ST. MARY ARMENIAN CHURCH
SHNORHALI MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
May 2023
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Changing the World for the Better
Recently one of our Shnorhali School graduates, Alek Tekeyan, won the high school grand prize at the 42nd Frederick County Science and Engineering Fair for his robotic hand that could sign part of the American Sign Language alphabet from vocal and typed inputs. Alek desires to solve modern challenges and change the world for the better.
Now he has the opportunity to represent Frederick County at this year's International Science and Engineering Fair in Dallas. We congratulate Alek and wish him success in the future.
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Shnorhali School Celebrated Mother’s Day and Teachers’ Appreciation Week
On May 14th, Mother’s Day was celebrated at Shnorhali Armenian School. On this Special day, with their Religious Education Teachers, the students participated in the Divine Liturgy, during which, with Der Hovsep Karapetyan, the students prayed in gratitude and praise of their mothers, they honored the role that their mothers play in their everyday lives and expressed great appreciation for the unconditional love and affection that their mothers have bestowed upon them.
After the Liturgy, with the help of our Armenian teachers and the Shnorhali Fathers’ Club, our students invited their mothers to join them in a Mother’s Day appreciation event. 5th Grade Armenian teacher Sona Avetisyan initiated and organized a small Appreciation ceremony, during which students recited poems, read their heartfelt and deepest wishes to express their love and gratitude, and presented their mothers with flowers and cards.
Students also celebrated Teachers Appreciation Week by showering their teachers with flowers, gifts of love, and greeting cards.
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Visit to Baltimore Armenian School
On Saturday, May 13, Der Hovsep visited the Armenian School of Greater Baltimore (ASGB). He spent time with the students teaching them about the faith and traditions of the Armenian Church and answering their questions. Der Hayr gifted the student with a small icon of St. Mary and explained its significance.
The Armenian School of Greater Baltimore currently has 21 students and meets every Saturday from 10 am to 12 noon. The classes are held at St. John Lutheran Church (300 W Maple Rd.) in Linthicum, MD. The school is led by three dedicated teachers, Sophia Shaverdian Hawit, Karine Tarpinian, and Nayiri Shahnazarian.
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ACYOA Juniors End of Year Party
The ACYOA Juniors Teen Youth group held a dinner party on May 12th. The event was graciously hosted by the Kalayjian family, at their home in Vienna. The teens honored the graduating High School seniors by writing messages in graduation cards and participating in the annual know-your-graduate game. The evening was a wonderful time for the teens and their parents to gather and share fellowship before the summer travel season.
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Garden Celebration
The Garden Reception Fundraiser on May 12th for the 90th Anniversary Endowment Fund brought together nearly 70 individuals. We are grateful to Edward Asslanian and his friends for their generosity and sponsorship of this event. The success of any event is measured by the smiles one sees on the participants' faces; indeed, an abundance of smiles and joy was apparent on everyone's faces!
The church grounds were transformed into an elegant setting, thanks to Nayiree Sarkisian's and Raffi Sahakyan's skillful hands. Parishioners and friends enjoyed a scrumptious meal, a delicious cake prepared by Boris Ghazarian, and dessert and appetizers donated by Rudy's Mediterranean Grill. Many stories of yesterday were told throughout the evening. We appreciate everyone's support by their participation, and generosity; the sustainability of our church is the product of the continued efforts our community provides.
We look forward to hosting similar gatherings and hope those unable to join this time will be part of future events.
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Spring 2023 St. Mary's Food Festival was held from May 19th - May 21, 2023.
We were all overwhelmed with joy to have witnessed the positive outcome of this Spring’s Food Festival.
First and foremost, we are thankful to our Parish Council for each and every member's tireless effort pre-festival, during and post festival arrangements. There is a great deal that happens to bring the festival to life. Second, our deep appreciation for the Women's Guild Executive Committee with Yn. Jennifer's efforts and filling the gaps where needed. To all the women, senior and junior, a million thank yous for putting in many hours to prepare the scrumptious meals. The Grill Masters did it again; both chicken and lamb kebab platters received many praises.
To our sponsors of the festival, we are deeply touched by your generosity that has sustained us to continue the mission of our church.
We are beyond grateful to all our volunteers who answered the call to service regardless how young or mature in age they were, this festival could not have been accomplished without their assistance.
