June 30

TOP STORY   

The Man Who Remembered God

Every year, the Armenian Church reserves a day to remember one of the more obscure figures of the Old Testament: The Prophet Zechariah. This year his saint day falls on July 4.

Zechariah’s collection of prophecies stands among the last books of the canonical Old Testament, set down some 500 years before the birth of Christ. Some of the most vivid prophetic images in the New Testament originated in Zechariah’s uncanny visions.

It was Zechariah who first envisioned such figures as the Four Horsemen and the Harlot of Babylon, long before they were revealed to St. John in his Book of the Revelation. But the prophet also influenced the Gospel writers, who used the words and hopes of Zechariah to relate the life story of Jesus.

 Zechariah took up his vocation in the worst of times: periods of unsettling societal crisis. His common motive was one of restoration, wherein the Man of God must minister to a nation scarred by faithlessness, war, and the abuse of political power, helping the people to restore a wholesome relationship with each other and with their heavenly Lord.

In this way, among others, he anticipated the mission of Christ. Indeed, Jesus explicitly referred to Zechariah during his own ministry.

Blessings on Independence Day

For well over a century now, Armenians have been blessed to merge their way of life with that of America. On these shores, our people found refuge from persecution, but also a land that would sustain us as we sought to honor our heritage and worship our Lord.

On behalf of St. Mary Armenian Church, we extend to you our warm good wishes on Independence Day.

This Independence Day we renew our prayers, asking God to bless this land and all her people.

July 2, 2023

Morning Service 

10:00 AM

Holy Badarak 

10:30 AM

Guest Celebrant

 Fr. Simeon Odabashian

Usher

Mrs. Patricia Yeghissian

Parish Council Members on Duty

Mrs. Svetlana Hovhannisyan

Choir

Mrs.Edita Kalayjian

Organist

Mrs. Karine Muradyan

Bible Readings: 



Isaiah 2:5-11, 

Romans 8:31-10:4,

Matthew 13:24-30

To request a Hokehankist/Requiem Service 

Please contact the Church Office

by 12:00 Noon on Thursday

202-363-1923

or Click here to see the form

Prayer of the Week

Lord, please keep watch over your faithful people and the holy soil of Artsakh and Armenia, now and always. Foil every aggressor against our homeland. Defend the innocent and voiceless, Lord. Deliver the world from every conflict, and bestow your peace on all mankind.

  Look with love, O merciful Father, on the created works of your hand, and grant the camps of the angels to be guardians of our feeble persons.

  Deliver us from temptation, from the wandering demons of night, that by day and by night, we may give you glory incessantly. Amen.

ACYOA Seniors Event



Last Saturday, ACYOA Seniors had their first event of the Summer at the Seferian's home in Virginia. About a dozen members and prospective members came, bringing a massive variety of dishes - many of which were homemade. St. Mary's ACYOA chairman, Alex Madajian, said the event was "the first of many more to come."  

Special Appeal - Emergency Funding

Dear Parishioners and Friends,

Recently, during our Spring Food Festival, some of you might have experienced the unusual rise in temperature at St. Mary's Cultural Hall. That was due to the breakdown in 2 of our Air Conditioning units.

The malfunction of our Air Conditioning Units came at a terrible time with summer heat around the corner. Moreover, the $15,000 was unbudgeted for this fiscal year.

We are reaching out to our faithful and loyal supporters to kindly consider helping us raise the much-needed funds. Regardless of the amount, we are grateful for each and everyone's thoughtfulness and participation.

May God bless you all abundantly.

Prayerfully,

Der Hovsep and St. Mary Parish Council

UPCOMING EVENTS

St. Nersess to Honor 12 Priests and Lay Alumni on Nov. 4



St. Nersess Armenian Seminary will highlight the vocations of 12 alumni priests and lay ministers, with a gala banquet on Saturday, November 4, 2023.

This will be the second in a series of tribute events featuring alumni of St. Nersess who serve the Armenian Church in various capacities. The first celebration took place in November 2021 and established the “12 Vocations” theme. The upcoming event will build on that idea, under the title: “12 Vocations: Broadening the Call.”

This year, the event will honor a seminary graduate who became a hierarch of the Armenian Church: Archbishop Avak Asadourian (priestly ordination in 1977, episcopal consecration in 1982), who recently retired after a long tenure as Primate of the Diocese of Iraq.

