The Youth Bible Study was held on June 18th, Friday at 7 PM at the parsonage.  Rev. Binu T. John led the study topic on "Jealousy."  9 youth members attended this Bible Study.

 

 

 

Welcome Achen & Kochamma
The CSI Congregation of Hudson Valley is happy to welcome Rev. Binu John and Mrs. Bindu Binu (Kochamma) who  arrived at JFK Airport on June 10, 2010.  As we welcome our new Spiritual Leader let us embrace both Achen and Kochamma as part of the CSI Hudson Family with prayers and love. Let us pray that God continues His work through Binu Achen here at the CSI Hudson Valley Congregation. Please uphold Achen and Kochamma in your prayers.

 

 

 

Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan
We are greatly indebted to Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan, who has been an active and vocal supporter of us as he never misses a chance to praise our group. Words cannot express his commitment and love to this congregation.  We would like to specially thank our Kochamma, Mrs. Valsala Thomas, and Achen’s family members in Philadelphia for supporting achen with his ministry and allowing him to be with us every weekend since September 2009 until our new vicar arrived in June 2010.

Environment Sunday
We observed June 13th as Environment Sunday with the presence of Very Rev. T.O. Oommen of the Madhya Kerala Diocese.  During the worship service we were evacuated by the Valhalla Fire Department due to a chlorine gas spill at the water treatment plant nearby.  Fortunately we were blessed to have another place, the parsonage, to conduct our worship service.  This situation along with Achen’s message reminded us that nature is a gift that God has entrusted to us, the stewards of His creation.

Family Retreat
Our Annual Family Retreat was held from June 25 - 27, 2010 at the Blue Mountain Christian Retreat Center in New Ringgold, PA. The theme for this year's retreat was "How do you live? By Conviction or By Convenience".  Rev. Jacob Yohannan, Presbyter of Grace Village Church (Englewood, NJ), the main speaker along with our Achen, Rev. Binu T. John speakers during the retreat and helped deliver inspiring messages based on the theme.

Our grateful thanks and appreciation go to Rev. Yohannan & family for sharing the word and leading the sessions. We would also like to thank our Achen, Rev. Binu T. John for his leadership and guidance during the retreat. We thank the Blue Mountain Christian Retreat Center for their hospitality and attention to our needs during this whole process. We thank and appreciate all those who led various parts of the retreat and helped out in whatever way they could to make this year's retreat a blessing to all. We express our sincere thanks to all 88 people who attended this year's Family Retreat.  Our special thanks go out to Mr. Cherian P. Cherian and Mr. Anil G. Oommen for coordinating this year's Family Retreat.

The women of our congregation got together on June 5th for an evening of fellowship and fun. The night started with a few songs and some Bible based discussions about Ruth and Naomi. There were lessons on sari wearing, manicures and pedicures. This event was organized by the youth of church.

Health Kits Project
Our church had joined VUMC in participating in the Health Kits Mission Project. Members of our church bought various new items that are useful at home and placed them in plastic bags. The bags were collected by our youth and given to the Mission office. Thanks to all those members who brought in new items and helped in this Health Kits Mission Project.

Father’s Day
We observed June 20, 2010 as Father’s Day.  All fathers were honored by giving gifts arranged by our Youth Fellowship.  Rev. Binu T. John made a special prayer for all the fathers in our congregation.  We thank Miss Amy Kuruvilla who shared her views on Fathers, and all the members of the Youth Fellowship who arranged gifts that were presented by the eldest child of each family of all the fathers in our congregation. 

Sunday School Anniversary
The anniversary of our Sunday School was held on June 20, 2010.  The students presented various talent programs during the anniversary celebration.  Our Achen, Rev. Binu T. John addressed the students, teachers and parents. Mrs. Sonia Thomas presented the report of Sunday School activities of the year.   Prizes were also distributed to the winners of the Sunday School competitions.

Mid-year General Body Meeting
Our mid-year general body meeting will be held on Sunday, July 11, 2010, immediately after our worship service.  All are requested to attend this meeting to evaluate the first half of the running year and to make necessary plans for the future.  Our financial position will be reviewed and make essential arrangements to improve areas where we are not strong. 

CSI Family and Youth Conference
The 24th CSI Family and Youth Conference will be held at Victorian Resort and Conference Center in Galveston, Texas.  The selected theme of the conference is, “Into a Living Hope”, based on 1 Peter 1:3.  The CSI Moderator, Most Rev. S. Vasanthakumar and our bishop, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Samuel are expected to be present to lead the conference.  A few of our members are planning to attend this conference.  Please remember the conference in your prayers. 

