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Press Releases and Articles
PRESS RELEASE: Building Expansion and Groundbreaking and Farewell/Welcome Picnic
Honoring Fr. Stepanos and Fr. Bedros -- September 23, 2007
2007 Festival Report -- (June 10)
Nalbandian Family Story -- (2004-2006)
Building Expansion Groundbreaking Ceremony
and Farewell/Welcome Picnic honoring
Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian & Fr. Bedros Kadehjian
Watervliet, NY — September 23, 2007 — Fr. Bedros Kadehjian came to the St. Peter Armenian Church parish as the Assistant Pastor on April 1, 2007 and Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian left on July 1 to officially begin his new full-time position with St. Nersess Armenian Seminary in New Rochelle, NY, as Director of Youth and Vocations. However, a special celebration to officially welcome Der Bedros and to say farewell to Der Stepanos was not held until Sunday, September 23. The celebration had to wait while Der Stepanos was conducting a very busy schedule of summer youth conferences at the Seminary.
The timing was then right to also hold a groundbreaking ceremony on that day to kickoff Phase I of the St. Peter Church building expansion project. It was decided, until additional funds can be raised, to divide the entire expansion project into two phases. Phase I will begin this fall with the installation of an elevator and handicap-accessible rest rooms on the main floor of the church building. This construction will result in the church office and church secretary being moved temporarily to a classroom in the lower level of the church. Phase II will hopefully commence in the spring of 2008 with the construction of an addition at the rear of the church which will provide space for two new offices, a meeting/conference room and a small storage area. In addition, a driveway and a small parking lot will be created to provide access to the entrance in the rear of the building.
The morning began with Divine Liturgy being celebrated by Very Rev. Fr. Haigazoun Najarian, Vicar General of the Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern). Following services, all were invited outside to enjoy the beautiful weather and be part of the special groundbreaking service and ceremony. Participating in the actual groundbreaking with golden shovels and hard hats provided by Zandri Construction were Fr. Haigazoun, Der Bedros, Der Stepanos and our Pastor Emeritus, Fr. Garen Gdanian; along with Parish Council Chairman, Richard Hartunian, and Building Development Committee representative, Mihran Mooradian; and Dn. Hrant Bardakjian, who flew in from Indianapolis just for the occasion. (His daughter and son-in-law, Talin and Setrak Nalbandian and their triplets were with him. Many will remember the miraculous story of Setrak’s multi-organ transplant surgery a few years ago.) There was a sense of excitement as these representatives of the church community turned the soil in a symbolic gesture of a new beginning and a time for growth.
The celebration continued with a special luncheon and program in the Gdanian Auditorium of St. Peter Church. Richard Hartunian, serving as the Master of Ceremonies, opened the program by welcoming the nearly 200 in attendance and acknowledged the guest clergy present: Fr. Bedros Shetilian of Holy Cross Armenian Church (Troy), Fr. Bryon Koshgarian of the Anglican Church in America, and Fr. Jim Kane, Ecumenical Director of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Albany. On behalf of the church community, he then expressed gratitude for the almost 12 years of dedicated service given by Fr. Stepanos to the St. Peter Church community as well as to the greater Capital District community and also officially welcomed Fr. Bedros and his family as the newest members of the St. Peter Armenian Church family.
A number of speakers followed. In his remarks, Fr. Haigazoun noted that this was a unique experience for him. Usually he has been invited when a priest is leaving a parish or when a parish is welcoming a new priest, but never when the two events have been combined. Harry Tutunjian, Mayor of Troy and a lifelong member of St. Peter Armenian Church, commented about his childhood Sunday School days and his acquaintance with Der Stepanos at St. Nersess Seminary during their ACYOA days. He noted that, back then, neither of them knew what path they would follow in life and that their paths would cross again years later in the Capital District. Congressman Michael McNulty spoke of his close relationship with the Armenian people, especially those of St. Peter Armenian Church, and his friendship with Fr. Stepanos as well as Fr. Garen Gdanian. (Congressman McNulty received the “Friend of the Armenians” awarded at the Diocesan Assembly hosted by St. Peter Armenian Church in 1999.) He concluded his remarks with “Getze azad angakh Hayasdan” (Long live free and independent Armenia).
