Visiting their church

Cynthia Keverian, who resides in Los Angelos, gave us a visit, while being in Lebanon. She has been a Chanitz member in Emmanuel Church for years, and she has many memories and friends from her years in Chanitz.

Also, Silva Zobian-Sarkissian, who resides in Boston, gave us a visit, while giving Lebanon a visit. She has been a student in Torosian school and has been a member in Badaniatz and Chanitz and has many memories.

Leadership Training in Emmanuel Church

On Sunday, 17 February, 2008, 16 leaders involved in the church ministry with kids, junior youth and youth, were present in Emmanuel Church to participate in the seminar that the Christian Education Committee of the Emmanuel Church had organized.


The seminar started with FOOD, after which the leaders gathered in the church for a worship time led by Mr. M. Chilingirian and Ms. V. Balkjian sharing her reflection. Afterwards, it was time for the leaders to play some games, that Mr. M. Ibitian had prepared.


After the games and action, it was time for hearing the lectures. Ms. G. Vartan presented about Self-esteem and Ms. Th. Sagherian presented about Constructive Criticism.
The leaders were involved in the lectures and they shared, participated and asked questions to the extent that the time for the seminar was extended for an hour. The seminar started at 1pm and lasted till 6pm!



An Effective Prayer

Do you have a prayer request that you would like fellow believers to pray with you?
Did you get an answer from God and want to share it here?

Send your emails to: emmanuelchanitz@yahoo.com from which we will gather and post the prayers and testimonies in a separate section, every month...

"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16)

Chanitz Blog, admin

They are keeping the legacy alive and strong

Istanbul, February 2008: Sunday, February 10, 2008. The Armenian Evangelical Church in Gedik Pasha, Istanbul. As you walk into the Church building, you feel as if you are walking through history. One of the churches founded right after the establishment of the Armenian Evangelical Church, it makes you feel the “Spirit” of the same history throughout the building. What makes the feeling strong is the fact that history has not ended or been confined in a “museum”; rather, it is alive and strong. What makes history at Gedik Pasha part of today is the enthusiasm of the parishioners: the daring men, women, youth, and children worshiping the Lord wholeheartedly under the leadership and guidance of Rev. Krikor Aghabaoghlu.
The choir and the band of young committed youth lead the congregation in worship. The hymns create the spirit of oneness through the ONE. The young musicians are vital and energetic. All together they sing aloud with joy and enthusiasm throughout the service. Rev. Krikor had asked me to preach that Sunday. After the sermon, Rachel Dink shared the testimony of the Cross.
With tears in her eyes, she sang “Yerp ayn khatchin yes ge nayim”. The next day, Monday, February 11, 2008, was another date among many at the court, another court hearing in the case of the assassination of her late husband Hrant Dink. Rachel offered this hymn as a prayer for the trial on Monday and a testimony for a life that is worth living, a life of Faith through the Cross.
My visit to Istanbul and the Armenian Evangelical Church in Gedik Pasha were in line with the business trip and meetings I had the following week in Turkey. What made my trip so significant, though, was meeting with a community that was committed to the legacy that had begun on July 1, 1846. Today, our brothers and sisters at Gedik Pasha are keeping that legacy alive.


Hrayr Jebejian

Counseling in Torosian School?

The Armenian Evangelical Peter & Elizabeth Torosian School was founded in 1951 in Amanos area, which is located east of Beirut City. It started with kindergarten classes that developed into an Intermediate School by 1973. Rev. Yenovk Hadidian was the key person in the founding of this school and Mr. Augustin Badeer was another committed Evangelical who supported the growing steps of the school until it got the present three-floor building in 1981.

Torosian is a neighborhood school. Most of the students live a walking distance from school.

The school implements the Lebanese Government Curriculum in Kindergarten, Elementary and Intermediate levels.

The school's mission is to educate the Armenian new generation with Christian, Armenian, sound and decent education.
The present principal is Mrs. Seta Karagoezian.
Torosian today is the only school with a full time counselor, among all the other Armenian schools in Lebanon.