He will be honored along with seven clergymen and four lay ministers—listed here by ordination or graduation date: Fr. Krikor Sabounjian (ordained 1998); Fr. Sarkis Petoyan (ordained 1998); Fr. Abraham Ohanessian (ordained 1999); Fr. Mikael Devejian (ordained 2000); Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan (ordained 2004); Fr. Aren Jebejian (ordained 2004); Fr. Bedros Kadehjian (ordained 2005); Mka. Valerie Goekjian Zahirsky (graduated 1974); Yn. Sirarpi Feredjian Aivazian (graduated 1978); Nancy Basmajian (graduated 1979); and Shaké Ajamian Derderian (graduated 1989).

Invitations and further details on the November 4 banquet will be coming soon. Contact event co-chair Lynn Beylerian at lynnbeylerian@gmail.com or access the seminary website: www.stnersess.edu. 

NEW RECYCLING PROGRAM AT ST. MARY'S



There is now a blue recycling bin in the hall at St. Mary Church. Please only deposit empty plastic bottles and aluminum cans in the container. We are looking for volunteers to sign up about once a month to take the recyclables home with them after church or during the Food Festival. It involves sorting through what's in the clear recycling bag and discarding any trash that might have been put in the bag. Then, you replace the clear bag with one from the box in the kitchen marked "Recycling Bags, Not for Trash". I have created a SignUp Genius link to sign up for a slot. Please see St Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church: St. Mary's Recycling Committee (signupgenius.com). If you have any questions, please email me at rangerrox@msn.com. Thanks for your help in keeping God's good earth cleaner!

There is a wonderful opportunities for our children to participate in Armenian camps and conferences this summer. St. Vartan Camp and St. Nersess Summer Conferences and trainnigs are now oper for registration. If your child is interested please contact the the church office at stmarychurchdc@gmail.com and provide your name, contact information (phone and email) and your student’s name/age. Put "St Vartan Camp," or "St. Nersess" in the subject line.  An interest meeting will be arranged, where parents/students can ask questions and arrange carpools.

This year, through generous donations made to a number of memorial funds, St. Mary will be able to offer a discount for each camper.   

Special Gift for St. Mary Gift Shop

St. Mary gift shop is offering limited numbers of imported bottles of medieval Armenian health elixirs formulated from ancient manuscripts deciphered at the Matendaran Museum of Ancient Armenian Manuscripts. These elixirs are made in Armenia by Armen Sahakyan, a pharmacologist and botanical scholar who has been working at the Matenadaran Museum for the last several decades. A trained medical doctor ordained a deacon in 1997, Sahakyan has dedicated his life to the maintenance of Armenia’s sacred botanical traditions.

The three different batches available at our gift shop (Royal Elixir, Arates Elixir and Arates Tonic) are made from a codified recipe of medieval Armenian medicine, using a special distillation process. They contain medicinal and aromatic plants, known for their healing properties. Through the distillation and aging process alcohol is created, so think of them as perhaps Armenia’s first (healthy) cognac! 

The supplies are limited and each bottle is numbered, including the batch and year of production. All of the bottles were donated to St Mary Church, so 100% of the proceeds will go to the St Mary Endowment Fund, with a portion also going to support Armenian clergy serving in Artsakh.

"Embrace the Future" Endowment Fund

Dear Parishioners and Friends, 

This year we celebrate the 90th Anniversary of the St. Mary Community and Church with the launch of the new "Embrace the Future" Endowment Fund to help ensure our church has the resources needed to continue serving our beloved community.  

Just as you plan for your future and that of your family, please join us in planning for the future of St. Mary Church. 

We are asking for your support so that St. Mary will be able to continue to fulfill her mission for future generations.  

The link below lists various opportunities for you to make a meaningful gift of lasting significance that will help support our church's long-term security, visibility, and vitality. Please consider making either a one-time gift or pledge, which would allow you to make payments over a five-year period.

Join St. Mary's Prayer Group

We are initiating a new form of ministry at St. Mary Armenian Church. For parishioners who would like to make an electronic prayer request, they can do so by Clicking Here

A group of volunteers will receive the request and pray at their earliest convenience. Additionally, a new physical prayer request box will be placed at the entrance of St. Mary Armenian Church with blank forms that anyone can fill out and drop in the box. These requests will be retrieved weekly and delivered to the members of the volunteer prayer group. If you would like to become one of the volunteers of the Prayer Group please email us. 

Please click on the link below to present your request. 

