THE SUNDAY MESSENGER
September 23, 2018

Paregentan of the Fast of the Holy Cross of Varak

If You Don’t Ask, the Answer is No

“So I say to you, Ask, and it will be given you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened for you. For everyone who asks receives and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” (Lk 11:9-10)

Asking things of God is not a sales call; “God I’ll go to church more if you’ll secure this job for me…Great, thanks!” Asking things of God is a whole-self and whole-life venture. That’s why Jesus says search, seek and knock at the door. This isn’t a three-minute ask, but one that spans a lifetime. Asking things of God also risks the whole self, because God made you and I. God knows all of our thoughts in secret and knows even the number of hairs on our heads. God literally sees through us, so it is no wonder that we can feel very vulnerable in seeking Him. But the risk of learning to be open and vulnerable before God is a risk worth taking if we trust that God deeply loves us and that our best self is only possible in Him.

This season of the cross, when the earth-shattering love of our Lord is so demonstrably before us, let us ask for and seek, that for which we were made. Let us never be afraid to confess our needs before the God who made us, and ask him daily about his good intentions for us. For as we know, If You Don’t Ask, the Answer is No. If we do ask, the answer is given by Jesus; “For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened,” now and always; amen.

By Fr. Hovnan Demerjian

TODAY’S BIBLE READINGS:

2 Corinthians 10: 18-11:10 (page 168) New Testament
Mark 10: 1-12 (page 42) New Testament – (Please follow the Armenian Reading in your Bible)
Isaiah 14: 3-17 (pages 693-694) Old Testament

REQUIEM SERVICES: Hokehankist today will be for:

– BERJOUHI PAROONAGIAN GALLO (2nd Anniversary of her eternal life) requested by Carol Temoyan & Family and George and Linda Paroonagian & Family.

“Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing” (1Tim 2:8). Please pray for Doris Alahverde, Anto Vartanian, Butch Kumkumian, Annabelle Alexanian, Alice Charles, Armenoui Aznavuryan and Pearl Jamgochian for a return to better health and to feel the presence of God in their lives. Pray for our country and her leaders; and also for our children who have returned to school – that they may continue their education in a peaceful and safe environment. Continue praying for our sister churches in Kerala, India, and for those affected by Hurricane Florence.

ALTAR FLOWRS and CANDLES: are donated today by Carol Temoyan, Christine, Laura, Sophie & Nina and George and Linda Paroonagian & Family in loving memory of BERJOUHI PAROONAGIAN GALLO.

SAVE THE DATE: A Banquet honoring The Deacons and Choir of Holy Trinity Armenian Church Sunday, November 18, 2018 immediately following Badarak Stay tuned for more information Contact Holy Trinity Office 215-663-1600or office@holytrinity-pa.org with questions.

COFFEE HOUR: This year we are looking for individuals or families, to run a Coffee Hour each Sunday. (Those who have been running it, are overloaded with doing more than one job on Sundays.) There are sign-up sheets for the next 4 month of Sundays. Anyone wishing to sponsor a special Coffee Hour (Birthday, Anniversary, 40 Days or more, etc.) other than the normal Coffee Hour must contact Merle Santerian 215-205-1507, to make arrangements 2 weeks ahead of time. Under the new scheduling, if a Sunday has no one signed up on the Board, to run the Coffee Hour, there will be no Coffee Hour that Sunday. So, please volunteer and let’s fill all the Sundays in on the Schedule. It is not that involved, and Merle will explain what you have to do to run one. Any questions just see her on any Sunday or call her at the above phone number. Thanks, for your cooperation! We know how much everyone enjoys the Fellowship Hour and we would like to keep it going.

