Meet Woman of the Week Asha Matha, seminarian, scholar, and priest's wifei! We asked her to tell you about herself:
"I’m a seminarian student at St. Vladimir’s Theological Seminary. I grew up as the oldest daughter of a father who is a priest, and our weekends were spent in Staten Island for liturgical events (baptisms, Eucharists, or prayer meetings at parish members’ houses). I attended Rutgers University for Computer and Electrical Engineering. I worked as an intern at non-profit, IEEE, which was focused on the advancement of technology for the good of humanity. I remained there for another 19 years in the IT department serving in multiple roles (help desk, website support, project management, and business analysis). To become better in those roles, thankfully I passed my certification exams for project management (PMI) and business analysis (IIBA and PMI).
"Outside of work, I was a Sunday School teacher and principal, a member of the youth leadership conference, the general secretary for the Diocesan family conference for two years, and a webmaster for the Diocesean website. I helped at church events - in any role, from planning to cleaning. Also, I joined Toastmasters International to work on impromptu speaking skills and after eight years obtained the Distinguished Toastmaster award. I’m married to an Orthodox priest who is assigned to two parishes (to which we go on alternate weekends). In tow are our two sons (4- and 2-years-old).
"My time in the seminary classroom has benefited from my training. I learned the fine art of asking questions from my business analyst training; one has to ask questions to understand what the customer wants in the project. If you don’t ask the right questions to bring assumptions to the surface of a discussion, the project will fail. My former CIO was a brilliant man; I learned from him that asking the right clarifying questions is a great skill. Failed projects are caused by inadequate and incorrect requirements decided at the start. (I’m not Star Trek’s Deanna Troi and can’t read minds!) Little did I know that being able to formulate clarifying questions would be a valuable skill set at seminary. I find myself asking for clarifications on the ideas and facts mentioned by the professors in the classroom. I also find myself raising questions from the texts that we had to read. I was asking questions about what the author meant when he or she said this or that. I know that, asking these questions now will help me prepare for the questions from my parish members. After I graduate, my professors won’t be there to answer those questions, so I’d better understand in detail what they are trying to convey. I also use questions to engage with the texts we are assigned, whether a church father or a modern theologian. Finally, questions are great in learning about one’s classmates who come from all different ages and places."
Axia!
Our Woman of the Week, Asha Mathai can be seen here at a national church conference at the Malankara Archdiocesan headquarters. We asked her what going to church was like for her these days: "When I was a child, I was the daughter of the priest. As a result, I attended virtually all liturgical events and listened to every reading and homily. Now that I am the wife of a priest and mother of two sons, I still go to virtually all the same liturgical events, but I’m barely there in spirit. I spend the services caring for (or running after) my children to try to keep them from distracting other parish members from their theosis. This past Sunday, when we were in a different parish, during Liturgy, my two-year-old son decided to dump his Cheerios on the basement floor of the rented church while I was feeding my four-year-old his Cheerios by hand. Since this was a rented facility, it didn’t possess all the amenities that would have been ideal for a congregation, so there was no parent-child comfort room for us to spend time in. At a certain point, the best I could do was console myself that at least the space didn’t have a carpeted floor, so I would be able to clean up the mess easier! "Because my husband spends liturgies in the altar, I’m outnumbered by my two! For the time being,when I have the children with me at church I take it one moment at a time. I work hard to keep them in line and hope they will be quiet and not distract others, but somehow the opposite almost always happens. They are in a phase where they are loud, make noise, and run everywhere. Once liturgy is over and we are enjoying fellowship hour, I feed them. When we get back in the car, I can revert to three of my other roles; that is, taking care of myself, managing the household, and being a student, while my husband drives and the children are in their carseats. I eat my vegan granola bar, prepare the week’s shopping list, study Greek vocabulary, and maybe even take a quick nap."
We asked Woman of the Week Asha Mathai, seen here at a St Vladimir's Seminary event, about her morning routine:
"My days vary a lot because of my class schedule and the liturgical cycle, among other reasons. But a couple of days ago was fairly typical. At midnight, I set the alarm for 4 am to study for my Greek Midterm exam. Instead, one of my sons woke me up to ask for a waffle (which is his code for wanting to play with his toys). My husband put him back to sleep, and I snoozed till 6 am. Then I showered, made oatmeal for the children and myself, and headed over to Shoprite to buy groceries-- especially the chicken nuggets that the boys demand. (Pro tip: if you’re trying to be efficient, hitting the grocery store in the early hours is key.) I returned by 7:00 am, packed my breakfast oatmeal, and headed to the seminary chapel for morning prayers (Matins), which starts at 7:30, and the rest of the seminary day.”
Thank you, Asha!