29th December 2024 will forever be remembered in the history of STCJ Church Airoli as we celebrated the feast of the Holy Family in the right way. This feast is usually celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas and our Vibrant Parish Priest Fr. Samuel Ribeiro came up with the idea of combining Christmas Carols, First Holy Communion & the spirit of our unity as one parish and one family at the first ever Family Day. Fr. Samuel walked the red carpet with Jacintha D'lima and Flevial Pinto (2 Sunday School Students who received communion earlier today at Church) to begin this grand celebration which also made sure that we celebrated the Communion of these 2 lovely children with all our parishioners by cutting a cake and blessing them. With almost 200 parishioners at the event, the stage was set and everything was in place for this to be a glorious evening for our parishioners. Various Zones, Communities and Associations put on a show for everyone by singing some melodious Christmas Carols in different languages like Hindi, Tamil, Konkani & English to prove that we are indeed one big family who are beyond any language or region. Whilst some used a backup track, some opted for an instrument like keyboard or guitar, some just used their vocals to create magic. Community bonding activities like selfie games, collect them all and website trivia kept all community members engaged and brought all of them together too. Fun games, spot prizes, lucky draw and housie for all age groups meant that everyone got a chance to try their luck and win prizes at the event. Many parishioners won and everyone had a good time with all the fun activities that were planned. Fr. Samuel wished all parishioners a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year by singing Feliz Navidad; an impromptu and spontaneous performance which brought a huge smile on everyone's face. Fr. Samuel along with the communion kids - Jacintha and Flevial handed out prizes to all the winners & St. Jude's Community took home the trophy for the highest attendance at the event with 38 Members which was collected by their coordinator Mrs. Chitra Fernando. The event ended with fellowship dinner for all along with some fun dance which was enjoyed by many parishioners and a photo session for everyone to remember this historic day. Overall, an evening and an event which will be remembered by the parishioners of St. Theresa of the Child Jesus Church for a very long time since they now feel more united as a community and as a family.
