The Chanitz Youth of the Marash Church, Leading the Worship Service in Mrouj

On Sunday, September 11 - the nineth worship service, for the summer of year 2011, was held in Mrouj Church. The Chanitz youth of the Marash Church participated and led the service. Mr. Anto Messerlian, chairman of the Trustees' Committee, gave the sermon. Mr. Ara Khederian, recording secretary of the Trustees' Committee, led the worship. Ms. Aline Khederian, chairman of the Chanitz youth, read the passage from the Bible.
After the service, the Chanitz youth had fellowship.



























Rev. Dikran Youmshakian Named Pastor of Bible Church

HACKENSACK, N.J.—The Board of Elders of the Armenian Bible Church of Hackesnack announced the appointment of Rev. Dikran Youmshakian as pastor as of Aug. 1. An installation service will be held on Sun., Sept. 18, at 12:30 p.m., and will be followed by a reception at the church hall. The installation service will be officiated by Rev. Thomas W. Keinath, D.Min, the senior pastor of Calvary Temple of Wayne, N.J., who will also give the sermon that day.

Pastor Dikran is a graduate of New Brunswick Theological Seminary with a master’s degree in theological studies. For 26 years he has served the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) as administrator and field director. He has traveled extensively and preached the Word of God in various churches in the U.S. and abroad. Since January 2011, he has served Dorcas Aid America (DorAid) as its executive director. DorAid is the newly established partner of Dorcas Aid International, a Christian relief and development organization serving in 20 countries.

For the last two years, Rev. Dikran served the Armenian Bible Church as a visiting pastor. As its minister, he will be responsible to lead the church and its activities and through the grace of our Lord bring the Gospel of Jesus to all. The Armenian Bible Church is an independent Christian fellowship and has been in existence as a church since 2008. The main purpose of the church is to proclaim the Gospel and support those who had accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

The Armenian Bible Church is located on 67 S. Prospect Ave. in Hackensack. It has a lively group of mainly young members and families. Sunday worship services are held at 12:30 p.m. in Armenian with English translation for those who do not speak Armenian. The services are also broadcast on Cable TV on Fridays. The church has a very active Sunday School and a dynamic youth group. Sunday School is held during worship at 12:30. The youth meet on Sundays in the afternoon. All are welcome to join the church.

Armenian Weekly

The Blame Game, Genesis 3 - Rev. Vatche Ekmekjian

If we want to know what is the most popular game in the entire world? It is the Blame Game, whose number of players far exceeds the Facebook’s Farmville (82 million active users), Super Mario Brothers 3 or Fifa 2011. Every human being who has ever been born or lived, somewhere in his/her life played this game.


The Bible tells us that the first players of this game were Adam and Eve. In Genesis chapter three we read about the Serpent who has lead Eve to question what God had said. Eve got into a dialogue with the Devil and she saw that "the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom; she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it”. When they hear the Lord God walking in the garden they run for cover, because their conscience was condemning them.


And here starts the game. In response to God's question “Where are you?” Adam tells the Almighty that he was naked and afraid so he went into hiding. But when God asks him “Who told you that you were naked?” instead of naming what he did, Adam directly blames the woman: “The woman you put here with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” The first person he blames is Eve;


Adam not only blames his wife, but he goes and blames the Lord himself. He says “The woman YOU put here with me…” Adam is kind of playing the blame game with God, as if saying to God, if you wouldn’t have given me this woman, I never would have done it.


Reading the story we see that the game is not over. After the half-time the blaming keeps going when Eve gets into the playground and answers God’s question: “What is this you have done?” Instead of naming it, she uses all her linguistic skills and says: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” She attributes her faults to the Evil One.


Adam and Eve were trying to get rid of taking personal responsibility. Their behavior tells us that that left to ourselves; we do anything to avoid taking personal responsibility for our actions.


When we call this behavior a "game", people might think that it does not really affect lives. On the contrary, it ruins lives and relationships. People blame their spouses saying "If only he weren’t so lazy, then I wouldn’t blow up". People blame their parents saying "if only they have provided me with some money". People blame God for everything that happens in their lives; loosing a job or a loved one or just a general lack of happiness. I know of some people that praise themselves for their success and blame God for their failures.