An Update on Paul Murad's Burial Service 

Dear Parishioners, Please join us for a memorial service for Paul Armand Murad on July 18, 2023, at 3:00 pm at Arlington National Cemetery. After, the Murad family will host a reception in Paul Murad’s memory at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall (JBM-HH) starting at 4:15 PM.

For more information about the inurnment service and to RSVP for the reception, please contact Lucy Murad (703.517.6249 or lucyomurad@yahoo.com) or Andrea Murad (917.553.8659 or andrea.murad@yahoo.com).

May the Lord rest Paul Murad’s soul in peace and grant His comforting Holy Spirit to the family members and friends.

HELP NEEDED

Armenian Speaking Caregivers are needed. For information, please contact the church office at 202-363-1923 or stmarychurchdc@gmail.com.

Buy a Brick and Leave Your Legacy at

St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church

Bricks can be ordered and purchased by clicking below and

filling out a simple online order form.

You can choose to have a 4" x 8" brick

which includes your preselected

3 lines of 20 characters per line of text.

Or you can choose to have the

Armenian Cross artwork on the 4" x 8" brick

which includes your preselected

3 lines of 15 characters per line of text.

Order Today While Quantities Last!

Payment can be made with PayPal or a Credit Card.

Legacy Brick Donations are Tax Deductible.

DIOCESAN & OTHER NEWS

Celebrating a Legacy of 125 Years

“It is the will of a mysterious Providence that our nation should live in exile, as settlers in foreign lands. Yet that same God has not forgotten the Armenians, or Armenia. He has protected our people wherever they live, granted them success, and has day by day multiplied their number...

"My fatherly advice to you is this: Know who you are.”

Those words were penned on July 2, 1898, by the great Catholicos Mkrtich Khrimian, known to the ages as “Khrimian Hayrig.” His heartfelt advice was embedded in a pontifical encyclical, by which Khrimian Hayrig formally established the Armenian Church’s new Diocese of America.

This year marks 125 years since that momentous development, and the Eastern Diocese will be celebrating the 125th anniversary throughout the coming months, at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York and among our local parish communities.

Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan made the announcement this week, in a directive to Diocesan leaders describing the schedule of events, and presenting a host of digital resources to promote the milestone. These include a poster, banner, bookmark, and prayer book—all available for immediate download at armenianchurch.us/125.

As planned, the 125th Anniversary Celebration will include liturgical and ecumenical services, concerts and cultural events, and charitable outreach activities, at the Diocesan Center and among all local parishes. It will culminate in a grand banquet at the New York Botanical Garden in April of 2024.

But it will all launch on Sunday, July 2, 2023—exactly 125 years since Khrimian Hayrig’s encyclical—with a special Divine Liturgy at St. Vartan Cathedral in New York. Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan will celebrate the Badarak to officially inaugurate the 125th anniversary year.

On the same day, Diocesan parishes will conclude their Sunday liturgies with a prayer service honoring the occasion, and with the reading of a congratulatory message from His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians.

In his announcement this week, the Primate expressed his hope that “this anniversary milestone will invigorate spiritual and cultural life across our Diocese. As the immortal Psalm expresses it: ‘The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy’ [Ps 126:3].”

Look for frequent updates regarding the 125th Anniversary on the Eastern Diocese’s online platforms, and in your local parish. And see the item below under Events for details about the inaugural badarak on Sunday, July 2, at New York’s St. Vartan Cathedral.

FAR NEWS

Read FAR’s Annual Report Online

The Fund for Armenian Relief has released its 2022 Annual Report, and it invites the public to explore FAR’s many projects and success stories depicted in the online edition of the report.

Discover compelling stories of individuals and communities whose lives have been profoundly transformed through FAR’s programs in education, social services, child protection, healthcare, economic development, and community development.

You can read it on the special website of the Fund for Armenian Relief's Annual Report: far2022.org

Join the Eastern Diocese on a Pilgrimage to Armenia!

This September, the Eastern Diocese will lead a pilgrimage to Armenia, to witness the historic events scheduled to take place at the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin. These include the Blessing of the Holy Muron, and the re-opening of the Mother Cathedral after an extensive restoration process.

Pilgrims will also bear witness as our Primate, Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan, is consecrated as a bishop of the church, by the hand of His Holiness Karekin II, the Catholicos of All Armenians.

The trip—which runs September 27 to October 10—also visits spiritual and cultural sites of our homeland, including Khor Virab, the Genocide Memorial, Noravank, Lake Sevan, Dilijan, Garni, Geghard, and Haghpat.

