An Oasis of Peace In a Desert of Armed Struggle

Christmas Gathering at Bethel Church

          On Friday, 25th of December 2015, families from Emmanuel, Bethel, Martyr’s and Syriac churches celebrated Christmas at Bethel Church’s “Poladian” Hall.  The program started with welcoming words from Maria Boshgezenian as well as a greeting with a short message from Rev. Haroutune Selimian, President of the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria.  “The New Year brings new hope to our lives, the hope that something will change for the better.  As the old year comes to an end and the New Year unfolds we will thus feel renewed with new hope and promises of something good and beautiful things to come” said Rev. Selimian.

     For the attendees, the celebration reached its climax when Santa Claus arrived distributing gifts of pajamas to family members.  At the end of the program, Mrs. Sona Keosgherian, on behalf of the Armenian Evangelical Social Action Committee took the opportunity to thank Rev. Selimian for his steadfast support to the Armenian Community in Syria.

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Rev. Haroutune Selimian Visits Armenian Elderly People’s Home

     Rev. Haroutune Selimian along with Pastor Simon Der Sahagian, Mr. Harout Khatchadourian, Mrs. Maria Boshgezenian and Mrs. Shoghig Shahinian paid a special visit to the Armenian Old People’s home at “Gulbenkian Hospital” in Nor Kyugh, Aleppo, on Saturday, the 26th of December 2015.  With the financial support from the AMAA, gifts were distributed to the elderly on the occasion of New Year and Christmas.

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Visit to the Armenian Orphanage in Nor Kyugh, Aleppo

     Rev. Haroutune Selimian along with Mr. Harout Khatchadourian, Mrs. Maria Boshgezenian and Mrs. Shoghig Shahinian paid a visit to the Armenian Orphanage in Nor Kyugh, on Saturday the 26th of December, 2015.  In attendance were the Board of Trustees of the Armenian Orphanage and the children of people martyred during the Syrian Civil war.  During the meeting Rev. Selimian thanked the Board Members for their devoted service and care towards these orphans. Gifts, through the support of the AMAA, were then distributed to the children on the occasion of Christmas.

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Save The Date

Sunday, March 13, 2016, 5:00pm

Merry Christmas from AMAA

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
                                                                                              Luke 2:11

 

Let the spirit of love fill your hearts and homes

this Christmas season!

 

Քրիստոս ծնաւ եւ յայտնեցաւ,

Ձեզի, մեզի Մեծ Աւետիս! 

Christ is Born and is Revealed,

 Good Tidings to You and to Us!

 

Prayerfully,

Armenian Missionary Association of America

Christmas 2015

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Nativity Artwork by Anush Ayvazyan, former student of AMAA-Armenia Child Sponsorship Program and current AMAA-Armenia scholarship recipient attending Yerevan State Academy of Fine Arts

 

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“Stitched With Love” at the Avedisian School-Community Center

Holding charity events has become a nice tradition at the Khoren & Shoushanig Avedisian School and Community Center. Special attention is typically paid to pregnant teachers who work in the Malatia-Sebastia school district. From time-to-time they are invited to various events organized by the Avedisian School & Community Center and often leave with various gifts intended for their newborns.

Over 22 pregnant teachers as well as employees of educational departments of Malatia-Sebastia community were recently invited to the Avedisian School & Community Center for an event which included a viewing of a film related to the proper care of newborns, and a special presentation to these mothers by the School’s administration, with blankets and hats for their newborns.

These special gifts were not chosen by chance. They are a direct result of the “Stitched With Love” initiative of presenting Armenian newborns with hats and blankets by the AMAA “Stitched With Love ” program which is spearheaded by Betty Cherkezian from New Jersey.

Avedisian School Holds “Bridges Instead of Walls” Book Presentation

On December 8, Yerevan State University and Yerevan State Language University Professor Serob Khachatryan’s “Bridges Instead of Walls” book presentation was held at Avedisian School.

Prof. Khachatryan, a well-known expert in the field of educational systems in the Republic of Armenia, spoke about the major issues in the education system and how to change from walls created by an education system to building bridges between children and knowledge.  He presented some practical steps that will help the teacher and the student to get closer by constructing these bridges that will unite them.
The presentation was attended by the teachers of Avedisian School, as well as of the Malatia Sebastia District schools. Following the program all the teachers took part in the discussions about the book.

AMAA-Armenia Getting Ready for “Christmas Joy” Programs

Christmas and New Year are the most beautiful holidays of the year. The Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) office on Baghramyan Street in Yerevan, Armenia have already started assembling the “Christmas Joy” boxes to be distributed among for our children in the Homeland and Karabagh.

