomas Joshua and Secretary Manu Abraham for their dedication and all the others for their support. The whole team supported us with decision taking, sharing of ideas and thoughts, manual help, and encouraging presence.

Acolytes: For their dedicated service. It was not easy for them to come to church on evenings and assist the prayers. They have made it and cooperated with the rota. Many wanted to be in the Sanctuary on Feast days. However they all understood our limitation in accommodating and complied with the assigned schedules. We have a good team of acolytes coordinated by Santhosh Varghese and Cleemis Vaidhyan. Ordained MGOCSM members and Sunday School students assisted the prayers and hymns in English which was indeed a great help.

Choir Members: Their assistance has made the services more beautiful and highly appealing. They had spared much time for practicing and took every effort to come to church on all possible days to attend the evening prayers and liturgical celebrations. With the leadership of Anand Joseph, Liza Thomas and Jemy Jose, choir members have done a great service to our community. Those who have helped us with playing the keyboard complemented a lot to the beauty of our worship. Altogether, we have a wonderfully skilled choir.

Lenten Speakers: It was a humble beginning without much idea about its future, eventually gained its pace and momentum. All the speakers dedicated themselves and took the service seriously. We had new insights every day. The talks were raised to the professional level. We had participants from all age groups and organisations started with Molly Alex to conclude with Jewel Gijo. Sincere thanks to all the Organisational secretaries for coordinating. Special thanks to Suna Cherian for organising the Devotional Talks and Friday vigil using Google sign-up sheets which made it convenient for all participants. We have many resources which should be utilised for the progress and welfare of our parish in particular and the church in general. Special thanks to Fr Thomas Raju and Sam Kurian for their retreats.

Spiritual Organisations: They all deserve high appreciation for cooperating and participating in all the scheduled services and programs. They have stopped all the monthly meetings to support the Lenten services. All the Secretaries had their inputs in coordinating among the members who helped us a lot. G George (Gregorian Seniors Forum), Jaya Soney (MMVS), Suna Cherian (OCYM), Elizabeth Vaidhyan (Sunday School), Emil Mathew (MGOCSM) along with all their office bearers and members helped us in conducting everything without hassle.

Noon Prayer: About twenty families were there for most noon prayers started in the second half of Lent. Many of the participants joined from workplace during their lunch break.

Food/Snack providers: We had members either bringing or contributing towards food and snacks in the evening and on Qurbana days. Their care and benevolence deserve high appreciation.

Charity: In the midst of our hectic prayer schedules, we have also managed to raise funds to help Edwin whose cochlear implant surgery will be on April 10^th, MGOCSM sold face masks and donated the collected amount to ‘Youth without Shelter’, contribution towards Lenten Charity from the saved food cost through fasting and also towards ‘Share your Blessings’ initiated by Gregorian Seniors forum. We have revealed our care for the needy. Let it be a real blessing to all the benefactors.