Chalice OND 2005.Qxd
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PBFCWFBKWFK!JZBKXOYRVMV TC6!BTSJZBUBUVO!GB+[6!B)B;WMBLBO!WLWQW[ZJ+! Gjrvz’ Bfbn!;gob96!Tsw/bowbo CC HH AA LL II CC EE October - November- December 2005 Soorp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic Church 315 Church Street, Whitinsville, MA 01588 Tel: 508-234-3677 Fax: 508-234-4333 www.armenianchurchofwhit.org Rev. Fr. Aram Stepanian, Pastor CHALICE A publication of: Sunday Worship St. Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic All Welcome Church Morning Service - 9:30 a.m. Rev. Fr. Aram Stepanian, Pastor Divine Liturgy (Soorp Badarak) - 10:00 a.m. Sermon (English/Armenian) - 11:00 a.m. Editor: Alice Sagherian Sunday School (Sept-June) 10:00 a.m. Format & Layout: Ani Gigarjian Divine Liturgy followed by fellowship Chairman: Peter Bedrosian and refreshments. 508-234-4043 Air Conditioned Sanctuary and Hall V. Chairman: John Berberian 508-842-5512 Secretary: Rick Kazarian 508-234-5028 Treasurer: Raffi Samkiranian 508-868-4450 Asst. Treasurer: Joe Montecalvo 508-234-5162 Advisors: Lucy Almasian 508-653-8515 Chuck Gigarjian 508-234-5413 David Papazian 508-234-3261 Will Whittlesey 508-545-2225 HEAVENLY KING, MAINTAIN THY CHURCH UNSHAKEN NRA Delegates: Peter Bedigian AND KEEP THE WORSHIPPERS OF THY NAME IN PEACE. Alan Goshgarian Andre’ Markarian About the Cover: The Nativity. In terms of composition, Ladies Guild Carol Tosoonian this is one of the most complex scenes in the manuscript. Chairlady: Contrary to his usual practice of choosing laconic ver- sions of the Gospel scenes, Toros Roslin depicts here a Sunday School Alan Goshgarian great number of figures connected with various sub- Director: sidiary motifs. Thus, apart from the angels above the cave, the miniature includes the scenes of The Bathing of the Child, The Annunciation to the Shepherds and The Adoration of the Magi. This combination of several motifs Soorp Asdvadzadzin Armenian Apostolic Church irrespective of time and place, typical of medieval art, 315 Church Street, Whitinsville, MA 01588 imparts to the scene a somewhat artificial character, 508-234-3677 fax: 508-234-4333 which is on the whole unusual for Toros Roslin. At the same time, the multifigured composition does not Rev. Fr. Aram Stepanian, Pastor in any way impede the understanding of its message, Direct office line: 508-865-2454 [email protected] since the focal point of the scene is made conspicuous by means of a contrast between the bright red cover of the Virgin’s bed and the deep black mouth of the cave. web site: www.armenianchurchofwhit.org inquiries: [email protected] Page 2 Pastor’s Message GOD IS LOVE It is said that death has dominion over everything in this world; but there is one thing that is stronger than death. It is THE LOVE OF A MOTHER. Death has never been able to conquer over the love of a mother. Mother’s love is a special gift given to mothers. The love of a mother is unselfish, dedicated to her children and, she expects nothing in return. Yet look what the Lord says about the kind of love that He, the Creator, has toward us. God says; “CAN A MOTHER FORGET THE BABY AT HER BREAST AND HAVE NO COMPASSION ON THE CHILD SHE HAS BORN? THOUGH SHE MAY FORGET I WILL NOT FORGET YOU” (Is. 49:15) God’s love is unsurpassed. Your wife, your husband or anyone so dear now may for some reason or another, love you or change the kind of love that they now have toward you; but God being the same yes- terday, today and forever never changes His love toward you and never fails you. The Apostle says, “In this is love, not that we loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be expiation for our sins.” (I John 4:10) In other words, God loves you and me not because we deserve His love or because we are good people, but He loves you and me because THAT IS HIS OWN NATURE. He cannot hate you and me, because “GOD IS LOVE.” (I john 4:16) The Apostle Paul says, “ But God demonstrated His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners Christ died for us.” (Rom. 5:8) We may have bad habits so that society hates us; but God will never, never forsake us or abandon us because of who we are. Jesus said in John 13:1, that, “Having loved His own who were in the world, HE LOVED THEM TO THE END.” He did not stop loving Peter when he denied Him. On the contrary, He looked at Peter with such compassion and reaffirmed with His look that He still loved him. He did not stop loving the rest of His disciples because they all left Him alone after His capture. Jesus loved and loves every one of us “… TO THE END.” There is one thing. Though God is a loving compassionate God but He hates sin. The sin that we commit. That is also His nature. Because God is a Holy God. Sometimes, because of our sinful nature, we like and desire to do something is not right, the Bible says we are born in sinful nature. God loves the sinner but hates the sin that he/she commits. So He invites us with great passion and love. “ THEREFORE… DECLARES THE SOVEREIGN LORD. REPENT! TURN AWAY FROM ALL YOUR OFFENSES; THEN SON WILL NOT BE YOUR DOWNFALL. RID YOURSELVES OF ALL THE OFFENSES YOU HAVE COMMITTED, AND GET NEW HEART AND A NEW SPIRIT. WHY WILL YOU DIE?” (Ez. 18:31-32) Do you want to be aware of the love of God? Turn to Him! Regardless of how much you have sinned against Him, accept the fact that Christ came and was crucified because He loved you and is ready to Page 3 Pastor’s Message, cont. forgive your sins. Until you and I accept this fact, we can not fully partake of the love of God. It is an experience. The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all our righteousness.” ( 1 John 1:9) God Bless You All, Rev. Fr. Aram Stepanian Pastor His Eminence, Archbishop Oshagan Choloyan presiding over the Blessing of the Grapes at our annual picnic. The Chalice is being sent to you free of charge; any contribution to cover the cost of printing and postage will be greatly appreciated. You will be acknowledged, unless requested otherwise, in the next issue of The Chalice. For your convenience, we have enclosed a self-addressed envelope. Please call Alice Sagherian at 508-234-3677 with any questions. Thank you. If you would like to donate flowers for the altar, perhaps in memory of a loved one, please contact Alice Sagherian for information. Additionally, if you would like to host a fellowship hour, please contact Yeretsgin Margaret for available dates. Thank you. Page 4 Committee Reports BUILDING COMMITTEE PRESS RELEASE The Building Expansion Committee has spend the last few months working with Wayne Salo from Dixon- Salo Architects to finalize two schemes for Evaluation and Costing. The committee has chosen two designs, one that includes a new hall with kitchen on ground level and the renovation of our existing hall to accommodate permanent Sunday School classrooms, and the other that involves creating a new classroom environment on ground level, thus allowing for the downstairs hall to be set up permanently as a hall with no partitions or classrooms. We have also included and will cost out a separate design that will house handicapped accessibility to the sanctuary and downstairs hall as well as a couple of offices for Der Hayr and a general church office. In Addition, recognizing that the expansion will take some time to coordinate and that we have an immedi- ate need to expand our Sunday School area and open up our hall more fully for fellowship hour and other functions, we are evaluating the possibility of temporary mobile classrooms that can be on a lease arrange- ment and be parked somewhere on the church grounds; these would be self-contained classrooms that are similar to those used by several school districts to ease space deficits. The plan of the committee is to have all of these scenarios outlined and costed and to present a report to the Trustees within the next two months so that we can have a special parish meeting within the next three months to make a formal presentation. The committee recognizes the importance of its job and is taking time to evaluate all options in order to be able to make a complete and detailed report for all to review. NORTHBRIDGE ASSOCIATION OF CHURCHES (NAC) Soorp Asdvadzadzin continues to be an integral part of the Northbridge Association of Churches, taking part if many worthwhile and fulfilling activities within the community. The Peace of Bread Program continues to be a successful and rewarding program supplying hot meals to the needy of Whitinsville. Those that help out with Peace of Bread are internally rewarded by the warm appreciation received from those who benefit from this program. On August 24, our church provided a chicken dinner to approximately 90 men, women, and children. There was a tremendous response from our parishioners as many of us stood ready to help out where need- ed. As word came out about the devastation on the Gulf Region from Hurricane Katrina, our church took the lead in a fundraising campaign by offering our church grounds and equipment to the NAC for a cookout on September 17 from 11:00 am until 3:00 pm, with all proceeds going to the victims of Katrina.