58th Annual Ladies Society Assembly - March 29, 2010

Published on Apr 30 2010 by Divan of the Diocese

On April 29, 2010, beginning at 9:45 AM, the 58^th Ladies Society Assembly, as part of the 83^rd Diocesan Assembly, convened for its day-long meeting at the Headquarters of the Western Diocese in Burbank, California. His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, presided over the meeting - chaired by Mrs. Araxie Boyamian, Chair of the Ladies Society Central Council. Mrs. Ani Lanuza, Recording Secretary of the Ladies Society Central Council, conducted the meeting.

After the invocation offered by His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, the English translation of the letter of blessing and commendation of His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of all Armenians, to the 58^th Ladies Society Assembly of the Western Diocese was read in its entirety by Rev. Fr. Avedis Abovian:

We are pleased to extend our Pontifical blessings from the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to the participants of the 58^th Annual Ladies Society Assembly of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church of North America.

Our dear children,

We extend our prayers of gratitude to the Almighty God, for having blessed the Armenian Apostolic Church with such dedicated daughters. As members of the Ladies Society, you have devoted your lives to carry out the divine mission of the Armenian Apostolic Church in the distant shores of the United States of America. In doing so, you have selflessly devoted your valuable time as well as your financial contributions. The spirit of the Pontiff is filled with joy in knowing that you continue to support the orphans in Armenia, thus, relieving the economic strain and difficulties facing them today. With your exemplary lives and kind deeds, have added a luminous page in the history of our Church. We extend to you the blessings of the Almighty God and beseech Him to keep you, your families and the entire faithful.

Dear beloved ladies of the Armenian Apostolic Church, we wish you endless joy and pray that you that you find new horizons. May you be strengthened in your faith and filled with the God-loving spirit as you carry out the mission of our Church in the Western Diocese of the United States. "And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him" (Colossians 3:17).

From the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin and the Throne of St. Gregory the Illuminator, we offer you our love and caring spirit. In our Pontifical prayers, we ask that God keep and protect the Armenian Holy Apostolic Church, the Western Diocese, and the Armenian-American community. May He shower you and Armenians throughout the world with His grace.

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13).

Following the Pontifical Message, the Primate's delivered his message.

"Becoming a follower of Christ is a life-long process of growing, learning, and changing. It is also a process of surrender"

Dear Ladies,

I first would like to greet you all with a heart full of love and gratitude. For what I have continuously seen and witnessed through your dedication, is your commitment to be "a follower of Christ" and "an agent of change" in the life of our Church. The words that I have chosen from Richard Stearns' article truly reflect your faith life, for you have been a follower of Christ. Your deeds are the reflection of your Christian faith and love, which has been applied in your family life and the unselfish services for the Church.

"Becoming a follower of Christ is a life-long process of growing, learning, and changing. It is also a process of surrender". To me personally, you are the ambassadors of Christ, agents of change, who have surrendered their lives into the hands of God. The task that is entrusted to you as dedicated members of the Armenian Apostolic Church is immense. We need to better understand that the success of the mission of the Church requires a process of surrender, putting our lives into the hands of God and becoming the agents of God in applying the messages of the gospels in our daily life and in the community.

The tradition of assemblies is the resemblance to the fellowship of the apostles with the Lord. The apostles became followers of Christ as the committed their lives to the preaching of the Word of God. As previous assemblies which have become a source of spiritual renewal in your God-given lives, I have no doubt that this assembly will once again raise basic questions in you such as who we are? To whom we serve? Why we serve? How we serve? We all are agents of the Lord, the Church, who are called to serve our church and respective communities, to reflect our Christian love with humility.

Dear ladies, through this assembly, you all are called to renew your vocation. As followers of Christ, and leaders in your respective communities, you need to continue to grow in God, to learn the Word of God and be the agents of change in the communities. I know, and you all know well that the work and the sacrifice you offer for the Church aims to cultivate the faith-life of children but above all, the members of the community. The institutional the Church, and all organizations, which function under the umbrella of the Church need to apply the divine love in abundance. It is time that we constantly pose ourselves the basic questions of our existence and seek the right answers. The more we pose these questions, the more the Church institution grows. The more we surrender our lives into the hands of God, the more we succeed in our many missions. Assemblies need to become forums of spiritual transformation, with the noble purpose to transform the souls and minds of the people.

