ST. MARY ARMENIAN CHURCH 
SHNORHALI MONTHLY E-NEWSLETTER
NOVEMBER 2020
St. Mary Has A New Office Admin

St. Mary Church staff bid farewell to Mrs. Julie Avedikian, who has been the office administrator for the past five years. We were sad to see her go, but we wish her all the best in her future endeavors. We sincerely thank her for all her dedication and hard work in the office. May God bless her and her family as she embarks in the next chapter of her life.
Mrs. Ani Armani has accepted to fill in this position. We wish her all the best and we look forward to working with her. Mrs. Ani is married to Nerses Armani. She is a loyal member of our church and has been volunteering her time since 2012 when she moved to the USA. She enjoys reading and has dedicated most of her time to the Armenian community.

Fund Raising for Armenia and Artsakh

Saturday and Sunday, October 31st and November 1st a homemade Lahmajun Carry-Out Meal has been prepared by our Avak Society to raise much needed funds for Artsakh and Armenia.

Our special appreciation to Dertsakyan family for sponsoring this event as well as our hard working committee for their effort and continuous dedication.
Fund Raising for Armenia and Artsakh

Like many of us, Ella and David Badalyan (eight and eleven years old) were deeply concerned about the war in Armenia. With their parents, they have monitored the news, participated in protests, and helped assemble and pack the humanitarian aid to Armenia at St. Mary’s Armenian Church. More than ever, they felt deeply connected to their homeland. They joined the Homemade Lahmajun Fundraising for Artsakh by putting up a stand selling homemade tri-color jewelry and socks.

Thanks to our dedicated parishioners, who showed up to the fundraising event on chilly Saturday afternoon, Ella and David were able to raise $260 dollars and were excited to add their contribution to St. Mary’s efforts to support Artsakh and Armenia.
Chess Tournament Fundraiser 

Under the auspices of St. Mary’s Armenian Apostolic Church of Washington DC, a fundraiser chess tournaments was organized. The objective of this event was to raise money for humanitarian assistance to the vulnerable population affected by the ongoing aggression against the peaceful people of Artsakh and Armenia. This tournament was for players of different ratings and age groups. Report of collected funds has been shared immediately after the tournament, with all proceeds donated to the All Armenia Fund.

The two of the planned 4 tournaments have already took place. The dates for the next tournaments will be announced in the future.

Our appreciation goes to one of our young parishioners Arshak Avetisyan who took the initiative to organize these tournaments.

Click on the link below to read an article published in Mirror Spectator.
Delicious Armenian Gata For Peace in Our Homeland

With your generous support, the Armenian community of greater Washington, D.C. under the auspices of St. Mary Armenian Church have organized several successful fundraising activities to donate money and supplies over the past several weeks to support Artsakh and Armenia. To continue this momentum, our ladies organized another bake sale event featuring Artsakh Gata and cheese turnovers. We have received rave reviews from both Armenian and non-Armenian supporters, and sold close to 300 gatas and over 600 cheese turnovers.

This event was tremendously successful and raised $12,803.22 all of which was donated to Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund.

All goods, ingredients, and supplies were donated in order to maximize the proceeds: All baking and cooking ingredients and supplies were donated by John and Anna Cerqueira. All preserves were donated by Bagrat and Lilit Bayburtian. Coffee was donated by Anna Seferian. Necklaces were donated by Vazrik and Nunik Nishanian and sold by Ani (Ani made additional $380 in cash sales and along with $120 extra, Vazrik donated $500 directly to AWHF)
 
Our appreciation to the Ladies who made this event possible: Lilit Bayburtian, Astghik Harutunian, Gohar Grigorian, Isabella Khachikyan, Anna Cerqueira, Asya Abrahamyan, Inna Grigoryan, Liana Matevosyan, Marianna Hairapetyan, Taguhi Turner, Marianna Derdzakyan, Nina Kankanian, Elvina Azaryan, and Anna Mkrtchyan.
A Day to Pray, Not to Despair

On Thursday November 12th, Father Hovsep addressed his Parishioners and Friends expressing his grief and sadness about the devastating news he heard about Artsakh.

He added , it is true that we lost the war, our spirit is broken, but what we need the most is to be united as a church, community, and nation. Our unity and prayers are the most excellent tools in our fight for justice; not giving up, not losing hope and staying true to our vision for a brighter future for our beloved Artsakh.

