1 UAECNE Delegation Visits the Armenian Churches of Kessab On Saturday, July 8, 2017, the Union of Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East (UAECNE) delegation to Kessab visited the Armenian Apostolic and Catholic Churches of Kessab, as well as the Armenian Evangelical Churches of Kaladouran, Keorkune and Ekizoluk, and had times of prayer, christian fellowship, and meetings of solidarity. 2 Rededication of the Armenian Evangelical Holy Trinity Church-Kessab The rededication service of the totally renovated Armenian Evangelical Holy Trinity Church of Kessab, Syria took place on Sunday, July 9, 2017 in a festive mood of thanksgiving and the hope for peace and renewal, in the presence of the leadership of the UAECNE, local clergy, officials and hundreds of worshipers and guests. The large church building in the center of town had been desecrated and totally burnt during the brutal invasion of the Kessab region back in March 2014. 3 4 Daily Vacation Bible School With God’s grace, and under the supervision of the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church, the Daily Vacation Bible School (DVBS) has been functioning since 2002. Like previous years, it was this year held between 19 June - 21 July, 2017. One hundred and fifty children, (aged 4-12) gathered in the church every weekday from 9:00 to 1:00 and participated in a rich daily program, which involves prayers, sports, computer lessons, English lessons, Armenian history, Bible study, national and spiritual songs, general knowledge, games, craftwork and painting. Mrs. Sevan Keleshian Der Sahagian was in charge of the school along with 30 other teachers. At the end of the summer school, the students put together a neat program which was presented for the audience in the Poladian Hall. Attending the ceremony were the management of the Bethel Secondary school, and of course a large number of students and parents. At the end of the event Mrs. Sevan Keleshian Der Sahagian thanked the DVBS teachers for their hard work and for this great opportunity to educate the children,, guide them and improve their interests and orientation skills. 5 Children’s World Day of Prayer Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14 On Sunday, 23rd of July 2017, under the patronage of the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church, a special worship service was held at the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church. The service was dedicated to the Children’s World Day of Prayer. During the service, Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church Sunday school children presented a special program which included Scripture readings, spiritual songs, prayers, testimonies, a drama, and a slide-show about the country of Philippines. The day's sermon was delivered by Rev. Haroutune Selim ian, based on 1 Corinthians 14:40 The Worship service ended with the Lord's Prayer. Afterwards the children had a time of fellowship on the campus of the Church. Father's Day Dinner A special dinner on Fathers’ day was held on Sunday 23rd of July 2017, at the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church’s campus. The program included welcoming words by Miss Lucy Moudarigian, prayer and a short message by Rev. Haroutune Selimian. After dinner, everybody took part in interesting games led by Miss Lucy Moudarigian. 6 Afterwards, the fathers were invited to the podium, where a special cake was cut by Rev. Selim ian and enjoyed by everybody being there. At the end of the program, the pastor of the church expressed his gratitude to everybody and specially thanked all those who had served faithfully throughout the event. At the end the pastor thanked the ladies’ auxiliary for making this activity possible. Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you" (Proverbs 1:8) 7 ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL BETHEL CHURCH MINISTER: REV. HAROUTUNE SELIMIAN AUGUST NO OFFICE OF THE MINISTER ALEPPO-SYRIA ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL CHURCHES' RETREAT IN KESSAB-KCHAG The Central Committee (Syria Section) of the Union of the Armenian Evangelical Churches in the Near East organized a family Retreat for the Committees and the families of the Armenian Evangelical Bethel, Emmanuel, Martyrs' and Kessab Churches from 31st July –5th August 2017 in Kessab-Kchag. It is the first time the retreat has happened since 2010 when the War in Syria broke out. Participants from all ages comprised 100 in number.The speaker of the retreat was Rev. Haroutune Selimian as well as the team of retreat counselors was led by Rev. Haroutune Selimian. The daily program included morning worship service, singing, Bible study, group discussion, workshops, social events, learning, praying, sharing and fellowship. During the five days of the retreat, the President of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria Rev. Haroutune Selimian presented four topics concerning the theme of “The Vision of the Armenian Evangelical Church” based on Acts 26 1. The Importance of Christian Testimony: What is the vision of the Church? 