Bible Readings. Prayer before Meals. Nov. 5 Luke 8:17-21 Nov. 12 Luke 8:49-56 Nov. 19 Luke 9:44-50 Nov. 26 Luke 12:13-31

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1 Bible Readings Nov. 5 Luke 8:17-21 Nov. 12 Luke 8:49-56 Nov. 19 Luke 9:44-50 Nov. 26 Luke 12:13-31 Prayer before Meals Jashagestzook khaghagootiamp uzgeragoorus vor badrasdial eh mez ee Diarneh. Orhnial eh Der ee Karkevus yeur. Amen. Lee us in peace eat this meal which is prepared for us by the Lord. Blessed is the Lord in his gifts. Amen. Rev. Fr. Hovel Ohanyan November 2017 The Widow (Mark 12:41-44) In the Gospel of Mark the widow gave all she had and Jesus praised her. She gave sacrificially. I will not offer unto the Lord my God that which doth cost me nothing. (2 Sam. 24:24) The widow, twice-afflicted, deprived of a breadwinner, poverty-stricken, held in her hands two copper coins which make one penny. Into the temple treasury went both coins. She could have kept one for herself but she didn t. Christ s verdict was that she had given more than all the rest. For they all contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had. Why did Jesus praise the widow? Perhaps He saw what we sometimes fail to see, that when people are no longer expected to sacrifice for a great and worthy cause, the cause is doomed. A church without an altar is no church but a hall or an auditorium. Christianity without a cross is counterfeit! Religion without sacrifice is not religion at all but mere philosophy. Perhaps we can learn from this widow to work our giving with the sign of the cross and to find to our amazement how much the Lord loves and blesses a cheerful giver. Of course, we would be the first to complain that with prices the way they are today we cannot possibly give sacrificially. I m not saying that we should not provide for the needs of our families. For this is part of our Christian stewardship. As St. Paul writes, If any one does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his own family, he has disowned the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8). God wants us to provide for our families as much as He wants us to support His work through the church. The point I wish to make is that 95% of all the religious giving done by Americans today is out of our surplus. After our money is all spent (or at least contracted for) for all that new jewelry and cosmetics and three times as much for clothing as any human being requires, and pretty plush vacations, after all this, then we scream that we cannot be expected to give more sacrificially. The widow teaches us one thing: if our giving is not sacrificial, it isn t Christian. Secondly, we notice that our Lord was watching the people as they were placing their money into the temple treasury. And he sat down opposite the treasury, and watched the multitude putting money into the treasury (Mark 12:41). Perhaps we need to be reminded today that Jesus watches, that He knows what we give, that the collection plate in which we place our gift is in reality not a brass plate but the nails carried hands of our Lord. Jesus always sits over against the treasury watching! St. Paul speaks of the generosity of the Christians in Macedonia (2 Cor. 8:5). Though they were poor, they gave beyond their means to help their suffering brethren in Jerusalem. Paul says that

2 this happened because first they gave themselves to the Lord. Here is the essence of all true giving to God: the giving of one s self. The gift without the giver is always bare and empty and perhaps even hypocritical. There are people who send a check to the church once a year but they do not participate in the life of the church. They give money but they do not give themselves. This is not real giving. This is not true giving. This is not Christian giving. Giving involves much more than writing a check. The check is really worthless unless it symbolizes the gift of oneself. Without the giving of oneself no gift has value. First they gave themselves to the Lord. Let us not Love in Word, but in Deed (1 John 