Our Pastor Emeritus, Fr. Garen Gdanian, spoke warmly of his relationship with Fr. Stepanos and, in his usual fashion, shared several amusing anecdotes in his remarks. He also noted that he already has a special connection with Der Bedros whose mother was Der Garen’s secretary when Der Garen was a priest in New York City before coming to St. Peter Armenian Church and that he also has a namesake in Der Bedros’ son Garen.
In reviewing his nearly 12 years at St. Peter Church, Fr. Stepanos remembered the warm welcome he received when he came in November 1995 as the Deacon-in-Charge and expressed his appreciation for all the support, care and concern he had received as our parish priest. He will always consider this parish as his “spiritual mother” since St. Peter Church was the place of his ordination into the priesthood in February 1996. He also expressed his special regard for Der Garen and his appreciation, especially as a new priest, for the loyal support Der Garen had always given him. On behalf of the St. Peter Church community, Parish Council Chairman, Richard Hartunian presented a special gift to Fr. Stepanos of an engraved ciborium to be placed on the St. Peter Church Altar in his honor.
Yn. Paulette also expressed her gratitude for the warm friendship they received from the church community and their appreciation of the special care and love Yn. Zabel & Der Garen showed them as a young couple alone in a new place at Christmas. She also noted that, for the time being, they would continue to maintain their home in the Capital District and that they would continue to be members of the St. Peter Church community.
In his turn, Der Bedros noted with thanks the warm welcome and special kindness extended to him and Yn. Tina and their children on their arrival and relocating to the Capital District. He is looking forward to his ministry at St. Peter Church with special pleasure since the church has the same name (Bedros/Peter) that was bestowed on him at his ordination to the Holy Priesthood in 2005. He commented that both he and the church will be sharing a time of change and development, he in his ministry and the church with its building expansion project.
The program also included a recitation of a special poem in Armenian by Beatrice Arzoumanian and presentations by children in the Sunday School introduced by its Superintendent Charles Tutunjian and by the Sipan Dance Group directed by Maria Derian. A special surprise was a solo dance performed by Gloria Doudoukjian in honor of her father.
In his closing remarks, Mr. Hartunian noted that many people had contributed to the success of this event and acknowledged with appreciation the special efforts and time devoted to it by Parish Council members, John (Frenchie) Ekmalian, Mary Hartunian and Joanne Scaringe, and the church secretary, Lori Payette.
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2007 Annual Church Festival Report
Hallelujah! We finally had great weather for our Festival. After last year's very wet event, it was a relief to have the sun come out the days prior to set-up. It was just the right amount of overcast skies to provide cooler temperatures and relief from the beating sun on the day of our big event. The rain held off until the very end when it began to sprinkle. Only the workers got wet during the clean-up process.
This year was the third year that the Festival was held in June -- and it finally paid off. We had great weather, increased attendance and lots of new faces. Armenians and non-Armenians, families and neighbors, came to enjoy the traditional shish, losh and chicken kebabs as well lahmejune, pilaf, salad, cheese beoreg, yalanchi and a wide variety of scrumptious pastries and desserts -- not to mention the games, rides, music, dancing and raffles.
Parking of the many cars that came up the hill was handled expertly by Suren Hrachian and his two able assistants, Nazar Bakerian and Jonathan Dadekian.
This year we had an expanded pastries section which was organized by our Women's Guild under the leadership of Holly Dadekian & Sherry Edwards. The desserts were plentiful and delicious. Thank you to all of the Women's Guild committee members who helped in the preparation of the desserts as well as all those members of the community who donated pastries.
The St. Peter Armenian Adult Fellowship Executive Committee had the responsibility of preparing the salad and pita bread. Special thanks to Russell Kilidjian and his committee for taking care of this responsibility.
