National, International, Armenia, and Community News and Opinion

12 The Armenian Reporter | December 6, 2008Community“God’s greatest gift”: White Plains parish celebratesthe tenth anniversary of its churchA church built to lastby Gregory LimaWHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – Thechurch in the New York countrysidestretches out on its patch ofgrass and stone like a somewhatexotic wanderer that has foundhome and settled in. Its distinctivearchitecture speaks to your eyesof its identity, the expression ofan unmistakable spirit and people,confirmed by the flag of Armeniaraised high before it.Here is the young Church ofSaint Gregory the Enlightener, oneamong the new churches that haverisen to the formidable challengeof extending sustainable roots inAmerica as a growing part of a hyphenatednew Armenia.On this December 6, St. Gregorythe Enlightener Church at WhitePlains in suburban Westchester,N.Y., celebrates the tenth anniversaryof its consecration. The occasiondemonstrates how people offaith can not only raise stone andmortar to create a spiritual home- a bridge of continuity over centuriesand continents - but also inthat process meet and interact toform a diverse and vibrant community.The manner in which this communityhas grown as an interactiveparish with mutually nourishingties to Armenia offers a hopefulportend of the future of the Armeniandiaspora in America.This church would not have beenpossible unless its formation answeredin a serious and sustainedmanner an emptiness and a need inthe people who became the parishioners.Nor would it have been possiblein the form it has taken withoutthe Reverend Father KarekinKasparian, his inclusive style andfocus on the Armenian heritage asa worthy and living part of beinga contemporary American in themodern scene.Here is modern Armenia of thediaspora - an elective Armenia - notparticularly tied to the heavy constraintsof the reality of the Armenianhomeland. It is consequentialnevertheless, with its own realityand constraints, tied forever to theeffects of the Genocide and theremade lives of the scattered survivorsand their children. We arenow in the era of the grandchildrenand their children. It has its specialchallenges.St. Gregory’s is first and foremostan Armenian Apostolic Church withall that the preaching of the gospelof Christ entails in liturgy and tradition,with an altar over which isinscribed God Is Love in Englishand Armenian. Here is a church ofbeautiful choral voices, the scent ofincense, rich vestments, and glowingcandles. But it is not a churchthat dwells little further than itsown walls. It started as a churchwithout a wall of its own decadesearlier, and it grew strong withoutwalls. Its strength, its freshness,and perhaps its mission lies in thefact that it was a true communityof Christians, even when at timesit had no place else to meet but ina synagogue.The idea of starting a church herebegan with the exodus from NewYork City to isolated private dwellingsin the distant suburban greenhills beyond the tangled urbanhighrise. Armenian families werepart of the trend that scattered oldneighborhoods, dissipating first,second, and sometimes even thirdFr. Karekin Kasparian shows elements of St. Gregory the Enlightener Armenian Church in White Plains, N.Y., to Abp.Torkom Manoogian, former Primate (now Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem) and Abp. Khajag Barsamian, Primate.A parish picnic on Aug. 30, 1992, helped pave the way for the St. Gregory theEnlightener Church, which celebrates its 10th anniversary on Dec. 6, 2008.generation interrelationships. Asmuch psychological as physical, virtualisolation created the felt needfor a more accessible new churchfor worship, a place to meet therites of passage and a school wherethe children could learn the Armenianlanguage and participate inthe culture that is its provenance.The project famously began seriouslyin 1971 when a small groupof Armenians each put up $50 asa start, and then scoured the telephonebooks seeking the names ofmore Armenians in the area to joinin. This early community development,the names of the people involved,the joint efforts, the volunteerlabor, and the fund raising hasbecome the stuff of parish legend.A substantial step in realizingthe idea of building a new churchsoon occurred with the discoveryof a group of Armenians residingat St. Vladimir’s, a Russian OrthodoxSeminary at New Rochelle,New York. The Armenians wererelocating their own seminary, St.Nersess.Hovhannes Kasparian, Dean ofSt. Nersess Seminary, had earlierinitiated Armenian heritage summerstudy seminars (continued tothis day) conducted at various locationsin the United States. Sponsoredby St. Nersess, the seminarsstressed Armenian history, rituals,culture, arts, and the spiritual imperativesof the Christian religion.He invited the community to joinin similar studies through monthlycultural/educational gatheringsand went on to set up Armenianlanguage classes with three of theseminarians as teachers.With his appointment by theDiocese as spiritual advisor to theArmenians in Westchester, the