Our Purpose

We have come together to worship and spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in our community and throughout the world. We choose to be a model congregation worshipping in the Church of South India (CSI) tradition and to uphold the motto and ideals of the CSI - "That they all may be one."

The Early Years

The formation of the Hudson Valley Congregation was the result of the humble prayers of few families who were worshipping at the CSI Malayalam Congregation of Greater New York at Woodhaven, NY and wished to have a place of worship closer to their homes. Therefore, a unanimous decison was taken to establish a new congregation closer to those dwelling in the northern and western suburbs of New York City. After 12 years, the growth and unity of the Congregation proves that it was under a divine plan. 

Our Congregation was formally inaugurated on Sunday, April 10, 1994 during a Special Worship Service at the West Center Congregational Church UCC, Bronxville, NY. After the formation, people who have roots in CSI, but were not regularly attending CSI worship due to the distance and other constraints, became part of this Congregation.

Our Vicars/Presbyters (Achens)

Rev. Sam Samuel, who was a student at the Divinity College in Boston, was the first interim Vicar of the Congregation. After Achen's departure in the spring of 1995, and until May 1996, a host of Presbyters served us on an interim basis including the late Rev. George Koshy, Rev. Johnny Joseph, Rev. Philip Johnson, Rev. George Ninan, Rev. Professor Thomas Ninan.

In 1996, The Rt. Rev. Dr. Sam Mathew, then Bishop of the Madhya Kerala Diocese appointed Rev. Dr. P. K. Kuruvilla as the first full-time Vicar of the Congregation.  Achen, Mini Kochamma, and their children, Wesley and Winnie, served us faithfully from May 1996 - May 1999.

In June 1999, Rev. Dr. Jacob Chacko, a young and energetic Presbyter of the Madhya Kerala diocese took charge of the congregation with his wife, Mini Jacob, and their son, Rohan. Achen served from 1999-2002. They gave new spirit and enthusiasm to our members from the youngest to the oldest.

In June 2002, Very Rev. P.U. Paulose, a distinguished and experienced pastor of the Madhya Kerala Diocese and his wife, Mercy Paulose, took charge of our congregation. During Achen's tenure from 2002-2005, our congregation enjoyed many years of deep biblical study and spiritual growth from Achen's vast and impressive knowledge of the scriptures.

From July 2005 - October 2006, Rev. Professor Thomas Ninan (who is also the Presbyter of the CSI church in Tampa, FL) graciously served as our Interim Presbyter since there was a delay in getting a presbyter from the diocese. In December 2005, our general body unanimously approved the decision to make him our full-time Presbyter and President until we are appointed a new Presbyter-in-charge from the Diocese. Achen took great pain to travel from his residence in Philadelphia to New York every weekend for our services. We will never forget his selfless pastoral care and services to our church in our time of need.

In October, 2006, Rev. Mathew P. George, a vibrant and accomplished presbyter from the Madhya Kerala Diocese, took over as our Presbyter-in-charge. He arrived with his son, George Shalom Mathew. Achen is using his services and talents for the growth of our church.

Fellowships

Missions and Charity

Since our inception, we are actively involved in missionary works. We are supporting the Missionary doctor in the Charkari Mission field of the Madhya Kerala Diocese. We have financially supported the Paradi Church, out-station of the Mundiapally CSI Church, Kerala. Our Sunday school children established a scholarship fund for the eligible students of our institutions in Kerala. In 2000, we raised funds to construct a church building for the Parayanali CSI Church, an out-station of Omalloor Parish of the Madhya Kerala Diocese. We had raised $7000 for this project and the Bishop, Rt. Rev. Dr. Sam Mathew formally dedicated this church building on May 16, 2000 with a plaque at the site naming our congregation as donating the funds for the church's construction.

Each year, during the Thanksgiving season, our youth fellowship conducts a food and clothing drive to help the needy in our society. The donations usually go to a local Salvation Army depot. The youth fellowship also conducts yearly "breakfast runs" and "midnight runs" with the help of the Midnight Run organization to prepare food and go as a group to deliver it personally to the homeless men and women of New York City.

In addition to the above examples, over the years our church has sent financial support for numerous emergency and ongoing needs of the CSI Madhya Kerala Diocese, East Kerala Diocese, and other charitable organizations in India and USA.

Partnerships

As a Congregation, we have established a full-fledged partnership with the United Church of Christ (UCC) since 1999. We are a member of the Metropolitan Association in the New York Conference of the UCC. All our Presbyters become Presbyters in the UCC as well, during their tenure here.

We are also part of the Council of CSI Congregations in North America and regularly attend programs hosted by our sister churches.

From our inception, we have recognized the Bishop of the CSI Madhya Kerala Diocese as our spiritual head. Former Bishop Sam Mathew took a special interest in the affairs of the Congregation and provided pastoral care ever since its inception and we are grateful to the current incumbent, Bishop Thomas Samuel, for continuing in that tradition.

The new millenium and a glorious future

In August 2000, we launched our website on the Internet. Mr. Joel Ipe served as our first website administrator until 2004. He also designed the style and scheme of our current website. Presently, Mr. Ajo Cherian is serving as our website administrator.

In August 2002, our congregation moved to a new worship place at the White Plains Presbyterian Church, White Plains, NY, after 8 years of worship at the West Center Congregational Church UCC, Bronxville, NY.

In July 2005, we purchased a beautiful and spacious Parsonage (a home for our Presbyters and their families) in New City, NY. We also hold prayer meetings, retreats, bible studies, and some of the regular meetings of the auxiliary fellowships there from time to time. We are grateful to all those who have contributed to this important cause. We are still faithful that God will fulfill our dream of owning a suitable place of worship in our future.

On January 1, 2006, we started worship at our new location: the Valhalla United Methodist Church, Valhalla, NY.

Former Moderators who visited the congregation: the late Most Rev. Dr. Vasanth P. Dandin (1996) and Most Rev. Dr. K.J. Samuel (2000). Rt. Rev. Dr. Sam Mathew, former Bishop of Madhya Kerala Diocese, visited and conducted the Confirmation services in 1995 and 1999. Rt. Rev. Dr. P. G. Kuruvilla, Bishop of the North Kerala Diocese visited the Congregation in 1997. Rt. Rev. Thomas Samuel, current Bishop of Madhya Kerala Diocese, visited our congregation in 2003, 2004, 2005, & 2006. Bishop also conducted the dedication of our Parsonage in 2005. The Rt. Rev. K.G. Daniel, Bishop of the East Kerala Diocese, visited our congregation in 2007. The Rev. Michael Caine, Conference Minister of the Southeast NY conference of the UCC, visited our congregation in 1999, 2002, 2006, and 2007.

Now, after 14 years, our Congregation stands tall with its sole purpose of glorifying God through worship and actions inspired by divine guidance. When we look back, we can say with joyful tears that God showered his blessings upon us and sustained us in everything. Therefore, we are joining the psalmist and proudly stating that '' For this is God, our God forever, He will be our guide even to death."