There is this famous story which illustrates the fact that we should not jump and blame others for what we can stand and feel responsible for. One evening several college students spread limburger cheese on the upper lip of a sleeping roommate. Upon awakening the young man sniffed, looked around, and said, “This room stinks!” He then walked into the hall and said, “This hall stinks!” Leaving the dormitory he exclaimed, “The whole world stinks!”


I believe it is the time to surrender our hearts and selves to the wisdom of the Word that was uttered by the psalmist when he wrote


"23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.


… and find look at ourselves before blaming others. May the Lord God be our help. Amen.


Rev. Vatche Ekmekjian,
Immanuel Armenian Congregational Church, CA

The Facebook Page of the Chanitz Blog Reaches 300 Likers!

The Chanitz Blog of the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church has passed the toddler ages and just months ago we celebrated its fifth anniversary (link) of the launch of the ministry that has reached to the four corners of the world.


In 2006, when Lebanon was in the Summer 30-day war, we were building up the very first bricks of the blog. While people were speaking about destruction and chaos, we were struggling to find the right tools that would help the Armenian Evangelical youth connect and encourage each other to remain faithful to God and His path. Building up this unique platform and the blog, we so gleefully achieved.


We have received congratulations and inspiring words from many of you (link), residing in various parts of God's created world, throughout all those five years, and your emails and messages have only pushed us forward to remain steadfast in our mission and endeavor to reach many with the living and breathing stories of the Christian youth and Christian ministries in this part of the world.


Recently, with Social Networking being the buzz word and Facebook becoming the new baby of the internet, we have also established our Facebook page (link) during the past year, which has now reached 300 followers.


Please pray for us and for this ministry to keep its volunteering spirit alive, to become a bridge among the youth (through this blog, two virtual connections from the USA and France have come to meet us in Lebanon), and spread the news of His ever-young Church.


Administrator,
Raffi


My Experience in Armenia

During summer 2011, the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) organized a three-week internship program in the motherland, Armenia, where God gave Man a second chance, and Lebanon.



At Garni
The group leader was our very enthusiastic Rev. Nishan Bakalian from the Armenian Martyrs' Congregational Church in Havertown, PA. Whenever we took a group photo, he would add, "Remember! It's a picture of me with some other people!"


Trad VBS in Lebanon
Rev. Shant Barsoumian, currently residing in Chicgo, Illinois, but who will soon be moving to a post in New Jersey, and Ms. Anahid Dolabjian from Toronto, Canada, assisted Rev. Nishan in leading the group. We were 21 participants in Armenia but only 9 came to Lebanon. Most of the participants came from different parts of the United States, one from Lebanon and one from Cyprus.


At a seminar at AMAA center,Yerevan
We always started our day with breakfast, then devotions, a time of reflection and a message brought to us by both pastors. It was a time of spiritual growth. The leaders were always there for us, giving us the tools that we need to come closer to Christ. One technique was to use memory verses which I carry on with me wherever I go. We attended some seminars as well: the AMAA staff presented themselves and their work there, Rev. Rene Levonian presented the history of the Armenian Evangelical Church in Armenia, Karabakh, and other places.


After a couple of days of visiting Yerevan, the group split into two: one group went to Pert, a city four-hours away from Yerevan, and another group went to Armavir, a city an hour away from Yerevan. There we served in the churches, helping out in the Vacation Bible School (VBS).


Personally, I went to Armavir. It was an experience full of shocking, unexpected events! The families welcomed us warmly. We mostly served and helped out in the VBS. During our spare time we went and spent time visiting with the locals, and wherever we could, we gave small donations.


At Armavir Church
It was amazing to see how happy they were while living in such simplicity. Our group was literally amazed. Compared to our lifestyles where we still complain that we don’t have the newest version of every gadget, they don’t even enjoy the simplest of comforts. I was utterly shocked when we went to visit a family from the Church who had a mentally challenged son. The father told us with a smile full of sadness, "The doctors weren't experienced enough to save my little boy."

I had never seen a VBS that active, joyful, and cheerful. Most of the kids came from broken families. They sang from all their heart, rejoicing in the Lord. This scene made me realize how urgent the call to spread the Gospel is!