Throughout our history, we have seen destructions, betrayals, genocides. We have lost our fathers, brothers, sons, and daughters to war; our independence, our homeland to the enemy.  Yet, God has never stopped guiding, providing and caring for us. The blood of thousands of our martyred heroes have been shed for Artsakh's protection and liberty and can never be forgotten or gone in vain. They cry out to us never to give up, to begin with a new vigor, new direction, to find solutions to the new challenges before us. We should never lose heart, and our trust and faith in God will undoubtedly deliver us from this seemingly impossible situation.

He declared November 13, adhering to our Primate's call , a day of fasting followed by a service at 6:30 p.m. asking the Lord to heal the broken hearts of the thousands who lost their homes, to give us His strength and His courage never to give up hope for a brighter future for our homeland, Armenia and Artsakh. 

Women's Guild Prepares for Thanksgiving Carry-Out

St. Mary Women's Guild committee came together to prepare for a Thanksgiving Carryout Luncheon. Once again helping hands and big hearts gathered to make delicious homemade dishes. They did their duty fully and wholeheartedly in the spirit of their Armenian identity. We simply cannot thank them all enough.
Fund Raising For Armenia and Artsakh

Ani Nishanian (9 years old), one of our Shnorhali school students, wanted to have her contribution to the efforts to help her Artsakh in this hard time. She put up a stand on Sunday, November 8th to sell handmade Jewelry from Armenia (donated by her parents) and handmade potholders. She raised $500.00 , and all the funds were donated by Ani to the Armenian Wounded Hero Fund. At the young age of 9, Ani has deep love and affection for her homeland, and this was not Ani's first attempt in raising funds for Armenia.
A Day to Pray, Not to Despair

Friday, November 13, a prayer vigil was held at St. Mary Church to show solidarity with our brothers and sisters in our homeland and a special Hokehankist service was offered for the souls of our Martyred Heroes who sacrificed their lives for our homeland. 

Father Hovsep emphasized to never give up hope for a brighter future for Armenia and Artsakh; to continue praying faithfully and to tirelessly continue to build and protect our homeland and preserve our culture .
Making Mahs

Our special thanks goes to Lola Pickeing, Gulbahar Ozkayan, Vercin Bolat, and Takuhi Ozbenian who gatheted on November 16 within St. Mary church's kitchen and skillfully mixed the ingredients to make the mahs .

The Armenian word "mahs" means a portion. It is blessed, unconsecrated bread(not Holy Communion) that is given to the faithful to take to those who were unable to share in Holy Communion. It becomes their "portion" of the Badarak. When you receive mahs, extend your right hand so that the small piece of bread can be placed on the back of your hand , and as you receive the mahs say "Pazheen eem Asdvadz haveedyan"( God is my portion forever).
Remembrance Day For All Our Martyred Soldiers in Artsakh

A special Hokehankist service took place at St. Mary Church's Khatchkar on November 22. Following the Badarak to pray for the souls of the thousands of martyrs who perished in the war against the unjust enemy in Artsakh and in Armenia.

A big number of our congregation came together to pray and light candles, leave flowers and participate in the special service.

Special thank you to our younger parishioners Louisa Bayburian, Anush Mirzoyan and Maxine Turner for planning and organizing the candle-light in front of the church Katchar.
Thanksgiving Carry-Out

Thanks to our remarkably supportive volunteers, members and community, the Women’s Guild hosted an extremely successful Thanksgiving Carry-Out event on Sunday, November 22, 2020. The menu included delicious side dishes of triangle cheese boreg, sini kufte, lentil patties and yalanchi. The menu also included golden flaky baklava and and fluffy moist carrot cake for dessert. The Women’s Guild sent a special thank you to Narod Gifts for donating beautiful Armenia themed key chains and necklaces to the event.

With Artsakh on all of our minds and in our hearts, the Women’s Guild donated 50% of the proceeds from this event to Artsakh.
Thanksgiving Fund Raising Event Wraps Up With Great Success

Living here in the United States, we all have a great deal to be thankful for: our health, our security, and our comfort. But our compatriots in Armenia and Artsakh are facing uncertainty, insecurity, and discouragement, and it is our duty to continue supporting them through these difficult times.

Thanks to your generosity and support, our Ghapama event sold out and was resounding success! Believe it or not, we had to stop selling Ghapamas because our group bought all available large and medium pumpkins in the DMV area. The event raised $5,620.92 which will go to Armenian Wounded Heroes Fund and support rehabilitation and recovery of our soldiers.