4:16-18). Anyone can say that he loves his fellow man, but the test is what he does when he sees his fellow man in need. Does he pass by unconcerned or does he do what he can to help? Similarly anyone can say, I love God. But this is love in word and speech only. If love is true, it will go beyond speech; it will express itself in deeds. It will express itself in the way we love and care for our fellow man. It will express itself in deed and truth in our giving. For to love truly means to give to give without ever counting the cost. It is invariably true that people give not according to their means but always according to their love. If we love much, we give much. If we love little, we give little. by Fr. Anthony Coniaris Bishop Moushegh Babayan to Celebrate Badarak at St. Vartan St. Vartan is honored to announce the visit of Bishop Moushegh Babayan, from the Holy See of Etchemiadzin, who will celebrate Badarak at the St. Vartan Church on Sunday, November 12. Please join us to welcome Fr. Bishop Moushegh Babayan. Thank You! My Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our 65 th Annual Bazaar and Armenian Food Festival is over. Once again I would like to express the appreciation and the gratitude of my heart to the members of the Bazaar Committee, co-chaired by Liz Ojakian, Naz Jindoian, and Zaven Kanneian, all the members of our Ladies Society, Parish Council, Cultural Committee, ACYO, Sunday School, countless individual volunteers, elders and youth for their humble and priceless service to God and to the blessed family of our St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church. Your great and hard work is the best evidence of your strong faith and your unlimited love to your Church and Community. Through your humble service you are making the future of this Church and community stronger and more active. May the blessings of our Lord Jesus Christ be with all of you forever!!! Prayerfully, Fr. Hovel Ohanyan News From Our St. Vartan Family Baptisms On October 14 Fr. Hovel baptized Theodore Augustus Sparr, son of Brian and Nicole Sparr and grandson of Sylvia and Richard Messian and Mary and Gary Sparr. Martin and Angela Gil are Theodore s godparents. Congratulations Graduate Karly Kurkjian graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History in May of She received honors and wrote her thesis on the Armenian-Americans in Fresno during the early 20th Century. Her focus was on the Armenian views of the United States and the relationship to the land and other people in the region. She also graduated Phi Beta Kappa. Karly s parents are Nancy and Richard Kurkjian and her brother is Adam. Karly is the granddaughter of Arax and Myron Konjoyan and Nema and John Kurkjian. The St. Vartan Voice newsletter is published once a month by St. Vartan Armenian Church. The deadline for all articles is the fifteenth of each month. Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate Rev. Fr. Hovel Ohanyan, Parish Priest and President of All Church Organizations Parish Council Chair: Edward Jamgotchian Parish Assembly Chair: David Ojakian Choir Director: Artin Der Minassians Organist: Araks Aghazarian, A. Rodriguez and Ida Mazmanian ACYO Chair: Sevan Jindoian Sunday School Superintendent: Janet Yeghissian and Nicole Vasgerdsian Ladies Society Chair: Gail Kezerian, Caroline Arakelian and Lisa Manoogian Cultural Society Chair: Liz Ojakian Hokejosh: Nora Hanoian Newsletter Editors: Arlene Hovsepian and Rachel Harger Church Secretary: Rachel Harger Altar Flowers: Carole Chang Church Custodian: Wartkes Hagopian Divine Liturgy Service Sundays 10:30 a.m. 650 Spruce Street, Oakland, CA Phone (510) Fax: (510) stvartanoakland@aol.com Website:

3 St. Vartan Church Parish Council gratefully acknowledges the following donations: Bazaar Donations: Miscellaneous Barbara and Jack Bousian, Nancy and Al Tiedemann, Fimi Schulze; Leg of Lamb Gay P. Diers, Dickie and Seno Garabedian, Suzanne Diers, Jack Isaacs, Fimi Schulze; Tent Alene Rudy, Fimi Schulze; Case of Wine Fimi Schulze, Arthur Gregorian; Program Guide Fimi Schulze In Honor of Theodore August Sparr s Baptism Richard and Sylvia Messian, Doris Paroonagian In Memory Fr. Mesrob Sarafian Upon the publication of his book of sermons, Life s Lessons Learned for the Fr. Mesrob Sarafian Scholarship for Religious Education Vartkes and Kerrie Avakian, McCloud (Petrossian) Family, Bob and Sara DerMatoian, Doris Seyranian, Ellyn and Tom Kesinger, Diane Kaljian Combs, Armen Boyd, Jr. Fr. Mesrob Sarafian Upon the publication of his book of sermons, Life s Lessons Learned Susan Collins (Sarafian Foundation), Lucille Dolab (Sarafian Foundation), McCloud (Petrossian) Family (Orphan Fund), Bob and Sara DerMatoian (Bay Area Rescue Mission), Stephan Pechdimaldji (St. Nersess Seminary), Jerry and Linda Yarbrough (Bay Area Rescue Mission), Sharon Leyman (St. Vartan Orphan Fund), John Lonergan (St. Vartan Orphan Fund) Beverly Nalbandian Edward Godoshian (Orphan Fund), Vartan and Ayko Berberian, Aylin Gulbenkian, Patti and Jim Gold (Choir Fund), Edward and Sylva Manougian (Ladies Society Kitchen Remodel Fund), Sylvia Gozurian (Ladies Society Kitchen Remodel Fund), Florence Morjig (Choir Fund), Nancy and Al Tiedemann (Choir Fund), Fr. Kevork and Sandra Arakelian (Choir Fund), Evelyn C. Boyd (Choir Fund), Heghine and Michael Boloyan (Choir Fund), Greg and Seta Tcherkoyan (St. Vartan Voice Newsletter) Rev. Father Nareg Shirikian Edward Godoshian (Orphan Fund) Margaret Sobajian Florence Morjig (Choir Fund), Nancy and Al Tiedemann (Choir Fund), Joyce and Archie Kamian (Ladies Society Kitchen Remodel Fund), Greg and Seta Tcherkoyan (St. Vartan Voice Newsletter) Dolores Cherezian Michael Kilijian ENDOWMENT FUND In Memory Margaret Sobajian Annabelle Taylor Beverly Nalbandian Annabelle Taylor Fr. Mesrob Sarafian Upon the publication of his book of sermons, Life s Lessons Learned Pat and Gil Raposo, Jim Taylor, Mary Zeiler, Cathy Muse, The Bazigian Family, Al and Mae Kaljian Christmas Greetings You can send a Christmas Greeting in the December issue of the Voice Newsletter to all your family and friends at St. Vartan Church. Call the church office at or stvartanoakland@aol.com before November 15, 2017 to place your greeting. Suggested donation for a Christmas Greeting is $25. This is a great opportunity to send Christmas well-wishes to all of your friends at St. Vartan Church, while supporting the Voice Newsletter.

4 St. Vartan Church 60/90 Anniversary Essays The St. Vartan Voice continues to publish the essay submissions for the topic: What does St. Vartan Church mean to you in your life, and what would you do to maintain its legacy? The final two essay submissions will be included in the December issue of the St. Vartan Voice. Age 11 Winner Armen Jamgotchian St. Vartan is for me and in my life a great church, with a great managing committee that works very hard for their community. It is also a great church that is always there to help. The church helps in many ways such as funerals, marriages, and baptisms. I did not get baptized at St. Vartan Church but I have seen babies get baptized here at St. Vartan before. The church is very important in my life because of all the great activities they plan for the youth, bringing us together and closer to God, and I think this is appreciated by everybody. There are many ways that I can help maintain the church s legacy. I would maintain the Church s legacy by participating in the A.C.Y.O., helping with the Bazar, working on the Church s managing committee, and even helping my dad raise the flag on Sunday mornings. On days when there is no Sunday school, I could serve on the altar. If I get the chance I could even teach Sunday School when I get older. To conclude there are many opportunities for me to maintain the church s legacy and I can start by serving on the altar. Age 14 Winner Aleen Phelps As an average teenager in the Bay Area, I think of myself to have not only have a tight knit community to be a part of, but a second family with St. Vartan Armenian Apostolic Church. Community, to me, is a group of people with similar