Click here to view a flyer with further details. The deadline to register is June 25. For information, contact Sima Tours at simatours@gmail.com, or (610) 359-7521.

Registration Extended for ACYOA’s Armenia Service Program

Registration is still open for ACYOA’s 2023 Armenia Service Program (ASP), scheduled to run July 1 through 21, 2023.

ASP provides young adults (18 years and older) with a unique opportunity to affirm their faith, discover their homeland, and serve their people in a meaningful way. Participants return home enriched and inspired by their experience, and eager to strengthen their bonds with the homeland and the Armenian Church.

Fr. Hratch Sargsyan will lead this year’s trip, guiding young adults from across our Diocese as they experience the wonders of our homeland. As in the past, ASP service opportunities will be organized with the Fuller Center, the Fund for Armenian Relief, FAR’s Ayo! crowdfunding platform, and Camp Aragats.

Those interested in this year’s ASP trip can still register, with registration now extended beyond the former April 25 deadline. Click here to register online. And find additional information, and a full trip itinerary, on the ACYOA website.

Ayo is the crowdfunding platform of Fund for Armenian Relief, the social arm of the Eastern Diocese. We’re passionate about partnering with Armenians all over the world to promote sustainable development through low-budget, big-impact projects.

This summer, Ayo! is partnering with GOALS (Girls of Armenia Leadership in Sports) to organize a sports camp for kids aged 11-17. It will intertwine learning and fun through games, promoting positive values such as teamwork, leadership, respect, and gender equality. 

The camp will be held in the rural Shirak region for 70 boys and girls from surrounding villages. In addition to soccer, basketball, and tennis, lacrosse will be introduced this year!

It costs $125 to sponsor one village child’s unforgettable week of camp.

Get involved!

• Donate tax-deductible through Ayo’s website here:

www.weareayo.org/donate

• One day of camp, including meals, costs $25/month

Click Here to DONATE!

We’re turning 10 this year!

With the support of Hilton, we’re organizing a special all-expenses paid trip to Armenia for one lucky person (chosen at random).

Enter here!

July 16 Feast of the Transfiguration of our Lord (Vartavar/ Վարդավառ)

August 13 Feast of the Assumption of the Holy Mother- of- God

September 17 Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross

October 1        Feast of Holy Cross of Varak

October 6-7-8 Fall Food Festival

October 29      Feast of the Discovery of the Holy Cross

November 21 Presentation of the Holy Mother-of-God to the Temple

December 9     Feast of the Conception of the Holy Virgin Mary

24 Նա մէկ ուրիշ առակ էլ նրանց առաջ դրեց ու ասաց. «Երկնքի արքայութիւնը նմանուեց մի մարդու, որ իր արտի մէջ բարի սերմ սերմանեց։ 25 Եւ երբ մարդիկ քնի մէջ էին, նրա թշնամին եկաւ եւ ցանած ցորենի վրայ որոմ ցանեց ու գնաց։ 26 Եւ երբ ցորենը բուսաւ ու պտուղ տուեց, ապա երեւաց եւ այն որոմը։ 27 Տանտիրոջ ծառաները մօտեցան ու ասացին նրան. «Տէ՛ր, չէ՞ որ քո արտի մէջ դու բարի սերմ սերմանեցիր, ուրեմն որտեղի՞ց է այդ որոմը»։ 28 Եւ տէրն ասաց նրանց. «Թշնամի մարդ է արել այդ»։ Ծառաները նրան ասացին. «Կամենո՞ւմ ես, որ գնանք ու քաղենք հանենք այն»։ 29 Եւ տէրը նրանց ասաց. «Ո՛չ, մի գուցէ որոմը քաղելիս, ցորենն էլ նրա հետ արմատախիլ անէք։ 30 Թողէ՛ք, որ երկուսն էլ միասին աճեն մինչեւ հունձը, եւ հնձի ժամանակ ես հնձողներին կ՚ասեմ՝ նախ այդ որոմը քաղեցէ՛ք եւ դրանից խուրձեր կապեցէ՛ք այրելու համար, իսկ ցորենը հաւաքեցէ՛ք իմ շտեմարանների մէջ»։

(Մատթեոս 13:24-30)

24 Another parable he put before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field; but while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the householder came and said to him, `Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then has it weeds?' He said to them, `An enemy has done this.' The servants said to him, `Then do you want us to go and gather them?' But he said, `No; lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.'"

(Mathew 13:24-30)