St. Vartan Armenian Church of
Very Rev.
Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan,
Pastor
Telephone
(905) 549-2711 stvartan@cogeco.ca
(905)
617-7888
Today’s service features:
Divine Liturgy @
Just as our bodies have many parts
and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are all parts of His one body, and each of
us has different work to do. And since
we are all one body in Christ, we belong to each other, and each of us needs
all the others. Romans 12:4-5
Welcome to
St. Vartan Armenian Church
If you are a newcomer to St. Vartan, it is a pleasure to welcome you to our Badarak this
afternoon. Thank you for making time in
your busy schedule to be with us. We believe that you will sense God’s Spirit among
us as we worship today. Requiem services can be requested for the next church
service by calling Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan.
Requiem services have been requested
today by Mr. Andranik Tchaderjian
and family, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel and Shahan Madzounian and family, Mr. and Mrs. Sarkis and Lucie Hamboyan, Dr. and Mrs. Herag and
Silva Hamboyan and family, Mr. and Mrs. Aram and Hoori Hamboyan-Adgemian for the loving memory of Mrs. Rofik Tchaderjian (40
days). May God bless her soul.
Q. Is It Important to Read the Bible?
Or, Is Going to Church and Praying Enough?
Being a member of the
Q. Isn't
the Church Just For Old People?
No! It wasn't the old people that fought and died with St. Vartan
in 451 A.D. to defend the faith! In the 1,960 years since Thaddeus and
Bartholomew (two of Jesus' Apostles) preached in
We Welcome Newcomers and Visitors
Immediately following the
service today we have a coffee hour and we invite you to join us in the parish
hall. We’re glad you’re here and we hope
to see you again. Our next service is
Sunday, March 26 at
Did you know? News
Stories and Photos Now Available on St. Vartan’s
Website: www.stvartan.ca.
Join the St. Vartan
Family
It’s time for our annual
family meeting. Yes, it’s time for us to
look over the past year, and see how we can make next year even better. Please join us after today’s Divine Liturgy,
when St. Vartan’s annual general meeting and election
of officers will take place. His Grace Bishop Bagrat Galstanian will bless us with his presence and prayers for
a successful meeting.
St. Vartan
will be electing, for a one-year term, two members to its nominating committee,
three members to its auditing committee and one person as diocesan
delegate. Plus, we will be electing five
new parish councillors to sit on the parish council for a two-year term.
This growing church needs
helping hands, creative minds and loving hearts to ensure its present and
future. Please become a member of St. Vartan’s and
either vote or consider serving in one of these positions this afternoon.
Only paid members are
allowed to vote or be voted to office. Please don’t forget to pay your annual
church membership dues of $100 per family and $60 per individual.
We Thank You
We thank our retiring
Parish Council members for their devotion over the past two years. May God bless them and their families and
keep them ever near to share their valuable experience and advice. Completing their term of office are: Les Hamblin, Ani Kerametlian, Ian MacLennan, Lily Sevadjian and Vartegez Simonian. With one year remaining in their term are Vahe Davidkhanian and Ani Shalvardjian.
Yes, There’s Tavloo Too!
Evening Service & Bible Study
This Friday
Join us for a short evening service
and Bible study with Very Rev. Fr. Hayrik Hovhannisyan this Friday, March 10 at
The evening service and Bible study
are held at St. Cuthbert’s Anglican Church at
DIVINE LITURGY
Evening Service & Bible Study
Schedule for March 2006
Are You On
Our Mailing List?
Please fill out the forms you can
find on clipboards at the doors of the church today. The Parish Council needs your help to keep
its mailing list up-to-date. Sign up to
receive church news by email.
Sunday of
the Steward (Fr. Vazken Movsesian,
St. Peter’s
March 12, the second Sunday of Lent,
we remember the story of the dishonest steward /aneerav
dendesse (Luke 16) who was about to lose his job as
manager to a rich man. He asks each of
the people who owe money to his boss to pay what they can, while reducing the
size of their debts. Despite his
dishonesty, his boss praises him for the money he brings in.
What is the point of this
story? Honesty is always best. Jesus is telling us that the citizens of this
world are more shrewd than the godly. He
says if we aren’t honest and trustworthy with our money here, no matter how
much or how little we have, we will be unfit for the riches of God’s kingdom. Jesus encourages us to maintain our integrity
in all matters, and use the talents we have been given to make friends, to
bring the people to God and prepare ourselves for the next world.
God Knows
Your Heart
One day we will have to give God an
accounting of our stewardship in this world and we will be judged, not just on
our faith, but by our actions too. God will ask us, how many people did we
bring to God; how many people learned about God because of us? We must help one
another by using the gifts He has given us. This is a great responsibility we
have been given. The steward may have fooled his boss, but we cannot fool
God. God knows our hearts and we cannot
lie to him.
This dishonest steward is used by
Jesus to show us it is not enough to say “Jesus is my Lord and Saviour” and
then do whatever we want because God loves us.
Faith has to be expressed as honest work using the talents God has
blessed us with. Whatever is our
calling, we are all managers of our lives, and we must do the very best we
can. God will ask us: how many people
found peace, harmony and love because of what you did; how many people found
the love that I gave you through your Saviour, my Only Son?
We are all stewards, all managers of
the
Expulsion
Sunday (Fr. Vazken Movsesian,
St. Peter’s
Expulsion Sunday reminds us of how
sin enters into our lives and prevents us from experiencing the best of life
and God’s fullness (Genesis 1-3). This is the first Sunday of Lent. If there was a curtain before our altar
today, it would be closed and the Divine Liturgy would take place behind the
curtain. The curtain is symbolic of all
that keeps us from God. With the curtain
closed, we would know that Soorp Badarak is going on,
but we wouldn’t be able to participate in it.
It forces us to think about what life would be like without Christ. It reminds us that sin is what prevents us
from truly enjoying God, from being one with God.
Called Ardakhsman
Sunday, this Sunday of the Expulsion focuses on the story in Genesis of Adam
and Eve who ate the forbidden fruit in order to be like God. It reminds us of
how we were thrown out of paradise and teaches us that God has given us free
will. Forbidden fruit is all around us, and we have the choice of eating it or
choosing to be close to God and obeying his commandments.
Reflection
and Self-Evaluation
Lent is a time for reflection and
self-evaluation. The Church guides us through this period by offering means of
self-discipline and instruction, from dietary restrictions to meditation and
prayers.
It is a time to slow down, to
realize what choices we are making, what we consider important in our lives.
Ask yourself, what is really necessary to live?
Life is made up of excesses which clutter our lives and our values.
It is love that must be at the
centre of your Lenten journey, because it is the one ingredient of life that
gives meaning and purpose to life. Love
is a necessity of life that needs to be cultivated and nurtured during Lent, so
that it can become the main purpose of your life afterwards. The goal is to be in love and harmony with
your family, friends and nature.
Take the opportunity to read the
Bible and really pray with your heart, not just reciting words to God, but
really communicating with Him. Take time
to meditate and look at what is happening around you in your life. When you are able to be at peace with
yourself, you will find that God is not far away, just like when the curtain
across the altar is opened, you can see God on the other side. God is always with us. We are the ones putting up barriers to God
with the sin in our lives.
Our next Badarak will be