The big hit for this year's festival was the addition of games and rides by Jay's Amusements that provided all-day entertainment for children and adults of all ages. In addition to four different rides from which to choose, cork-gun and bottle pitch games were also available. The best part was that parents could purchase an all-day pass for $8 for the four rides, giving their children non-stop fun and enjoyment and peace for themselves. Jay’s Amusements did the set-up, provided the manpower, sold the tickets and gave St. Peter Church a portion of the ticket sales. The committee and community volunteers did not have to get involved at all and we still made money. This was the best decision ever and took our Festival to a whole new level of fun. We're finally catching on to the motto of a former Festival Committee Co-Chair, Chuck Tutunjian, when he tried to instill in us to "work smart, not hard."
We also thank Chuck for sponsoring the cost of the Pony Rides that were arranged by Holly Dadekian. The little pony gave 32 rides in a two-hour time frame from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. and we're certain he went home exhausted, but our little ones had lots of fun saddling up and moseying around the "corral."
All day long Armenian and Middle Eastern music was provided by our very own DJ, Bozant Karayan. The Sipan Dance Group and St. Peter Armenian School students performed several traditional Armenian dances for everyone's entertainment. Thank you to Maria & Garo Derian for working with our youth and adding such a wonderful Armenian flavor to our Festival.
We had an assortment of soft drinks, bottled water, coffee and draft beer that kept thirsts quenched all day long. The Festival once again featured a "Penny Social" to offer added excitement for festival-goers. The numerous donated items made an interesting display. Raffle tickets selling at 2 for $1 or 12 for $5 allowed one to take chances on winning items such as tickets to local games of the Albany Conquest; a TY Beanie Babies collection, two Saratoga Give-aways gift baskets, a variety of CDs and DVDs; gift certificates from local establishments such as Applebee's, Hoffman's Car Wash, Top Custom Jewelers, Gus's Hot Dogs and others. Congratulations to Armand Marderosian who won this year's big 50/50 raffle with a cash prize of $1,122.50. Thank you to each and every one of you who contributed to the work of St. Peter Armenian Church through your raffle "donation."
Businesses and friends were given the opportunity to be a Festival Sponsor either by making a monetary donation or by donating items for the Penny Social or products and/or services needed for the preparation of the Festival. The response was overwhelming! Special thanks to Executive Cleaners and Johnstone Supply for supporting our festival at the $500 Pavilion Sponsor level. All Festival Sponsors were prominently displayed in a Sponsorship Booklet with much appreciation (see following pages for a complete list of Festival Sponsors). Thanks to Lori Payette, Marianne Tashjian and Rafi Topalian for all their fund-raising and publicity efforts, and thanks to Vickie Bajakian for setting up the Penny Social area on the church grounds.
There are many, many more people to thank -- too many to list all individually; however, the Festival would not succeed without them -- all the volunteers who took a shift or two (or three) the day of the Festival and the days before; all the individuals who made and donated the baked goods for the dessert area; all the helping hands with setup and cleanup (before, during and after); the Finance Committee for counting the receipts; the Publicity Committee; the media for responding to the Publicity Committee for requests of media coverage -- there are many others we're sure -- "thank you" to all!
A very special thank you to our Church Secretary (and Jack-of-all-Trades), Lori Payette, for all her hard work in the organization of the Festival. Lori takes care of so many of the details prior to, during and after the Festival, many of which we are not even aware. We thank Lori for going way beyond the call of duty for the benefit of St. Peter Armenian Church.
FINANCIAL REPORT
In addition to the beautiful weather with which we were blessed, the success of this year's Festival is due to the efforts made by every auxiliary group of the church and the hard work and dedication of the Festival Committee and the many, many volunteers. A total of 209 kebab medley dinners, 204 lamb kebab dinners, 91 chicken kebab dinners and 46 kid's meals were served along with the following quantities of ala carte items: 150 dozen lahmejune, 142 lamb shish kebabs, 108 losh (khema) kebabs, 66 chicken shish kebabs, and 141 servings of cheese beoreg. The abundance of delicious pastries and baked goods which were made and/or donated by our parishioners and the St. Peter Women's Guild took in almost $2,700.