Last but not least, we would not have had a fruitful festival without the participation of our devoted parishioners, loyal community members, neighbors, vendors. We had an unprecedented number of attendees for the 3-days. The highlight of this year's festival was the closure of the street on Saturday, which gave the festival the feeling of homey atmosphere. We would like to thank Mr. Shahnur Bostan for his efforts to make this happen. In addition, we were entertained by our young musicians; Edward Vardanyan (rising 6th grader), Michael Derdzakyan (rising 8th grader), and Andre Alexanian (recently graduated High School). All 3 young musicians mesmerized festival attendees with their skillful fingers on the piano.
We look forward to seeing you all at our next event. All are welcome to participate and help us make future events as rewarding as this one. Please do not hesitate to reach out by sending an email to stmarychurchdc@gmail.com with the subject line "Volunteer Opportunities" with your interest so we'll add you to our army of volunteers!
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CHESS TOURNAMENT AT SHNORHALI SCHOOL
Armenia is one of the strongest chess nations in the world today, and as a small country, it has managed to produce one of the greatest numbers of chess grandmasters per capita in the world.
Following our national tradition, Shnorhali school has planned and initiated a Chess Club for its students. For the past several months, the Chess Club under the supervision and guidance of its Head Coach Ohan Semirjyan, has been providing instructions so that our children can explore and understand the beauty of chess and to help sharpen young curious minds. Ohan has been focusing on teaching students how to think critically and to learn and discover attack moves, sacrifices, traps, and many other chess tricks.
Shnorhali Armenian School’s Chess Club organized end of year Chess Tournament for all young people in our community from ages 7-13. The Tournament took place at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church on May 28th. More than 20 students participated in the competitions and the winners earned medals. Our Tournament winners are:
Davit Azizyan - 1st place.
Levon Zanyan - 2nd place.
Davit Moini - 3rd place.
Congratulations to all the winners and thanks to everyone who participated and helped to make this contest a success!
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BOOK PRESENTATION AT SHNORHALI SCHOOL
On May 28, Shnorali School hosted the president of Armenia's "PEN" Center, novelist Armen (Hayastanci) Ohanyan, who presented the children's book "Uno, Beno and the Wings of Freedom" co-authored by him and illustrator Harutyun Tumaghyan.
The author had a discussion with children using the book’s characters, the freedom lover Uno the Unicorn and his close friend, Beno the Dog, in the hope that like the book's heroes, school-age readers will find their wings of freedom, and the meeting participant adults, educators and parents, will help children value the human rights and fundamental freedoms given to all of us at birth. At the end of the meeting, Mr. Ohanyan donated copies of the book as well as related materials to the school.
The book "Uno, Beno and the Wings of Freedom" was created and published with the support of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom and is recommended as educational material by the Ministry of Education and Culture of the Republic of Armenia.
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Our congratulations to all 2023 Senior High Graduates.
May God continue to bless and guide you!
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New Parish Council Officers Elected
We are pleased to introduce to our parishioners the elected Officers of the Parish Council for the year 2023. Chair-Shoghig Sahakyan; Vice-Chair-John Asadoorian; Recording Secretary-Svetlana Hovhannisyan; Corresponding Secretary-Shahnur Bostan; Treasurer-Jack Guiragossian; Assistant Treasurer Catherine Sahakian; Member-Vazrik Nishanian; Member-Sean McClure; Member-Ohannes Sivaslian.
We pray for wisdom and strength for our newly elected Parish Council Officers in their service to God and His church.
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Baptism and Confirmation
May 13, 2023
Xavier Christopher Zatoonian
Son of Christopher & Christine Zatoonian
Godparents: Stephan & Jacqueline Gross
May God bless our newly baptized with His love and may His protection and guidance always be with them.
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Hokehankists - Requiem Services
May 7, 2023
For the Souls of: Parkouhi Maroonian ( 1st anniversary) & Aramayis Maroonian
Requested by: Emma, Hasmik, Ashot, Gegel, and Knar, their families, and Grandchildren
For the Soul of: Virgin Maghrablian
Requested by: Levon & Silvana Maghrablian
May 21, 2023
For the Soul of: Grace Shahinian (2nd anniversary)
Requested by: Dean Shahinian
For the Soul of: Ani Madenian (40 days)
Requested by: David and Leda Zenian, Chris and Sarine Tyson
May God rest their Souls in peace and may His loving favor be with their Loved Ones.
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St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church
Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, Pastor
4125 Fessenden Street N.W, Washington, DC 20016
202-363-1923 / www.stmaryaac.org
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