I would like to share with you one other experience that I had during our visitations. We went to visit a "family". This family was mainly made up of a grandmother, her drunkard son and grandson. The house was exactly the size of two mini vans. The woman wanted to offer us the only thing she had that she could serve: a watermelon. The grandma was very cheerful at first, then she started to become sad, telling us the story of her life. She has absolutely no one! Maybe a sister or a brother in Russia, whom she hasn't seen for decades. Suddenly, someone started banging on the metal door with all his might. We were very scared but after a while we realized that it was her drunkard son. My friend and I got up instantly ready to act if the drunkard hit his mother. He came in all frustrated, pushing his mom away. He started threatening to kill, to slaughter his mother, his fist only centimeters away from her face. It was a really frightening scene, the girls in our group were crying, my friend and I were in total, absolute shock.
At Khor Virab with all the group
Afterwards, the man's son came in, feeling humiliated and ashamed of his father. After a while, he apologized to us and to his mother. It was one of the most touching scenes I had ever experienced in my life.


Similar events seem to the routine in our motherland, hence the imperative for such internships. This program was a life-changing experience for me, full of joy, sadness, tears, fear, excitement, and laughter. We were so much blessed by bringing joy to the ones in need. We were amazed by the faith that the people had, even in these poor circumstances they still feel that God hasn't abandoned them and still keeps His promise of a brighter future. That's the only hope that makes our people in Armenia still want to live their lives.


These experiences are examples of how much there is still to do in this world, how many people still need to hear the Gospel. I won't hide the fact that this experience planted a seed of ministry in me which I will be more than willing to develop in the coming years. After all, Christ commanded us to “go to people of all nations and make them my disciples. Baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to do everything I have told you. I will be with you always, even until the end of the world” (Matthew 28:19). Remember, it is a Command and not a Suggestion!


Vahé Jébéjian

AMERICAN BOARD history remembered at Haigazian University

Haigazian University hosted a panel discussion the evening of August 24, 2011 commemorating the 200th anniversary of the founding of the American Board Mission. Some panelists stressed that this was a “commemoration and not a celebration,” given the mixed legacy of the missionary project. The American Board’s history was examined by six panelists in all its humanness, courage and dedication, cultural insensitivity and inflexibility, martyrdom, and the establishment of educational institutions that have withstood the test of time.



Dr. Peter Makari, Executive for the Middle East and Europe division of the Global Ministries of the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ denominations in the United States gave the opening remarks. Global Ministries is the descendent institution of the original American Board Mission established in 1812 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Rev. Dr. John Deckenback shared his research on the American Board’s missionary activities to the indigenous peoples of North America, noting that the early 19th century effort spread the Christian gospel and extended health care to the native peoples while also advancing the cause of white settlement and hegemony in the American Pacific Northwest.

Panelists Kenneth and Betty Frank shared their decades-long experience of teaching in secondary schools in Turkey originally established by the American Board during the Ottoman period. These schools survived and thrived despite the militant process of secularization begun with the establishment of the Turkish republic by Kamal Ataturk.



Many people in the region were receptive to the message brought by the American Board and other Western missionaries in the early 19th century. Rev. Mgrdich Karagoezian, President of the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East, explained that his denomination is,in many ways, evidence of this receptivity. He also noted changes that had taken place in the denomination over the decades.

Haigazian University President Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian closed the panel celebrating the fact that aspects of American Board history are also part of Armenian Evangelical history, noting that there were many areas demanding further research and study. Lively discussion with the audience followed, including a discussion of the pros and cons of the secularization of once-protestant identified universities.

The panelists were accompanied in their travel by other Global Ministriesstaff and district ministers of the UCC and Disciples of Christ

Communion in the Mrouj Church

On Sunday, August 28 - the nineth worship service, for the summer of year 2011, was held in Mrouj Church. Rev. Hovhannes Svajian, pastor of the Armenian Evangelical Emmanuel Church, gave the sermon. Mr. Samuel Svajian, a member of Elders' Committee of the Emmanuel Church, led the worship. During the service, communion was held. After the service, the church had fellowship and reception.