Jay's Amusements offered St. Peter Church 20% of ticket sales which gave us an added income of $220. The cost of hiring the pony for pony rides was covered by one of our sponsors; therefore, the ticket sales totaling $64 was added to the proceeds. Net profit from beverage sales was $577; income from the Penny Social raffles totaled $324; and the proceeds from the 50/50 raffle ticket sales came to $1,122.50
Thanks to the generosity of our sponsors, $4,500 in monetary donations were received as well as a $100 general donation. Leftover sales amounted to $670. All-in-all at this time, this year's net income comes to $14,940.65, an increase of $3,700 over last year's proceeds.
Once again our sincere appreciation goes to all volunteers, expert consultants and our dozens of sponsors and donors who deserve all the credit for making this Annual Festival a success.
John "Frenchie" Ekmalian & Margaret See
2007 Festival Co-Chairs
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Nalbandian Family Story
 In 2004, we told you of Setrak Nalbandian, a parishioner at the St. Peter Armenian Apostolic Church of Watervliet, NY, and father of young triplets who was suffering from Hepatitis B and was in dire need of a liver transplant. In October 2004, prayers were answered and Setrak underwent surgery for a multi-organ transplant. In addition to his liver, doctors determined that it was necessary to transplant other organs as well including his stomach, intestines and pancreas. It has been and continues to be a long road to recovery for Setrak. Please read on for the latest news on the Nalbandian family. 
Just before Christmas 2005, with the help of a walker, Setrak Nalbandian slowly and carefully walked through the doors of his new home in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the first time. A goal that his wife Talin wanted him to achieve and has been thankful to witness Setrak's joyous and emotional return home. He is home with a wheelchair and a hospital bed, but there is no place like home. This was truly a gift from God considering what had transpired the past few months.
Earlier in September 2005, Setrak was at death's door once more due to a major infection throughout his body; however, he was granted another chance at life - truly a miracle from God above. This made Christmas 2005 even more special for the Nalbandian family.
After much thought and prayer, Talin and the triplets decided to sell their home in Troy, NY, and move out to Indianapolis following Setrak's heart surgery in August 2005. The back and forth to Troy was just taking too much of a toll on the family. Talin's father Hrant has been by Talin's side almost every day since moving.
During the month of January 2006 alone, Setrak has been admitted to the Indiana University Medical Center four times, not including his various outpatient testing and checkups which are also done at the hospital.
Presently, Setrak's health is stable. He is in constant need of blood work as his potassium and other blood levels need adjusting. He has experienced kidney problems on and off and needed dialysis a few months ago. He is also having some rejection of the intestines (though the doctors are not overly concerned about that yet). Considering all his setbacks and recoveries, the entire hospital staff have given Setrak the nickname "Miracle Man."
Caring for Setrak and eight-year-old triplets is more than a full time job, yet Talin has begun to explore the possibility of working part-time to be able to assist in some of the financial burden they are experiencing. Yet throughout all of the difficulties and daily struggles and challenges, the family counts their blessings each day and thank God for His continuous mercy, peace and strength and have learned to ground their faith in His care.
Words cannot express the gratitude and appreciation they have for the hundreds and hundreds of people, Armenians and non-Armenians alike, who are praying for Setrak and the family, who support them in friendship, and who have assisted financially.
Many people still continue to express a concern of the financial burdens of the family and continue to desire to help Setrak and Talin monetarily. If you are interested in doing so, you may send a donation made payable to "St. Peter Armenian Church" (100 Troy-Schenectady Road, Watervliet, NY 12189) earmarked in the memo for the "Nalbandian Family." All monies continue to go directly to them to assist the Nalbandians through this difficult period in their lives.
Thank you for your continued care, concern and compassion.
God's blessings to you
Fr. Stepanos Doudoukjian
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