THE SUNDAY MESSENGER
October 1, 2017

Feast of the Holy Cross of Varak 

Feast of the Holy Cross of Varag

On Sunday, October 1, Armenian Churches worldwide will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Cross of Varag-an occasion that is unique to the Armenian Church. In the 7th century, a monk named Totig received a vision of a brilliant cross descending from Mount Varag (in historic Armenia) and coming to rest on the monastery at the mountain’s foot. Totig raced to where the vision had led him, and there found a miraculous Christian relic: a fragment of the True Cross of Jesus Christ!

How had it gotten there? The relic had been brought to Armenia by St. Hripsime, in the late 3rd century, during her flight to find refuge from the persecutions of pagan Rome. When St. Hripsime was martyred by King Drtad, the hiding place of the cross was forgotten for nearly 300 years, before being found again by the monk Totig.

To commemorate this discovery, the Catholicos of the time, St. Nersess the Builder, established a feast day. And the Holy Cross became a relic of great power in Armenia, moving from Varag to Sebastia and finally to Van, where it still could be seen by pilgrims-until the time of the Genocide.

TODAY’S BIBLE READINGS:

Galatians 6: 14-18 (page 174) New Testament
Matthew 24: 30-36 (page 25) New Testament – (Please follow the Armenian Reading in your Bible)
Isaiah 65: 22-25 (page 741) Old Testament

REQUIEM SERVICES: Hokehankist today will be for:

BERJOUHI PAROONAGIAN GALLO (1ST Anniversary of her eternal life) requested by Carol Temoyan & Family and George and Linda Paroonagian & Family.

Our Prayers Are Powerful. Let us emulate St. Paul, who said, “I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers” (Eph 1:16). Pray especially for Annabelle (Lee) Alexanian, Albert Santerian, Hagop Arzoumanian and Richard Kazigian. Please pray for all the people who have suffered great loss in many ways as a result of the two recent devastating hurricanes – Harvey and Irma – as they try to rebuild their lives. For those who are struggling with illness, hardship and grief, let us remember them in prayer. Continue to pray for the injustice and inhumanity that continues in the world. God hears the prayers of the righteous.

ALTAR FLOWRS: are donated today by Carol Temoyan & Family and George and Linda Paroonagian & Family in loving memory of BERJOUHI PAROONAGIAN GALLO.

Book Reception: After today’s Instructed Liturgy, the Parish Council will host a special reception honoring the recent publication of “Communicate in Holiness: Reflections on the Divine Liturgy” written by Dn. Albert Keshgegian. Deacon Albert will share a few words about the book during the reception AND the book will be on sale for a special one-time only reception price of $7.00. All proceeds from the book will benefit our parish.

The People’s Worship: Today, we are repeating the Instructed Liturgy which was so warmly received by our faithful in 2013. This is an opportunity to deepen your understanding of the central worship experience of the Armenian Church. The Liturgy will be interrupted several times in order to explain what is happening and why. Offering commentary will be our young narrators Ashot Balasanyan and Ani Peckjian. Our celebrant will be Fr. Hakob who will be assisted by Dn. Albert Keshgegian.

Outreach Volunteers Needed – An in-service day has been scheduled for Saturday, November 11 @ 10 am, to prepare and package meals for Aid for Friends, the organization that provides meals to the elderly and isolated shut-ins in the Delaware Valley. (See flyer on the Narthex table for more details.) Contact Jeanette Der Hagopian (choirboss@hotmail.com or 215-206-0440) by November 1 so that we know how many “cooks” we’ll have! We hope you will reserve this date on your calendar to join us in being part of a rewarding experience.

ELEVATOR PROJECT: Although September 30, was the deadline for the Elevator Fund, donations may still be made toward meeting our goal. We greatly appreciate all donations that have been made so far.

FAR UPDATE: Life for Arev Nersisiyan in the remote region of Berd, Armenia hasn’t always been easy. She previously experienced a lot of difficulty when trying to grow enough food to feed her family. Now, with a new greenhouse thanks to FAR’s Breaking the Cycle of Poverty Program (BCPP), Arev has been able to build a small “paradise” thanks to hard work and perseverance. To learn more, go to FAR’s blog: http://farusa.org/2017/09/22/bcpp-hope-grows-in-a-berd-greenhouse/ To support projects like BCPP, go to FAR’s website. [LINK: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/armenianrelief/]

SAVE THE DATE: Join us on October 15 when Holy Trinity will be hosting the Philadelphia Intercommunal Cultural Event with a special performance by the Areni Choir. Doors open at 2 pm and refreshments will be served. There is no charge for this wonderful event.

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. Most importantly, if anyone could lend us their beach house for a weekend or week that could generate a lot of funds. Please call Linda Boornazian at 301-717-2401 or send an email to lboornaz@hotmail.com for more details. Thank you in advance for all your generosity and support.

ATTIC TREASURES: If you’re cleaning out your closets, we would greatly appreciate donations of your CLEAN & UNDAMAGED gently used items to be sold at the Attic Treasures table during the Harvest Bazaar. No toys, clothing or books (except cookbooks). Desired items are jewelry, women’s accessories, housewares, small furnishings, and more, more, more. Attic treasures can be left in the 1st room on the right down the Sunday School hall. 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.

MEN’S CLUB NEWS “200 CLUB” – THERE ARE ONLY 7 RAFFLE TICKETS REMAINING FOR THE UPCOMING SEASON. A one-time donation of $100 will entitle you to eight (8) monthly drawings, with five winners drawn each month. Your ticket number could be a winner more than once this coming season! The first drawing will take place in November 2017 and the last in June 2018. Prizes range from $100 to $1,000 and your chance of winning is much better than the Lottery! See Larry DerHagopian or Mick Paretchan after church service today.

Add Your Voice in English! We ask ALL the faithful to join in today as we recite our Profession of Faith, the Nicene Creed, in English. Let us affirm our faith in one voice with conviction and love! The text can be found on pages 18-19 of the Pew Book.

COUNTRY STORE: The Country Store is open every Sunday after church services. Some new delicacies have been added to the products they carry: Armenian coffee, halvah and apricot bastegh. Stop in and treat yourself to these new and delectable items. The last Sunday for sales before the bazaar will be October 15.

CHURCH CALENDAR (please mark your calendars)
October

Oct 1 Instructed Liturgy & Dn. Albert Book Reception
Oct 15 Inter-communal Program
Oct 20 Growing Up Armenian in the Diaspora
Oct 27-29 Harvest Bazaar
Nov 5 The Divine Liturgy: A Simultaneous Translation
Nov 5 Breakfast sponsored by our Church School
Nov 12 Godparents Sunday
Dec 3 – Stewardship Sunday
Dec 10 Honoring Our Pastor
Dec 17 Lunch with Santa
Dec 31 Pomegranate Sunday

If you know of anyone who is a shut-in, or ill and would like a visit from Der Hayr, please call the office and give their name to Maggie our church secretary.

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.