interests and values. They enjoy spending time with each other to further develop their love and knowledge of those interests. In addition, St. Vartan is a family, linked by our growing faith to God and the pride for our Armenian heritage that we all share. St. Vartan has been a constant in my life by always showing me new ways to connect with God and to be respectful to all people in my life. Personally, I cannot remember any point in my life where St. Vartan has not been there for me. I started off at a young age participating in Sunday School, and began to join other programs such as the choir, the dance troupe, the basketball team, and ACYO as I got older. Sunday School created a foundation with a workable knowledge of Bible study, the Church calendar, and how the history of my Armenian ancestors affects my life today. Through choir I gained insight on the Badarak and appreciation for each unique hymn. Other programs I was involved in helped me to connect further with my Armenian brothers and sisters. Being part of St. Vartan means not only to benefit from the community, but to give back to it in any way possible. It is our responsibility as Armenians to ensure that our heritage lives on through many generations to come. We can do this by learning the language and teaching it to our children. We can also continue to come to church and bring our friends and family to share the Armenian culture and faith with others. Additionally, there are opportunities to get involved with at St. Vartan as we get older, such as the Parish Council, the Ladies Society, and helping out with certain events, like the bazaar. In order to guarantee a thriving future for St. Vartan, I will continue to stay connected to my Armenian family and plan to enlighten the generations of the church to come. Upcoming Events Memorial Service for Margaret Sobajian Friday, November 3 11 am Choir Rehearsal Sunday, November 5 12:45 pm Ladies Society Luncheon Thursday, November 9 12:00 noon Bishop Moushegh Babayan at St. Vartan Sunday, November 12 10:30 pm Choir Rehearsal Sunday, November 19 12:45 pm Parish Council Meeting Wednesday, November 22 6:30 pm Armenian Rockin New Years Eve Sunday, December 31 8 pm Blessing the Flags On Sunday, October 1, St. Vartan Church held a special ceremony to bless both the existing American flag and the new Armenian flag raised in the lawn in front of the John Marukian Church Hall. St. Vartan Food Drive St. Vartan Church is again sponsoring their Annual Food Drive for the Alameda County Community Food Bank this holiday season throughout November and December We will be collecting healthy, nonperishable food items for the food bank. Please bring your donations to the St. Vartan John Marukian Church Hall entryway and place them in the barrels. The food bank suggests healthy staples like peanut butter, canned tuna, beans, rice and low-sugar cereal. The Alameda County Community Food Bank serves one in five Alameda County residents. Thanksgiving Day Thursday, November 23, 2017 The First Thanksgiving When people think of Thanksgiving, most remember the story of the Pilgrims and the Indians at Plymouth Rock. The Pilgrims first arrived in America on December 11, 1620, not prepared for the winter they were to face. Out of the 102 who arrived on the Mayflower, forty-six of the people died during the first few months. Despite the devastation, they had a good harvest, partly in thanks to the Indians who lived nearby. They had a traditional British Harvest Feast in thanks to God for surviving and the blessings of provisions that would see them through the winter. In contrast to our modern Thanksgiving menu, they actually had more meat than vegetables, including venison, fish and wild foul, which may or may not have actually been turkey. They probably didn't have much in the way of desserts, as they didn't have a lot of flour or sugar on hand. They probably had some fruits and corn. Instead of pumpkin pie, they probably had boiled pumpkin. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted for three days.