permissionto form a new parish wasreceived from Archbishop TorkomManoogian. Soon thereafterDean Hovhannes was ordained asFr. Karekin and in addition to hisother duties, he became the pastorof the new parish.With no church of its own, theparish had to find places to worship.Among the places they wouldgather was a Seventh-day AdventistChurch, for which they had toconstruct their own altar. They nowbecame a wandering church with afolding altar. When the synagogueat New Rochelle offered them theuse of the temple for Christian service,they added it to what was tobecome one of seven homes, thesixth of which, on their first purchasedproperty, was a three-cargarage the parishioners themselvesconverted to a church.It is the palpable sense of being achurch outside confining walls, ofbehaving in one’s heart and spirit asan Armenian Christian in daily andcommunal life that first attractedand still holds in common purposemany of today’s parishioners.To be a practicing Christian outsidethe walls of the church is aidedtoday by all that has found homewithin the church’s atrium, theauditorium, the offices, and in theclassrooms of the park-like churchcompound, starting with the ParishCouncil elected by the communityand whose vital role in thisachievement from its inception decadesago to this day needs a commemorativevolume of its own.The church bulletin, The Enlightener,provides detail on the facilitiesalong with the major donors,director names, chairpersons,teachers, deacons (Deacon Vasken,the first choirmaster of the churchis now Archbishop Avak Asadourian,Primate of the Diocese ofIraq), along with the myriad organizationsthat have been established,including information onthe bulging classes at the SundaySchool, the Armenian School, andthe many church-related clubs andservices that make the church compounda hub of daily activity.To be part of this church is to beenriched by the talents of a broadcommunity. The ability to create acooperative community of strongindividuals and generally overcomethe Armenian tendency toward divisivenesshas proved the abidinggift of Fr. Karekin. In doing so, heapparently has the ability to createa special, individual connection toeach member of the community, aconnection that makes the spiritualpersonal.One craggy old gentleman explainedit as follows: “Before, whenI saw a priest coming toward me, Iused to hold onto my wallet, lookaway, and cross to the other side ofthe street. Now look at me.” He impliedthat Fr. Karekin will cross tothe other side of the street and findyou. “He has the ability to makeyou feel he has been waiting justfor you to come by.”But that is only the beginning,Lisa Kouzoujian explained.Whatever your ability or professionmay be, whatever it is, Fr. Karekinseems to have very high success inpersuading people that they haveexactly what is needed and what infellowship they can supply. Beyondthat, “He is a dynamo” she said.Although the reverend father intrue humility would resist such adescription as a generator of highvoltageelectricity, and downplayshis own contributions, he has infact been an innovator and hismethods have become part of thecurriculum for new priests whenhe recently coordinated an orientationconference for five priests inpastoral internship. They were exposedto the structure of parish lifein the United States, looking intothe current financial and administrativeaspects of parish administration.In furthering this efforthe has talked on time managementfor busy pastors and especially onone of his favorite topics: helpingto make the church relevant andmeaningful in children’s lives.Among his many innovationsin the parish are deacon trainingprograms, which have involvedhundreds of youths. His Armenianstudies programs initiated in 1970at St. Nersess have over the yearsinvolved 30 day educational pilgrimagesto Armenia to introduceyouth to their spiritual heritageand cultural legacy. Many of theparticipants “have become our layleaders and some others have chosenthe priestly vocation and servein our parishes and other responsiblepositions in our Diocese,” hesaid.Fr. Karekin has been innovativein developing mission programsboth in America and Armenia. Thelocal goal has been to foster interestand participation in parish life andprovide tools for improving communityactivities throughout theEastern Diocese. He has chairedthe original HAVAD (spreadingthe Armenian Apostolic Teachings)missions to rekindle the spiritualneeds of people in Armenia.Fr. Karekin stated the church “isa unique place where we feel ourselvesto be truly Armenian, wherewe bond as true brothers and sisters,and where all our members areat home.” With its 10th Anniversaryat hand, St. Gregory the Enlightenerhas not only become wellestablished but is a still expandingspiritual home.According to this pastor andmany in his parish, “The ArmenianChurch is God’s greatest gift to theArmenian people.”Trustee contributions to the agmmFinancial contributions by former and current members of the Board ofTrustees of Armenian Genocide Museum and Memorial (agmm) for thebenefit of the agmm as of September 2006.