Tag Archive for: Montebello

Monument: Time back to front

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Armodoxy for Today: Time back to front

This week we’re exploring timing: how events, large and small, take place over the course of time, what is meant by “God’s time” and why patience is a virtue. Yesterday, I shared with you the story of the Armenian Martyrs’ Monument in Montebello which received historic landmark status by the state of California.

My grandparents, all four of them were survivors of the Armenian Genocide (1915-1922). They came to America with literally the shirt on their backs. The next generation, that is, my parents, were the ones that built life up from scratch. They were the ones that recognized the importance of remembering the past to prevent it from happening again. The Montebello monument was built with that intention by the efforts of an entire community of people who supported the idea of remembering. A small group of 18 men spearheaded that effort, and I’m proud to say that my dad was one of the Monument committee members. In April 1968, His Holiness Vazken I, the Catholicos of All Armenians, dedicated the monument in a ceremony that was witnessed by thousands.

So, there I was at the foot of the 75-foot monument, with a few hundred people in attendance, to turn over the monument to the State of California in its dedication as a historic landmark, in line with places such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Hearst Castle and the Los Angeles Coliseum. I was standing as the center link of five generations in the time continuum that unites us. My grandparents and my parents are memories today that are sparked by this monument. I’m standing there looking out at an audience that included by children and grandchildren. Five generations represented with memory, presence and a future. I was honored and privileged to offer the opening prayer for the dedication of the monument as a Historic Landmark.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this beautiful day and this chance to leave a legacy by designating our Martyrs’ Monument as a historic landmark. Bless all those who made this a possibility.

Montebello means beautiful mountain, and with this monument and all that it symbolizes – the 1.5 million  martyred SAINTS of the Armenian Genocide, this has become a holy and sacred mountain for us, a place where we can remember the past and also stand in thanksgiving to this country, the United States of America, for opening its doors to us as a place of safety and a place where we felt belonging.

Bless, O Lord, the work of our hands. May this monument continue to stand as a beacon of remembrance and inspiration, inspiring us and the generations to come, to remain vigilant against injustice and wherever the unspeakable crime of Genocide is thought of in this world. May we be moved to action and work for peace. We ask this in the name of the Prince of Peace, our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.”

Join me tomorrow as we continue on this thread.

Monument joins Golden Gate & Coliseum

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Armodoxy for Today: The Time is Right

On Friday, February 21, 2025 the Armenian Genocide Memorial Monument in Montebello, was designated as a historic landmark by the State of California, joining other historic landmarks across the state such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Hearst Castle and the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Plans for the Armenian Genocide Monument began as a dream 60 years ago. It was around the same time that plans were taking form in Yerevan, Armenia’s Capital, for the Tsitsernakaberd Genocide Memorial Monument, which today is part of a complex that is visited by hundreds of thousands of people every year.

The Armenian Genocide claimed 1.5 million Armenian lives from 1915 to 1922. It was the children of the Genocide survivors – both in Armenia and in California – that dreamt of and brought to fruition these memorial monuments.

My father was one of the dreamers. He was one of 18 men who made up the Armenian Monument Council (Montebello) and brought that dream to reality in 1968. I was 12 years at the opening of the Monument, but I remember several activities, from the groundbreaking on, where we – the kids of the Council members – were the “gofers,” doing the leg work, selling trinkets and pins at the events to collect a few dollars.

Timing is everything, they say. The timing was right for these structures to take form. In Armenia, which was part of the Soviet Union, the time was right. It was in the post-Stalinist era that this came to be. In America it was during the Civil Rights movement that ethnicity was being celebrated. The African American community was rebelling against segregation. Martin Luther King Jr. had made the “I have a Dream” speech in 1963, and protestors were chanting, “Black is beautiful” as a mantra of ethnic pride. It caught on and Mexicans were heard chanting, “Brown is beautiful” and Armenians joined in the chorus with “Olive is beautiful.”

The time was right and it all came together. This week on Armodoxy for Today, we’ll explore timing and how events, large and small, take place over the course of time, what is meant by “God’s time” and why patience is a virtue.

I share with you this gentle prayer, “Dear Lord, grant me the strength to be patient in moments of difficulty. Help me to trust in Your timing, knowing that everything happens according to Your divine plan. Guide my heart to remain calm and steadfast, even when the path seems uncertain. Fill me with Your peace and understanding, so that I may endure with grace and faith. Amen.“

Realigned on Track

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Next Step #800 – February 22, 2025 – Back on track, episode #800 is a recharge, realignment and recommitment to the goals and purpose of the Next Step. The Armenian Genocide Memorial in Montebello is designated as a California Historic Landmark. Fr. Vazken shares his thoughts as he sits through a ceremony that recalls the past, praises the present and offers questionable options for the future. Remembrance of the opening days in 1968. In this episode you’ll hear a move from hopelessness to a realignment of purpose for the Next Step podcast and his ministry.
Montebello Monument Historic Landmark Ceremony (video)
Prayer over Montebello Monument – Historic Landmark Designation
Coverage: Montebello Monument Designated Historic Landmark
ABC Coverage of Monument Designation
Leveraging Love is the Next Step
The Mother Ship: Epostle.net
Life is a Long Song by Jethro Tull
Daily Podcasts – Armodoxy for Today – epostle
Produced by Suzie Shatarevyan for http://Epostle.net
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