Raffle Fund raising for the Diocesan Center Chapel

Blessings to our Cor-Episcopoi, Priests, Deacons, Parish Managing Committee Members, Fund Raising Committee Members, Malankara Sabha Association Members, Diocesan Assembly Members and all the Faithful of our Diocese,

As you all aware, the Raffle Fund-Raising for our Chapel at the Urshlem Diocesan Center is coming to a close. This raffle is the main fund-raising project we planned for this phase of the projects envisioned at the center. We urge you all to understand the importance of this projects. A few of you may have questions regarding why we chose the chapel construction as the first project out of all the other envisioned projects. We like to have our priorities set for the following projects:

1. A retreat center for those individuals or families to have a break from their daily stressful life and spend some time in prayers and fasting at a quiet place with a spiritual atmosphere away from their home parish.

2. A Counselling Center for those who experience hard time in their life due to financial trouble, health reasons, trouble in family life, peer pressures, failing relationship or any other personal reasons. It is our desire to set up a professional counselling facility with total privacy and confidentiality to help those who suffer mental agony and grief due to the above reasons.

3. We are encouraged by the overwhelming enrollment of youth from every parts of the diocese to youth Camps and Conferences which were held in the past years. But, we need to improve the facility to enroll more youths and to have multiple sessions during the summer months.

4. We are planning to develop a major portion of this land to convert to a residential facility focusing the retired members of our church. We are expecting some revenue from this project, which can be used for other envisioned projects.

A chapel is the essential facility for any of the needed projects above. It is the spiritual center for all the activities associated with the above programs and thus we decided to go ahead with the chapel construction first.

The raffle program is the only fund-raising venue we have organized. Based on self-purchase or sponsoring the sale of an average of 5 tickets ($500) per family, we targeted to raise 1.5 Million dollars through this program. We expect every families of our diocese participate in this program. As your shepherd, I exhort you all to sincerely participate in this collection. Those who can afford, shall buy recognizable amount of tickets for $5000, $3,000, $2,000 and $1,000 as per the brochure published earlier. It is my desire to see 100% participation by the elected officials of each parish, the Diocesan Assembly members, the Association members and all the clergy of our diocese for the successful accomplishment of this program.

We have only a few days left for closing the sales at parish level. If the parish representative or the Vicar is coming for the Assembly in Houston, they can finalize the sales and collections by January 30th and bring the counterfoils, unsold tickets and the amount with them and hand them over to the Diocesan office in person. Otherwise, the sales shall be completed by January 25th and send the above items by mail to the Diocesan office.

The fund-raising Convener, Fr. Raju Daniel, Secretary, Mr. George Geevarughese and the Raffle Coordinator, Mr. Thomas Poovathoor along with a dedicated group of area conveners and coordinators are working sincerely and diligently for the success of this program. Once again I exhort you all to cooperate with them and whole heartedly support and participate in the effort to raise funds for this worthy project.

May the Almighty God shower His abundant blessings upon you all.

Your Shepherd in Christ
Alexios Mar Eusebius Metropolitan