St. Stephen's An Episcopal Church 50 Bedford Road Armonk, NY (914) 273.3812 ststephensarmonk.org
Weekly Services: Sundays 10:00 am and 5:30 pm A 10:00am Family Service. With Choir, and Sunday School for children ages 4 - 13 years of age. Nursery Care is available for younger children. Please join us for coffee hour after the service.
Places of Worship
HUDSON VALLEY FELLOWSHIP
A non-denominational church Come join HVF at our new location (as of February 5, 2012)
"In Search of Life" Come join us for a spectacular morning of Worship, Praise and the Word!
The Hudson Valley Fellowship -- A Vibrant Community of Faith in Armonk by Nomi Schwartz
April 2, 2012 The electric guitars and enthusiastic singers belting out music in town on Sunday mornings are actually coming from church services. The Hudson Valley Fellowship, a non-denominational, multi-cultural, and multi-generational Christian church is now holding its services on Sundays from 11 am to 12 noon in the Armonk United Methodist Church at 3 Bedford Road, on the corner of Bedford Road and Main Street in downtown Armonk. According to the Fellowship’s director of ministry operations, Bob Caporale, the church grew out of a small Bible study group held in a member’s home in 2008. Built on God’s message of grace and forgiveness, the Bible-based Fellowship strives to bring “blessings and hope to the Hudson Valley,” Caporale told All About Armonk. “We have a big vision - based on the wisdom of the Bible and its practical applications for today. We are using the Bible to meet the challenges and opportunities presented by everyday life.”
Reverend Rob Rodriguez, the Fellowship’s senior pastor, describes the Church’s mission this way, “...[I believe it] will always be to spread the Gospel and love of Jesus Christ to everyone. The church must also be conscious of the social context in which it lends itself and therefore be sensitive to those issues which thrive within the community it wishes to reach."
From the initial study group of about a dozen people meeting weekly, the Hudson Valley Fellowship has continually expanded as it outgrew rented spaces in the Whippoorwill Hills community room and then the ballroom in La Quinta Inn. Beginning in February of 2012, the Fellowship has been renting space in the Armonk United Methodist Church, where the group can finally hold services in an expansive chapel, thanks to a schedule in which the Methodist Church holds its services earlier. The service, held from 11 am to 12 noon, is followed by coffee and bagels. The first Sunday of every month is a communion service. Caporale considers the music and socializing essential to the worship services. “Our music, which consists of an electric band, is contemporary and hopeful. Wally Williams, a member of the worship team, leads the singing. Many members become involved in all facets of the Fellowship and some preach from time to time. We have a nursery program and children’s church for older kids. We also want to interest teens in special programs.”
From a core group of 40 or 50 worshippers on Sunday mornings to as many as 60 or 70 people, the Hudson Valley Fellowship is growing quickly.
“We want to reach those Christians who are not currently attending any church,” said Caporale. “We have a lot to offer to the unchurched. The journey is fun and exciting and it’s a blessing to be part of this.”
April 2, 2012 St. Nersess Armenian Seminary has proposed a theological center for religious instruction at 486 Bedford Road in Armonk. Congregation B'nai Yisrael is the property owner listed on the plans submitted to the North Castle Planning Board. The Temple is under contract to sell the property to the seminary with contingencies for approval of the sale from the New York State Attorney General and approval from the Planning Board.
Plans for the St. Nersess Armenian Seminary include several separate buildings that expand from the existing 7,857-square-foot space to 22,398 square feet; the new space would be located on approximately 5.5 acres. Renovations include adaptive re-use of the existing buildings and the construction of a new 8,400-square-foot theological center; the theological center would accommodate a chapel, two vestries, a library, offices, and classrooms. Residential buildings would include a dean's residence, a bachelors' residence, a married students’ residence and a faculty residence. A sidewalk and driveway would connect all the buildings, and the pool currently located on the property would remain.
According to the website www.stnersess.edu, St. Nersess Armenian Seminary was established in 1961 under the auspices of the Dioceses of the Armenian Church of America, and more recently, of Canada. In 1967 the seminary was moved to New York and became affiliated with St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestwood, Yonkers. The campus in New Rochelle was purchased in 1977, and a Tudor building was adapted for use as a seminary.
American-Armenian high school and college-aged students attend the seminary in New Rochelle for two weeks of prayer and study of the Armenian Church’s faith, history and Christian culture. In the nearly fifty-year history of the seminary, the summer conferences have grown from one program annually to eight, including a Christmas conference for college students.
The Board of Directors established a faculty for full-time residents in 1991. Dr. Abraham Terian, an internationally renowned theologian and expert in medieval Armenian Christian literature and history, was appointed as Professor of Armenian Patristics and Academic Dean in 1997. The seminary continued to increase its staff over the next seven years.
In addition to the resident faculty, seven adjunct instructors, both lay and ordained men and women, were teaching at St. Nersess during the 2008-2009 academic years, making the Seminary a community of learning and prayer in the service of God and the Armenian Church.
By 2007, twenty-five years had passed since the formalization of the joint Master of Divinity curriculum with St. Vladimir’s Seminary; the program was completely revamped in the same year. The new program prepares St. Nersess seminarians for ministry in the Armenian Church in North America. The seminary is committed to preparing leaders in ordained and lay ministries, through graduate degrees and continuing education programs.
The seminary was named after one of the most revered fathers of the Armenian Church: St. Nersess Shnorhal the Graceful, a great hymnographer, theologian, ecumenist, and Catholicos (in office 1166-1173 AD). The St. Nersess Armenian Seminary’s mission is inspired by its patron saint’s commitment to theological inquiry, pastoral care, liturgical revival, and ecumenism.
Armonk United Methodist Church
Sunday Worship Service and Sunday School 9:00 am Weekly
Nursery Care available ~ Handicapped Accessible
“An Historic Church with a Contemporary Witness”
We are rethinking church with Open Hearts, Open Minds and Open Doors