Worship Service Time
Our Sunday Church Worship Service time has been changed to 10:00 AM until the end of August 2010.

 

Generous Donations
We thank the following members who donated various items for the use in our parsonage:

Mr. George Samuel                  Television
Mr. Cherian P. Cherian            Coffee Maker
Mr. Abraham Eapen                 Saucepan, Bed Pillows
Mr. Cherian Thomas                 Bed Sheet Sets
Mr. Kurien T. Oommen            Cooking Vessels Set
Mr. George Varkey                  Non Stick Pan
Mr. Philip Itty                           Door Mats
Mr. Renoi Thomas                    Saucepan, plastic bucket, mug
Mr. Arun Andrews                   Kitchen Floor Mats
Mr. John Mathew                     Plastic Patio chairs, table
Mr. Anil Oommen                     Patio umbrella
Mr. John Eapen                        Towels - Bath and Hand

Also, we would like to acknowledge all those who spent many hours at our parsonage for cleaning, organizing and fixing various things for Achen and Kochamma’s comfortable stay. We want to thank all the people who contributed their time and energy in helping out on various projects around the parsonage.

 

Our annual Church Picnic will be held, rain or shine, on Saturday, July 31st. For further details and directions to the picnic spot, please contact either Mr. Kurien T. Oommen or Mr. Justin Cherian who are working as the conveners for this event.  All are requested to attend this day full of fun and fellowship.

 

 

Cottage Prayer
A cottage prayer meeting will be held on July 17th at our parsonage at 6:30 PM.  This begins a series of Bible Study by Binu Achen that should not be missed. 

Mission Sunday
We will be observing July 18, 2010 as Mission Sunday.  Special prayers will be conducted on that day for the missionaries around the world who propagate the Good News and carryout the humanitarian work.  Following our custom, we will be sending the special collection of the day to our medical mission work in Charkari, Uttar Pradesh, India.  We request you to offer your prayerful and sacrificial donations towards this special project that we can be so proud of.

Laity Sunday
We will be observing August 1, 2010 as a Laity Sunday.  The Laity Fellowship members will be leading the worship service on that day.

Youth Bake Sale
Our Youth Fellowship will be conducting its Annual Bake Sale on July 11th.  The funds collected through this bake sale will be used for this year’s Youth Praise and Worship Service.

A Joint Youth Picnic will be held at Lake Welch (Harriman State Park) on Saturday, July 10, 2010 from 9 AM to 3 PM. Youth members from several of our sister congregations will be gathering for a fellowship under the sun. All youth members are encouraged to attend this fellowship event.  Please contact our youth leaders for further details.

 

 

Refreshments
We thank the following people for providing refreshments after our Sunday worship services:

May      02    Mr. Anil Oommen & family
             09    Mr. Cherian Thomas & family
             16    Mr. Sam Kuruvilla & family
June      20    Mr. Arun Andrews & family

Obituary
It is with deep sadness, we report the sudden death of Mr. George Oommen (Georgekutty), 51 years, Long Island-NY, brother of Mr. Kurien T. Oommen. We extend our deepest condolences to Mrs. Chinnamma Oommen and her entire family.  Please uphold this family in your prayers at this difficult time of their loss.

Congratulations
We congratulate Lini Mathew, daughter of Mr. Thomas Mathew and Mrs. Annamma Mathew, who got married to Benjamin Jacob on May 29, 2010.  We wish them a blessed married life.

Women's Fellowship

Patron:	Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan
Vice President:	Mrs. Rachel Cherian-NY
Secretary:	Mrs. Marykutty Varkey
Treasurer:	Mrs. Betty Eapen
Members:	Mrs. Mary Chacko Mrs. Daisy Philip

Laity Fellowship:

President:	Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan
Vice President:	Mr. P.V. Chacko
Secretary:	Mr. Cherian P. Cherian
Treasurer:	Mr. George Varkey
Members:	Mr. Kurien T. Oommen Mr. George Mathew

Youth Fellowship:

President:	Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan
Vice President:	Miss Manju Sebastian
Secretary:	Miss Carol Kuruvilla
Treasurer:	Mr. Stefan Eapen
Program Coordinators:	Miss Rachel Jini George Miss Jaime Mathew

Sunday School:

President:	Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan
Superintendent:	Mrs. Sonia Thomas

Choir:

President:	Rev. Prof. Thomas Ninan
Choir Master:	Mr. Arun Andrews
Secretary:	Mr. Jeffrey Eapen
Choir Leader:	Mrs. Daisy Philip
Organist:	Miss Carol Kuruvilla
Asst. Organist	Mr. Sanjeev Oommen