Today I baptized Siamanto. I have to leave that paragraph there, alone. It’s so awesome. Siamanto was a famous Armenian poet, slain during the 1915 Genocide of Armenians. He was a great poet (a small sampling: http://armenianhouse.org/blackwell/armenian-poems/siamanto.html) The baby I baptized was not THE Siamanto. Date of today’s baptism: 12/2/2012. Just wanted you to know I’m […]
Next Step #234 – November 29, 2012 Did you survive Black Friday & Cyber Monday? Now engage in the art of belly-dancing – it’s a strip -tease to uncover faith. The New Israel is not a place, so seek your mind on God’s Kingdom first. Issues of identity and belonging in a pluralistic society are […]
Next Step #233 – November 22, 2012 On a day remembered for the Kennedy Assassination, JFK sets the tone with thoughts on Thanksgiving. But there are more thoughts – from Bob, a homeless man on the streets of LA. Fr. Vazken explores beyond the traditions and connects with the models of thanksgiving old and new. […]
Parish Priest’s Message from the “Key” Newsletter* –18 November 2012 http://armenianchurchyouthministries.org/newsletter/The%20Key%20-%20111812.pdf St. Andrew the Apostle – the First Called Being the first at anything takes courage. To be the first means you’ve rejected some element of the status quo and have tried a new venture. Change. Rejecting the […]
Next Step #232 – November 15, 2012 An emotional unwinding of ideas at the death of a little girl. Fr. Vazken explores this tragedy from a pastoral standpoint, bringing together Armenian Orthodox themes – Discovery of the Cross and the raising of the sleeping child (Luke 8). The vastness of the universe and a solar […]
Next Step #231 – November 8, 2012 Extending the concept of “undanik” to “under heaven” in understanding the family of God (Storm Sandy and walking In His Shoes). Fr. Vazken explains that Matthew 12:46-50 is not a lesson in biology as rude as it may seem. Extending Christian values and Church to Genocides and wars […]
Next Step #230 – November 1, 2012 Nietzche’s formula for cheer applied to the Armenian Church via Armodoxy. Fr. Vazken’s “Protest Manual” is revealed talking about effective protest and ill-fated varieties against the establishment. Bringing about change from within and not without. The imperfect-perfect Body of Christ. Challenges to the disenfranchised members of the Armenian […]
Parish Priest’s Message from the “Key” Newsletter* –28 October 2012 http://armenianchurchyouthministries.org/newsletter/The%20Key%20-%20102812.pdf Every year around this time, someone (usually concerned and caring parents) will ask me, is it okay to celebrate Halloween? Many times they ask with a sense of expectation that their priest will condemn the tradition and then they’re […]
Next Step #229 – October 25, 2012 En route to the Domestic Violence Walk and the unveiling of Datev Outreach, Fr. Vazken reflects on the intertwining of the abstract and tangible. Abstract ideas matterialize via tangible vehicles. Case in point, Christ and the Christian message, come to us via the Church. Discussed: The Patriarch’s passing, […]
Next Step #228 – October 18, 2012 Patriarch Torkom Manoogian passes; Guest Commentary by Dr. Harry Hagopian. Politics in the Church? Never more pronounced – While a priest who brings people to the Armenian Church is defrocked, another clergyman who preaches non-Orthodox theology is granted a churchman’s award. Make sense? The balance has tipped, more […]
