THE SUNDAY MESSENGER
October 14, 2018

FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER EXALTATION

WHY IS OCTOBER “ARMENIAN CULTURAL MONTH”?

To Armenians in the United States, “Armenian Cultural Month” has been a feature of community life for as long as they can remember. It arrives each October—and with it a flurry of lectures, readings, exhibits, sacred celebrations, and events intended to remind Armenians of the richness of their cultural heritage.

But how and when did it begin? And why was October chosen as the annual showcase for Armenian culture?

Surprisingly, Armenian Cultural Month originated in the Eastern Diocese, and this month marks its 75th anniversary.

Credit for launching the observance goes to Archbishop Karekin Hovsepian: the late Primate of the Diocese (1939-1944), who went on to become the Catholicos of Cilicia (1945-1952).

An Armenian intellectual figure of international reputation, a stirring orator, and one of the great churchmen of the 20th century, Hovsepian was responsible for many of the enduring developments of the Armenian Church in America. It was Archbishop Hovsepian who conceived of building a “national home” for the Armenians of America—an idea which would eventually evolve into the St. Vartan Cathedral project. Among his innovations was the official Diocesan publication, Hayastanyaitz Yegeghetzi, which later prospered under the English title, The Armenian Church.

An old edition of that publication reveals that Archbishop Hovsepian named October as a month for celebrating Armenian culture in an encyclical dated August 14, 1942.

In introducing the idea to the public, Archbishop Hovsepian emphasized that “culture” broadly understood—literature, language, music and art—had always found a welcoming home in the Armenian Church, alongside the church’s mission to preach the Gospel of Christ to its people. Hovsepian noted that the church had been a “school” to the nation, encouraging literacy among the people and broadening their awareness of history and the larger world.

In the greatest expression of this “cultural” role, the written Armenian language had begun as a sacred undertaking of the church, to translate the Bible into Armenian. Indeed, October was chosen as the candidate for Armenian Cultural Month because it includes that most distinctive of Armenian holy days, the Feast of the Holy Translators, celebrated every year on the Saturday before the 5th Sunday after Khatchveratz (the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross).

With characteristically poetic words, Archbishop Hovsepian concluded his encyclical by taking a larger view of the importance of culture to the enduring story of the Armenian people. (The extract below is translated from Armenian):

“We have to enlighten our people so they can understand and appreciate the value of our Armenian language, literature, and culture. These are the treasures of the Armenian Church and nation—our foundation, and the things that will ensure our continuance.” By Fr. Krikor Maksoudian

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:

– His Beatitude Archbishop Torkom Manoogian, Armenian Patriarch of Jerusalem and beloved former Primate of the Eastern Diocese (6th Anniversary of His eternal life)

“Ahegh Khorhurt” in lieu of “I Verinn Yerusaghem”

A mighty sacerdotal (priestly) mystery is enthroned upon the bema. Fire descends before the Holy Table, darkness is removed. Sorrowing souls rejoice, for the forgiveness of sins takes place. Forgiving Lord, have mercy on the souls of our faithful who sleep.

– Jack Goushian (1st Anniversary His eternal life) requested by Victor A. Basile.

“Therefore I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing” (1Tim 2:8). Please pray for Rev. Fr. Shnork Souin, 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.

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.

It’s Bake Shoppe time again! For this years’ Bazaar we are looking for donations of HOMEMADE items. Chocolate chips are our favorites! Any questions please contact Berj Murray at 856-912-2417.

Bazaar, (A wonderful time to serve you church): Servers (of any gender) are needed to serve at the Buffet on Friday, Oct., 26th, from 6-9 pm; Saturday, the 27th, from 5-9 pm, and Sunday, the 28th, after church, for a 1-2 hr. shift. It would be greatly appreciated if you would contact Marta Brann at martabrann@comcast.net, to volunteer your services to serve for a 1 or 2 hr. shift. Eight people are needed to serve during each shift. Thank You!

FAR UPDATE: A couple times a month, Arsen, 7, Nora, 6, Narek, 4, and Nane, 3, eagerly wait by the front doors of the FAR Children’s Center for their dad, Artak Mirzoyan. They found temporary shelter at the Center earlier this year after their mom left them. “Every time I visit them I am heartbroken; however, I have no other choice,” said Artak, who currently serves in the Armenian army, which keeps him away from home for at least 15 days a month. He decided to bring the children to the Center until he can finish his service and find a job that would allow him to be at home more. Upon arrival at the Center, the children felt stressed and isolated. After some psychological, art and healthcare therapy sessions, along with constant support, the children then established their own routines at the Center and began socializing more with others. To read more, go to FAR’s blog: http://farusa.org/2018/09/28/far-childrens-center-far-childrens-center-became-a-temporary-home-for-siblings-abandoned-by-their-mother/To support projects like the FAR Children’s Center, go to: https://secure.qgiv.com/for/armenianrelief/

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.

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD begins again 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. OCC Shoeboxes will soon be available but it’s not too soon to start shopping for fun and necessary items that will delight a child. Look for the flyers around the church that will give ideas about how to “Pack A Shoebox” and many other details. Filled boxes should be returned to church by Sunday, November 11. For any questions, contact Jeanette Der Hagopian (215-206-0440) or choirboss@hotmail.com OR Emily Movsesian (734-277-2753) or emovsesian@gmail.com. To those who are unable to fill a shoebox, donations will be gratefully accepted. Checks should be made payable to: Holy Trinity Armenian Church, Memo: OCC

2018 Attendance: Plate/Candle Collection:
September
2 – 57 people $231.00
9 – 113 people $616.00
16 – 97 people $528.00
23 – 79 people $400.00
30 – 111 people $504.00
Weekly Expenses: $6,000.00

CHURCH CALENDAR (please mark your calendars)

October
Friday, Saturday & Sunday 26, 27 & 28: Harvest Bazaar

November
Tuesdays 6, 13, 20 (Tuesday mornings): Scripture and Shnorhali
Sunday November 18: Banquet

December
Sunday Dec 16 Lunch with Santa
Sunday Dec 30 Pomegranate Sunday

Men’s Club “200 Club” Ticket Update-WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT! Additional tickets are now available due to several senior parishioners returning their tickets. We now have nine (9) tickets available for purchase and looking for our younger members to participate. Our first drawing of the season is scheduled for early November and we need 100% sold. Please see/contact Mick, Larry, or Mike Tookmanian. Thank you!

ATTIC TREASURES Deadline for attic treasures, TODAY. No items will be accepted after 10/14/18.
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.