It is You Who Decides

The Internet is like a “knife” which is either used to help us cut the food we are going to eat or to kill someone and go to jail. It is like any other tool that can be used to our advantage or disadvantage. There is a common thinking among most Internet users that says, “It is under my control”; but in reality this is not the case. Once we enter a chat room, open a website or download a program the control is shared by both sides. It is not only we who are in full control of the situation; the other side also shares with us this control.

Undoubtedly, the Internet can be a useful tool in education, entertainment, and relationship building.

Using the Internet for educational purposes can help us in getting information within a short period of time and gaining knowledge easily. Today, there are even online schools and universities who can grant certificates and degrees, but in this case we should be careful whether this online academic institution is accredited or not.

By the same token, the Internet can entertain us through the websites which contain music (songs and video clips) and games. We can download the type of the music and game we want and enjoy our time listening and playing. However, we should be careful of viruses and spywares that most probably will invade our computers while downloading unverified programs.

Nowadays chat rooms and matchmaking sites play a great role in building friendships and relationships among people. We can have lots of friends from all over the world and get familiar to their culture without even traveling. Also, we can have a boyfriend / girlfriend just by chatting with him/her. In fact, there are a lot of couples who have met their spouses through the net.

According to psychologists and statisticians, disadvantages of Internet misuse outweigh its advantages. For example, in 2003 there were only 1.5 million pornography websites available to anyone who went online, whereas in 2007 the number of pornography websites increased to 4 million sites. Psychologists say that most people use the Internet in order to gratify their sexual desires and fantasies. This issue becomes more serious when children and teenagers come across these sites and get hooked on it. They start with simple nude pictures and end up performing what they watched on the net.

This is not the only reason that we should be careful about the tremendous availability of porn on the net. According to psychologist M. Douglas Reed, watching pornography has a profound effect on the human brain which secretes a drug-like hormone that has the ability to make the brain get addicted to pornography. Moreover, watching porn makes the person violent and anti-social. He begins to disrespect his sex partner or spouse because for him sex becomes an act to gratify his sexual desires and not a complement of mutual relationship.

Beside porn sites, there are violent sites that post violent acts performed by soldiers, suicide bombers, adventurous people, and others. Frequent watchers of such sites will consciously or subconsciously try to act out the violence that they have seen or at least will become desensitized towards others people’s suffering and pain.
As for the chat rooms, we don’t know what kind of people we are chatting with. The chatter might be a very nice, decent, and “cool” person or he might be a sick psychopath who can be a serial killer. Hence, it is essential to be careful and think twice before taking the risk of meeting that “total stranger” in real.

Obviously we should not underestimate the power that the Internet has upon us. Undoubtedly, being aware of this power will help us take our precautions, prevent lots of troubles, and benefit from the advantages that the Internet offers us.

By Manoug Ibitian
-School Counselor-Armenian Evangelical P. & E. Torosian Int. School

CHS Principal Visits the US


The School’s Principal was invited by the US Alumni Association to go to Los Angeles to participate in a fund-raising dinner organized for the School.
On February 22, 2008, 145 alumni gathered in the Phoenician Restaurant (a very suiting name for the School’s location…) in Glendale ; the banquet started by a welcoming word cited by the Association’s chairperson, Mrs. Armine Der Garabedian, she presented the Principal and invited her to share her message with the invitee.
Mrs. Deyirmenjian thanked the Alumni Association for its committed dedication in helping the School, then she presented a 12-minute DVD which described the School’s rich heritage, its daily life, and the challenges it is facing at present. She then proceeded, with the aid of a power point presentation, to share some of the good news about the School, as well as, some of the financial challenges.
Mrs. DerGarabedian thanked the Principal and handed her two cheques for the School. The evening went on with some musical entertainment and socialization.
The Alumni Association had chosen Mr. Hagop Hagopian as the Alumnus of the year in recognition of his long years of dedicated service in the educational field. He was handed a recognition award and a plaque presenting the map of Armenia.
It was a very pleasant occasion; having all the alumni come together and express their concern and love for the School; it was also a wonderful chance to renew their commitment in extending a helping hand to its alma mater.