Lscc Leads Pilgrimage To St. Mary Armenian Church In Yettem

On October 17, 2017, the Ladies Society Central Council (LSCC) of Western Diocese organized a second pilgrimage to St. Mary Church of Yettem, the former being to St. John Garabed Armenian Church in San Diego.

The purpose of these visitations are to strive to strengthen the bond of Christian fellowship among all the members, to adopt and implement plans for the effective functioning of Ladies Society Chapters and try to resolve any problems that arise among members.

Present were chairlady Lena Simonian, vice-chairlady Arpi Barsam, recording secretary Aida Chakarian, advisors Meline Agagianian and Melene Ouzounian. The visitations also included many ladies society members of St. Leon Cathedral, St. James LA, St. Peter Van Nuys, Holy Apostles Crescenta Valley, and St. Paul Fresno & St. Gregory Fowler Churches.

The group received a warm welcome by Rev. Fr. Zaven Markosyan, Parish Priest of St. Mary Yettem, Chairlady Debbie Sheklian & ladies society members.

Fr. Zaven Markosyan along with Fr. Yessai Bedrossian Parish Priest of St. Paul Church Fresno and Archpriest Fr. Vartan Kasparian, former parish priest of St. Mary Yettem  performed a short prayer service after which Fr. Zaven  gave the spiritual message of how to nurture our spiritual lives.

After prayer service, we were invited to a luncheon hosted by the ladies society members. Chairlady, Debbie Sheklian, introduced the members and gave a summary of their work accomplishments as well as the challenges they are facing now. Archpriest Fr. Vartan Kasparian gave a speech on the importance of holy communion and how to properly receive the Body and Blood of Christ. Lena Simonian, chair of the LSCC, thanked Fr. Zaven as well as Debbie, the chairlady and all the members for their sincere and warm hospitality. She stressed the importance of Christian Education within the family proclaimed by the Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian as main theme of the Diocese in the year 2018. She also stressed that Christian education is essential in strengthening our young people as they prepare to go into the world as the next generation of God’s warriors.

There was an impressive slide presentation reflecting on the 100-year history of St. Mary Church. The pilgrimage concluded with question and answer sessions mostly stressing the importance of how to preserve the Christian identity and pass it on to the next generations. The ladies departed spiritually uplifted with the hope of revisiting in the near future.