2. The importance of renewing our minds: How to live a fruitful life? 3. The calling of the Church to Mission and to Unity 4. The role of faith in Spiritual Growth. In his speeches, Rev. H. Selimian stressed the importance of leading a life of the calling to which we have been called, as Paul says. This does not mean that we should try to deserve our place in God’s favor. It means that we should recognize how 8 much our place in God’s favor deserves from us. The focus is not on our worth but on the worth of our calling. Therefore, the way to lead a life worthy of our calling is to “maintain the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace.” It is the Holy Spirit who frees our hearts from irrational, self -defensive prejudices so that we are willing to own up to true convictions about Christ. The Holy Spirit enables us to have faith in Christ and to cry out to God with confidence. And it is the Holy Spirit who bears the fruit of love in our lives and gives us a common care for each other. Therefore, our common convictions, confidence, and care are all from the Holy Spirit. The retreats are some of the important activities we are involved in to strengthen the spiritual and national identity of our church members. We thank AMAA for enabling us to be able to maintain our KCHAG in Kessab to host the above mentioned family retreat. 9 FAMILY KERMESS 2017 One of the satisfying activities during this summer was the "family kermes" that took place from 12-15 August, 2017, at the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church Campus. The event was organized by the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Secondary School in cooperation with the Youth Committee of the Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church. Present at the opening were the President of the Armenian Evangelical Community, Rev. Haroutune Selimian, Armenian Evangelical Bethel Secondary School administartion, teachers and students, Bethel church's youth group, junior High group, Sunday and summer school children, Armenian Evangelical churches of Aleppo and guests. The program included special outdoor games, slide show of video clips, and delicious food prepared by Armenian Evangelical Bethel, Emmanuel, and Martyr's churches talented ladies who were just as great as the items on sale. During this activity the Armenian Evangelical churches families had a great and blessed fellowship with each other. We would like to extend our sincere thanks to the administration of the Armenian Evangelical Bethel 10 Seconday School and Armenian Evangelical Bethel Church's Youth Committee and for every person who had made this event possible. Community of Sant'Egidio - Paths of Peace Rev. Haroutune Selimian, the President of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria, attended the International Meeting "Paths of Peace: Religions and cultures in dialogue" which took place 11 from September 10th to 12th 2017 in the German cities of Münster and Osnabrück, where men and women of different religions and cultures gathered for three days of dialogue and prayer. The meetings included 24 panels, on topics closely related to the conference theme "Paths of Peace: Religions and cultures in dialogue". During the three days of the conference, Rev. Selimian presented a talk about "Friendship and reconciliation out of ruins, religions on the paths of peace" along with the Grand Mufti of Bosnia at the University of Münster, Germany. The closing ceremony of the international meeting Paths of Peace was held on September 12, 2017 in Osnabrück. During the ceremony, Rev. Selimian along with archbishop Bedros Mreyati were invited to the podium for lighting a candle of hope, on behalf of the suffering people of Syria. On that same day, Rev. Haroutune Selimian was received by Lord Mayor Wolfgang Griesert, the Elected Mayor of Osnabrück, Germany, as part of an official delegation from St. Egidio, and autographed the golden book as a representative of Syrian people. 12 The 6th Pan-Armenian Armenia-Diaspora Conference Kicked off in Yerevan On Monday, Sept. 18, 2017 Rev. Haroutune Selimian, the President of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria, along with the Armenian Evangelical pastors and delegation attended the 6th Pan-Armenian Armenia- Diaspora conference, which was initiated by the Armenian Diaspora Ministry at the Karen Demirchian Sports and Concerts Complex in Yerevan. The conference entitled “Mutual Trust, Unity and Responsibility” has brought together about 1800 representatives of Armenian diaspora organizations from more than 71 countries of the world. Various leaders and representatives of clergy, pan-Armenian structures and community organizations, journalists and separate individuals enjoying a high role and reputation have gathered in capital Yerevan. The event was also attended by the Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan, Artsakh Republic President Bako Sahakyan, His Holiness Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II, Catholicos of the Great House of Cilicia Aram I, high-ranking officials and spiritual leaders.