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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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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

Marthoma Community Podcast

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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

Marthoma Community Podcast

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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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