All goods, ingredients, and supplies were donated in order to maximize the proceeds. All baking and cooking ingredients and supplies were donated by Ruben and Astghik Harutunian. Sharots were made and donated by Louisa Baghdasarian. All preserves and lavash were donated by Louisa Baghdasarian. Coffee was donated by Anna Seferian. Pumpkins were donated by all participants.

Our gratitude to the Ladies who made this event possible: Lilit Bayburtian, Astghik Harutunian, Gohar Hovsepyan, Isabella Khachikyan, Anna Cerqueira, Asya Abrahamyan, Inna Grigoryan, Liana Matevosyan, Zarouhi Kocharyan, Elina Balayan, Lusine Movsesyan, Marianna Derdzakyan, Nune Vardanyan, Nina Kankanian, Elvina Azaryan, and Anna Mkrtchyan.
Raising Fund For Humanitarian Needs in Armenia

While our homeland is passing through very challenging times, Armenians all around the world are actively providing support by every means possible.

St. Mary Armenian Church and community in addition to raising funds has also contributed $55,500 worth of goods that were gathered and shipped to Armenia since the war started. Undoubtedly this effort will make a difference for our brothers and sisters who are in dire need of help but it also makes an impact on us showing how strong we are when we are together.

We will indeed continue to bring our unconditional assistance to our homeland during this challenging period, as we are confident that we will rise again from the ashes, to achieve a stronger and more prosperous Armenia and Artsakh.
Updates to St. Mary Building and Sanctuary

A new addition to our side entrance door has been completed in recent days. The Armenian letter "Eh" (Է) was added to the facade of the door. Those who have seen Armenian Churches may have noticed this mysterious sign. This interesting sign features the symbol “Է”, which in fact is the 7th letter of the Armenian alphabet. In the Armenian Church, the letter 'Eh' (Է) and its meaning is considered to be Holy. It is not only symbolic, but 'Eh' (Է) is the name of God.

In addition, a new painting of the last supper in the sanctuary has been installed, and the icons in the candle room have been updated and replaced with new ones.
This undertaking was no small task.
Our appreciation goes to our artist, Mr. Vardan Gasparyan, for designing and creating unique artworks.

Special gratitude goes to Mr. Manuel Ayvazian for making and installing the beautiful artwork on the side entrance door of the church and for his continuous support to St. Mary.
St. Mary Church 88th Anniversary

This year our beloved Church will turn 88 years old. In lieu of the usual banquet and speeches, there will be a solemn program in the church sanctuary after Badarak on Sunday, December 13, with appropriate music and recitations; members of the congregation are invited to either attend in person or can follow the program on the St. Mary’s YouTube Channel. Special Requiem Service for the Souls of Brave Soldiers and Citizens of the Armenian Nation Who Died Courageously Defending our Sacred Land of Artsakh.

We will also pray for the souls of all of St. Mary Departed Dedicated Parishioners and Loved Ones. You have the option of viewing the livestream on YouTube.

This program is hosted by the Parish Council. Donations to help with the ongoing Humanitarian Relief in Artsakh are greatly appreciated .

Click at the link below to submit the form and your donation online.
Baptism and Confirmation

November 1, 2020
Avo Knox Beckham
Son of John Lombardy Beckham and Arlet Vartouhi Koseian- Beckham
Godparents: Timothy Kulp and Tamar Sivaslian

November 28, 2020
Luke John Chaglassian
Son of Edward Chaglassian and Lerna Chaglassian
Godparents: Alain Chaglassian and Ann Chaglassian

May God bless our newly baptized with His love and may His protection and guidance always be with them.
Hokehankists - Requiem Services

November 22, 2020
For the souls of:
Thousands of martyrs who perished in the war against the unjust enemy in Artsakh and in Armenia

For the Soul of:
Vazken Nersesyan
Requested by:
Ambassador Varuzhan Nersesyan and Narine Malkhasyan

For the Soul of:
Tsaghik Misakyan
Requested by: 
Anush Misakyan and Gregory Konya

For the Soul of:
Roubina Yegharzarian Faulkner
Requested by: 
The Faulkner -MacDonagh Family

November 29, 2020
For the Soul of:
Sahag Seraydarian
Requested by:
Mr..and Mrs. David and Leda Zenian; Ms. Sarine Zenian; Mr. and Mrs. Nathalie and Armen McOmber and family

May God rest Their Souls in peace and may His loving favor be with their loved ones. 
St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church 
Rev. Fr. Hovsep Karapetyan, Pastor
4125 Fessenden Street N.W, Washington, DC 20016 
202-363-1923 / www.stmaryaac.org