THE SUNDAY MESSENGER
October 15, 2017

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EXALTATION 

Holy Translators

For the Armenian people the Feast of the Holy Translators is one of the most favorite and beloved national-ecclesiastical feasts. Nearly two hundred disciples of St. Mesrob Mashtots and St. Sahak are known by the general group name “Holy Translators”. The disciples of the above mentioned group of Holy Translators are known as “Junior Translators”. Celebrating this feast, the Armenian Apostolic Church pays tribute of respect to the bright memory of St. Mesrob Mashtots, Yeghishe, Moses of Khoronk, philosoppher Davit Anhaght, whose sacred work and mission later has been continued on by St. Gregory of Narek and St. Nerses the Gracious. The word “Translator” means “Interpreter”. Comprehending and precisely understanding the demands of that period, the Holy Translators initiated the sacred work of creating the Armenian alphabet and literature. By the strength of their faith they dispersed the darkness and warmed the human souls. Thanks to the Holy Translators the Holy Bible was translated into Armenian and the Armenian peoples obtained the possibility to read the Holy Book in the native language. By means of their activity the Holy Translators contributed to the spiritual-cultural awakening of Armenia. After the translation of the Holy Bible, many books of Church Fathers were translated into Armenian, and thanks to this fact many translations, the original copies of which haven’t been preserved, presently exist only in the translated variant and thus the translations have obtained the value of the original.

TODAY’S BIBLE READINGS:

Galatians 2:1-10 (page 171) New Testament
Mark 12:35-44 (page 45) New Testament – (Please follow the Armenian Reading in your Bible)
Isaiah 19: 1-11 (page 697) Old Testament

REQUIEM SERVICES: Hokehankist today will be for:

– Rev Mgerditch and Yetetzgin Ovsanna Minassian, Misak and Noemzar Mazmanian, Deacon Shahab and Mary Minassian, Deacon Sebouh Minassian
Gabriel Tatarian, John Arslanian & Jack, John, and Souren Goushian requested by Bryan and Talene Peckjian, Michael and Suzanne Sherenian.

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 Pearl Jamgochian, Annabelle (Lee) Alexanian & Albert Santerian. 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.

SAVE THE DATE: Join us TODAY 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.

TODAY there will be no coffee hour due to the Intercommunal Program taking place beginning at 2 pm. For those who are staying for the program, we invite you into the Conference Room after church to enjoy a cup of coffee.

Growing Up Armenian: Lucy Aghazarian, Anita Hovsepian and Suzanne Sherenian will facilitate a conversation about the blessings and challenges of being a child (or grandchild) of immigrants. Examining the works of well-known Armenians, participants will reflect on how others have dealt with their dual identity, as well as share their own experiences. The discussion will take place at Holy Trinity on Friday evening, October 20 at 7:00. See flyer in narthex or lobby for more information.

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.

Operation Christmas Child has begun and we invite you to be a part of this amazing outreach by filling shoeboxes for underprivileged children all over the world, including Armenia. Many of you have participated in the past and we hope you will again. Parents and grandparents: take your children to the dollar store so that they can be a part of the process. Wrap a shoebox with Christmas wrap or buy a plastic shoebox to fill with goodies to delight the children. Look for the flyers around the church that will give ideas about how to “Pack A Shoebox” and many other details. Filled boxes must be returned to church no later than Sunday, November 12. For any questions, contact Gail (215-443-0606 or glulejian@aol.com) OR Jeanette (215-206-0440 or choirboss@hotmail.com).

A Simultaneous Translation on NOVEMBER 5: A special pastoral initiative, aimed at making the Holy Badarak more understandable to our faithful, will be held on Sunday, November 5. As usual, the Liturgy will be celebrated in the classical Armenian language of worship. However, the celebrant’s prayers and blessings will be simultaneously translated into English by Dn. Albert Keshgegian. It is Fr. Hakob’s hope that this “experiment” will facilitate a deeper understanding of worship.

ATTIC TREASURES: Deadline for attic treasures, TODAY. No items will be accepted after this date.
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.

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.

FAR UPDATE: After attending a three-month programming course initiated by Fund for Armenian Relief’s Gyumri Information Technology Center (GTech), 13-year-old Narek Chakhoyan has a developed an ambitious final project: a website where designers can freely display their work. The course enabled 22 kids, ages 11 to 17, from Vanadzor and Meghvik to focus on HTML/CSS and Photoshop programming. To read more, go to FAR’s blog. [http://farusa.org/2017/10/06/gtech-gtechs-new-programming-courses-inspire-teenagers-to-pursue-it/] To support projects like GTech, go to FAR’s website. [http://farusa.org/blog/]

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.

CHURCH CALENDAR (please mark your calendars)

October
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
Dec 3 – Stewardship Sunday
Dec 10 Honoring Our Pastor
Dec 17 Lunch with Santa
Dec 31 Pomegranate Sunday

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.

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.