My dear ladies, we all work together as a team. Our goal is the same and one: the rejuvenation of our Christian faith and the Church, a most valuable legacy from the fathers of the Church. I have no doubt that you all will continue to work hard for the Church and the community. However, it is also the right time for evaluation of our commitment, as to how and in which manner we can fulfill our duties to better serve our children.

To me personally, Church organizations which work hard should focus more and more on the spiritual aspect as well as the creation of true Christian families. Churches and organizations, should invest more their earning of the missions of the Church, especially in times when we are challenged by irrelevant religious movement and social aspects which harm the image of God in our spirituality. You certainly have the spiritual strength to bring change and transformation in the life of the Church. The change will become the reality with us all as we become followers of Christ through a process of growing, learning and changing, and especially through a process of surrender.

The Rev. Fr. Khajag Shahbazyan, Pastor of the Burbank Cathedral Parish offered his welcoming message to the Ladies and expressed his gratitude for their dedicated service.

Mrs. Araxie Boyamian, Chair of LSCC, also welcomed everyone at the meeting and introduced the members of the LSCC and the members of the By-Laws Committee to the participants.

Mrs. Ani Lanuza, the Recording Secretary then presented the minutes from the 57^th Ladies Assembly.

The year's highlights were the celebration of the Women's Saints Day in honor of St. Hripsime and the Annual Ladies Society Retreat.

Treasurer Mrs. Becky Jorjorian presented the financial report. The participants of the 58^th Ladies Societies Assembly accepted the 2009-2010 budget. Each Ladies Society Chair from her respective Parish presented the Parish Priest. We are pleased to inform that the newly established Parishes of the Western Diocese also participated with their Delegates and Parish Priests. The 2009 Report was also accepted during the Assembly.

The following reports were also presented: Summer Camp by the Diocesan Youth Director Rev. Fr. Avedis Abovian, the Board of Trustees of the Alfred and Marguerite Hovsepian School of St. Gregory the Illuminator, by Mr. Haroutioun Hilalian, the Ladies Auxiliary by Mrs. Cindy Norian, the Etchmiadzin Children's Fund by Mrs. Gayane Tatoulian, the Good Samaritans by Mrs. Debbie Derderian and Mr. Vahe Sargsyan, the Junior Godfathers of the Cathedral by Alice Chakrian. It was also mentioned that the Ladies Society Central Council was going to be named as one of the "Godfathers" of the Diocesan Cathedral. A candlelight vigil was held in the memory of the souls of the deceased members of the Ladies Society. The members of the 58^th Ladies Society Assembly group took a memorable photo with the Primate.

Second Session

At the start of the second session, the idea of the Ladies Society Central Council becoming one of the "Godfathers" of the Diocesan Cathedral was discussed. Elections were held following the discussion. The Chair of the Ladies Society Central Council Mrs. Araxie Boyamian expressed her gratitude to the Primate support and encouragement of all the Ladies Society Chapters. Mrs. Lena Simonian also informed the members about the "Victory Ball" dinner which is scheduled to be held following the opening of the Diocesan Cathedral. At the conclusion of the session, the Primate commended the members of the Ladies Society for their untiring enthusiasm and unyielding dedication to the Armenian Church. He also thanked the Parish Priests for supporting the Ladies Societies in each of their Parishes.

The Ladies Society Central Council is comprised of the following members:

Araxie Boyamian- Chair - Burbank Cathedral Parish

Lena Simonian - Vice Chair - Armenian Church in La Canada / Crescenta Valley

Ani Lanuza - Recording Secretary - St. John Garabed, San Diego

Aida Sethian - Corresponding Secretary - St. Gregory the Illuminator, Pasadena

Lucy Keshishian - Treasurer - St. John Garabed, Hollywood

Meline Agagianian - Advisor - Armenian Church in La Canada / Crescenta Valley

Arpi Barsam - Advisor - St. James, Los Angeles

Alice Skenderian - Advisor - St. Gregory the Illuminator, Pasadena

Auditing Committee:

Becky Jorjorian - St. James, Sacramento

Aida Eskijian - St. Sarkis, Santa Clarita