Dozens of volunteers joyfully are participating in this process. Every year, the AMAA and the Evangelical Church of Armenia organize Christmas Programs in Armenia and Karabagh to share God’s love and bring “Christmas Joy” to thousands of children.
To see more pictures visit the AMAA’s Armenia website at http://www.amaa.am

New Album available from AMAA Bookstore

MARY BALIAN RELEASES NEW CD: HOOYSUS ES (YOU ARE MY HOPE)

Singer/songwriter Mary Balian has released her second CD of Armenian Christian contemporary music, Hooysus Es (You Are My Hope). The CD is a compilation of modern worship songs and hymns, as well as original songs written by Balian and her colleagues. Hooysus Es was produced by Gilbert Hovsepian and sponsored by the Armenian ministry organization, Bashde.org, with additional support by individual donors and participating artists.

Mary is an Armenian-American singer/songwriter whose repertoire includes pop, world, dance, and contemporary Christian music. She is a graduate of UCLA and CSUN and is involved in ministry in the Los Angeles Armenian Evangelical community with her husband, Manny Saghbazarian, with whom she has two daughters.

Mary’s first CD, Bashdenk, was a powerful release, which saw thousands of copies used for Armenian youth ministries around the world, to great impact.

Mary has performed internationally, including Armenia and across Southern California, most recently in a November concert in Los Angeles with her producer and songwriting partner, Gilbert Hovsepian, who recently and miraculously recovered from a severe motorcycle accident.

Each CD costs $10.00 plus shipping and handling. http://amaa.org/dvd-cd.htm

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Give Help and Hope to Syrian Armenians

Your Gift is Their Lifeline

Bethel – Sunday School Distribution of Backpacks and Stationary Supplies

We are not fatalists,

nor pessimist by nature, and yet after four years of the Syrian conflict, and the seemingly resolute interference of a great world power, so convoluted are the knots, so dark the layers, so profound the conflict and so widespread the polarization, that no learned person or self-proclaimed expert can foretell the outcome of the catastrophe that befell us Armenians, striking Syria and the Syrian Armenians.

Everyone is an actor.

There is no country, political movement or alliance on the globe that hasn’t taken a stand, or more correctly, made to take a stand, vis-a-vis this ordeal.

If you’re confused, don’t be surprised. You’re not alone.

 

So powerful, potent, wilful and determined seem to be the obstinate masters from behind the curtains that there’s no immediate hope of peace on the horizon.

If only we were mistaken.  Nevertheless, a cruel conclusion doesn’t seem to be very illogical.

The hour remains mortal.

If the fire and destruction, explosions and bombs, the armed and the mercenary are parading in Paris, San Bernardino or Brussels today, they have long been the cause of the misery to millions of innocent civilians in Syria including our communities, especially Aleppo.

When they are living the anxiety of defenseless self-defense,

WE SHOULD GO ON THE OFFENSE.

Blanket Distribution

 

In a constructive spirit, LET US BECOME ACTIVE, swift and self-conscious of the need. Support our kin to sustain and survive.

LET US SUPPORT THE SYRIAN ARMENIANS AT HOME AND ON THE VICIOUS REFUGEE TRAILS.

 

Won’t you make your gift of life today?

Water Distrubution

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“The Best of Christmas” Holiday Concert

L to R: Soprano Zovinar Aghavian, Soprano Anoosh Barclay, Mezzo-Soprano Solange Merdinian and Tenor Gregory Loshkajian

Organized by Co-chairs Anita Buchakjian and Seta Nalbandian with the coordination of featured Soprano Solange Merdinian, the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) presented “The Best of Christmas” Holiday Concert on December 4th, which was held at the Armenian Presbyterian Church in Paramus, NJ to ring in the Christmas season. In the beautifully decorated sanctuary, cherished Christmas carols, such as “Silent Night,” “O Holy Night” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing” were among a program which was filled with other classics, all of which were spectacularly performed by: Soprano Zovinar Aghavian, Soprano Anoosh Barclay, Tenor, Gregory Loshkajian, Mezzo-Soprano Solange Merdinian and Riko Higuma on piano. A highlight of the evening was the Sipan Armenian School Chorus singing some all-time favorites such as “Arachin Dzenoonte” (The First Noel), “Nor Dari” (New Year) and “Tzouyin Mechen” (Through the Snow.) The evening ended on a high note with everyone on their feet proclaiming “Joy to the World” in anticipation of celebrating the joy and beauty of Christ’s birth.

Sipan Armenian School Chorus

The Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA) is a non-profit charitable organization which serves as the missionary arm of the Armenian Evangelical Churches worldwide. All donations received from this special Concert benefitted AMAA Christmas Joy Program. Since the early 1990s, the AMAA and the Evangelical Church of Armenia have been organizing Christmas Programs in Armenia and Karabagh to share God’s love and bring Christmas joy to thousands of children.

Co-Chairs Anita Buchakjian and Seta Nalbandian

Orange County: Give Nice & Get Smiles AMAA Shopping Day

Join us for a Give Nice & Get Smiles Shopping Day!
10% of tracked sales from your total purchases* on December 4 will benefit the Armenian Missionary Association of America. When your shopping is complete, simply present this invitation and your receipts at the Redemption Desk on Main Level from 11AM – 6PM, or Gift Wrap on Lower Level from 10AM – 9PM.

Bloomingdales
3333 South Bristol Street
Costa Mesa, CA