5 Parish Council Update Kitchen Repairs Work to repair the floor on the West side of the kitchen (alongside the dishwasher basin) has commenced. We anticipate resolving the dry rot and correcting the floor alignment will complete quickly, and thus fix what has accumulated over many years. A relatively temporary yet sturdy floor covering will be placed down now until the kitchen remodel project completes the new and permanent floor covering. New Flag Pole It is with great pride and gratitude that the Parish Council (PC) accepted the generous donation of a flag pole to display the Armenian flag from the family of Mr. Arsen Awanesianc and the family of Dr. Hagop Hakimian. This is a beautiful addition and upgrade to our campus with which we will celebrate and recognize our unique national identity. The new flag pole was placed near the existing flag pole that was generously donated years back by the late Mr. Joseph Keshishian. Church Grounds Safety Recent improvements to our Church campus include painting the stairs leading to the Church with a special slip-proof covering, and pursuing repairs to the sidewalk on the McKinley Avenue side of the Church. Many thanks to PC Vice-Chairman Mr. Nazar Jindoian for his painting skills, and to Ms. Kim Bardakian for calling on her City of Oakland connections to expedite the sidewalk repairs. 65th Annual Food Festival It is with great gratitude and sincere heartfelt appreciation that we acknowledge the record breaking success of our recent Food Festival. Marking the 65 year anniversary milestone of St. Vartan Armenian Church, our Co-Chairmen and the amazing team they assembled outdid themselves to make this year s festival a historic celebration. The PC extends our appreciation to Mr. Nazar Jindoian, Ms. Liz Ojakian and Mr. Zaven Kanneian for leading this year s event. It is worthy to note that this year s event was titled to highlight the real reason for our success: an Armenian Food Festival. The focus of the festival is ethnic traditional foods that our Ladies Society plans and prepares for months, as well as the delicious food graciously prepared and served by the Cingoz family in the Hye Café. I can t complete a meal without dessert, and must also thank Ms. Janet Yeghissian for leading our dessert booth with great success for many years now. No doubt many, many others had a key role to organize and staff many different parts of this Festival, without which the event could not have achieved the success it had. These included the food servers, cashiers, BBQ, Khanout and Bar, admission booth, games, raffle, the directory, Church tours, advertising, marketing, dancers and parking shuttle drivers, entertainers, program guide coordinators and so many other functions. There are countless others we thank who quietly played a key role to the success of the Bazaar from the facility set-up and take-down, purchasing supplies from nearby (in San Francisco) and faraway (from Fresno), washing the Armenian coffee cups, encouraging friends, neighbors and co-workers to attend, and helping clear off tables to maintain a welcoming feeling in the dining area. Our Festival is a labor of love, organized by volunteers and made a success by those who serve in every capacity, demonstrating their unwavering commitment to this Church. The PC whole-heartedly thanks each and every one who donated 2017 St. Vartan Food Festival Raffle Prizes their time and support towards Apple Watch with charging dock Nina Tashjian this success. Ultimately this Sossik work, energy and time would 2 lower level tickets Golden State Warriors Game donated by Stuart Arakelian be in vain for not our guests Pixar Animation Prize package Joseph Bezdjian who partake of our heritage donated by Ms. Katherine Sarafian through food, music and the Susie Bazigian camaraderie of our parishion- 2 lower bowl tickets 49ers vs. Jacksonville 12/24/17 donated by Ed and Kristian Minasian ers. Amazon Echo Dot Kari Komulianen In gratitude we donated by Kim Bardakian acknowledge your service to Instant Wine Cellar and Wine Rack Jean Chew our community and to the condonated by Raffle Committee tinued longevity of our Church. $4,000 Charity Drawing Jeff Mogalian

6 Ladies Society Update A special "Thank You" to all the Ladies Society members that helped to make the Bazaar such a success! Ladies Society worked countless hours in preparing the delicious food enjoyed by so many people attending the Bazaar. The weekend of the Bazaar Ladies Society members helped in the kitchen, serving in the food line, khanoot, food take-out, and Hye Cafe. The Ladies Society makes it possible for the St. Vartan Church community to have the annual Bazaar. Ladies Society is truly the back bone of St. Vartan Armenian Church! The next Ladies Society meeting is Thursday, November 9 at noon in the Church Hall. Lunch will be served. Everyone is welcome to attend! Friendships are made when you get involved! It is the goal of Ladies Society to get the women in the St. Vartan Church community connected with each other! Please contact Lisa Manoogian if there are any questions regarding Ladies Society or lisamno@yahoo.com. Save the Date Ladies Society Luncheon Thursday, November 9 Noon Sunday, November 5 Daylight Savings Time Ends

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