2016 Annual Clergy Conference and Diocesan Assembly Report
The 7th Annual Clergy Conference and the Diocesan Assembly of the Diocese of South-West America were held on April 21st thru April 23rd at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Stone Mountain (Atlanta) Georgia. The Diocesan Metropolitan H.G. Alexios Mar Eusebius presided over the meetings.
Over 45 clergy of our Diocese participated in the clergy conference. The Diocesan Clergy Association Secretary, Rev. Fr. P.C. George (Detroit) organized the programs and the members of the clergy led various sessions.
The Clergy and the majority of the Assembly Members from Parishes across the Diocese attended the Assembly meeting held on Friday and Saturday, presided by the Diocesan Metropolitan, H.G. Alexios Mar Eusebius. The Minutes of the 2015 Assembly, 2015 Annual Report, 2015 Annual Accounts and 2016 Budgets, presented by the Diocesan Secretary, Fr. Dr. Joy Pyngolil, were passed by the Assembly.
The sub-committee members for the planned Chapel at the Diocesan Center (Fr. Mathews George, Mr. Elson Samuel and Mr. Jason Varughese) along with the Project Engineer, Mr. Mathew Thomas informed that we received the permit from the Fire Marshal for the Chapel Construction and we are waiting for the final approval for the Mitigation Plan from the County of Fort Bend. The Project Engineer presented a brief details of the construction bids. He informed that only 2 companies provided the bids before the closing date. The Assembly decided to close the bidding and open the bids we received. After a brief discussions on the contents of the bids, the Assembly made the historical decision to go ahead with the lower bid and authorized the Diocesan Council to study the bid in details, seek legal help to draft the contract and sign the contract for the construction.
The Fund-Raising sub-committee members (Fr. Slomo Isac George, Mr. George Geevarughese and Mr. Thomas Poovathoor) updated the progress of the fund-raising raffle project and the sub-committee members (Fr. Joy Pyngolil and Mr. Charly Varughese) for the Orthodox Village project provided the initial information on the feasibility of the project.
Along with the Assembly, there was a public meeting, preceded by a procession and evening prayer on Friday, attended by our members in Atlanta area. The Assembly was a huge success. On behalf of the Diocese the Metropolitan expressed his heartfelt thanks to all the participants, the members of the hosting parish, St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Atlanta, especially the Vicar Fr. George Daniel, and all the Volunteers who tirelessly worked to make the assembly a successful one. The Assembly concluded with prayer and benediction followed by lunch.
Report prepared by: George Geevrughese