GIFT AUCTION: We are in need of donations for the Harvest Bazaar Gift Auction and are asking for your help. We will again feature our Raffle ticket items valued at over $100 and our silent auction for special items. Our goal is to obtain new gifts each in value of $100 or more but we are happy to accept gifts of various values that we can combine in our baskets. Gifts can be geared toward younger children like Star Wars, Spiderman, Pokemon, or other trending items for kids. For teenagers (movie theater basket) or adults (golf, tennis, restaurants, massage/beauty or home). Gift baskets and gift certificates are most appreciated. We also will have letters you can take to various businesses to see if they would provide a $20 to $30 gift certificate for free. If you own a business and are willing to donate, please let us know. Wine or liquor are popular items that we can combine with other items. For the special items we would look for large value items (over $200), liquor, jewelry, oriental rugs for home, car (new or used) and vacation houses. In addition, if anyone could lend us their beach house for a weekend or week, that would help to generate funds. Cash will also be appreciated to purchase desirable items. Please call or email Cece Garibian at 215-884-9292 or cecelia714@gmail.com OR Tanya Paretchan at 215-947-4394 or tparetchan@hotmail.com, for more details. Thank you in advance for all your generosity and support.

Men’s Club “200 Club” Ticket Information
The 2018 – 19 tickets have been mailed or are being distributed at church. Please submit your payments before the end of September. Note: We have six (6) tickets available for purchase. The first drawing of the season is scheduled for early November. Thank you & Good Luck!

2018 Attendance: Plate/Candle Collection:

August
5 – 74 people $450.00
12 – 128 people $845.00
19 – 102 people $437.00
26 – 75 people

September
2 – 57 people $231.00
9 – 113 people $616.00
16 – 97 people $528.00

Weekly Expenses: $6,000.00

CHURCH CALENDAR (please mark your calendars)

October
Sunday, Oct 7: 2 pm Intercommunal at St. Gregory Illumimator
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 26, 27 & 28: Harvest Bazaar

November
Sunday November 18: Banquet

ATTIC TREASURES will return again to the Harvest Bazaar this fall. With limited storage space available at church, we are more focused on items we can accept to be sold at the Attic Treasures table. Gently Used Items must be CLEAN & UNDAMAGED. Desired items are jewelry, women’s accessories, housewares, and small furnishings. Toys, clothing, books straw baskets & florist vases will not be accepted this year . Attic Treasures should be placed on the left side inside the coat room located in the lobby. This is a new location. Please, DO NOT LEAVE in the Sunday School area.
Call Ayshe Chakmaklian for more info. at 610-828-2411. If you need a New Jersey pick up call Grace Meranshian at 856-217-9333.

Using the Pew Book: In order to enrich understanding of the Divine Liturgy, we encourage our faithful to follow along in the large two-part Pew Book. Part One includes the classical Armenian used in the Liturgy; the facing page is the translation in modern Western Armenian. Part Two contains the transliteration of the classical Armenian; the right-hand page has the English translation. This Pew Book includes the prayers of the celebrant usually offered inaudibly. The prayers offered aloud are indicated in boldface type.

PARKING REMINDER –
> Non-Disabled Persons parking spaces are designated with white lines.
> Disabled Persons Parking spaces are designated with blue lines and are reserved for vehicles with a State-authorized disability placard or license plate.
> No parking is allowed in the driveway nearest to the kitchen door.
THANK YOU for your cooperation!

THE NICENE CREED/ HAVADAMK – This is the Profession of our Faith which is recited every Sunday moments after the Gospel is read from the altar. Sometimes it is sung, but more often it is recited by the Deacons and/or the Choir. We invite you to affirm your own “Profession of Faith” by reciting along with us. God longs for all of us to express our faith and devotion to Him.

THE KISS OF PEACE: After the gifts of the Eucharist are brought to the Altar Table, the deacon proclaims, “Greet one another with a holy kiss.” The person giving the greetings says, Kristos ee mech mer Haydnetsav – Christ is revealed amongst us. The recipient would respond, Orhnial eh Haydnootiunun Kristosee – Blessed is the revelation of Christ.

Anyone who wishes to request any Requiem Services MUST inform the office by 1:30pm Wednesday the week before. If you also want to sponsor the Fellowship Hour you MUST call Merle Santerian at 215-947-3777.

Would you like to:

– receive this Bulletin on Friday via email?
– request a Hokehankist, house blessing or hall rental information?
– find in-depth information on our faith, our parish and our activities?
– sign up for an event online?
If the answer to any of these questions is YES, please visit our parish website at www.holytrinity-pa.org

WE ASK THAT EVERYONE KINDLY TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES and all other such electronic devices prior to entering the sanctuary out of respect for the sanctity of our services.