News
NPR: "It's A Dangerous Time For Christians In Northeastern Syria"
Christians have been worrying since Turkish troops entered the area in November to attack Kurdish forces, after U.S. forces moved troops out of the way. Some Christians vow to stay no matter what. Listen to 4 minute report: |
Soorp Badarak on 27-Oct with Hayr Simeon
(see attached newsletter) St. Garabed Armenian Church invites you and your family to a special church service (Sovrb Patarag) on Sunday October 27 at 10:30 A.M. A solemn Requiem (Hogyhangist) will be offered during the Divine Liturgy in memory of Bob Branning, who passed away on Sept. 29, 2019. May the Lord Comfort his family and friends and grant them strength and peace. A potluck meal will be served after the service. Пожалуйста, присоединыстес к нам для особого Святого Бадарака, который проведёт отец Симеон Одабшян. Воскресенье, 27 октября 2019 года в 10:30 Будет реквиюм. В памяти Боба Браннинга, скончавшегося 29 сентября 2019 года Пусть Господь утешит его семью и друзей и дарует им силу и мир. Ужин будет подан после обслуживания |
Bob Branning
To the Armenian Church Members and friends: With great sorrow and heavy hearts, we come to inform you the passing away of Bob Branning. Bob, alongside with his dear wife Lygie, was a great supporter of the Armenian community of Kansas City. When the St. Garabed Church was purchased, Bob dedicated his time and expertise in renovating the kitchen and the dining area. He was a devout supporter of the Nagorno-Karabakh Liberation movement, and had participated in marches in Paris with Armenian patriots. Bob and Lygie with their kind and compassionate hearts had sponsored several Armenian families, who had fled the Azeri atrocities and sought refuge in Kansas City. Visitation will be held from 1:00 – 2:00 pm, Saturday October 5, 2019 followed by the Funeral Service. Location: The Johnson County Memorial Chapel 11200 Metcalf Ave. Overland Park, KS 66210 For more info please visit: https://www.johnsoncountychapel.com/notices/Robert-BranningJr Our heartfelt condolences to Lygie, Angele, Andre and their families. May the Lord grant them comfort, strength and peace. Bob will be greatly missed. His legacy of love and kindness will forever be remembered! May he rest in peace! With heartfelt condolences Armenian Church Board Members October 1, 2019 |
Farewell to Deacon Vrej and Anke
On September 14, 2019, we gathered at the St. Garabed Church to bid Good Bye to Deacon Vrej Minasian and his lovely wife Anke, as they have decided to move to Florida. We are grateful for their eight years of service to the church and their warm friendship and support. We wish them God’s blessings and guidance. They will be greatly missed! |
Armenian Genocide Commemoration
The Armenian Community of Greater Kansas City invites you to: Armenian Genocide Commemoration Wednesday April 24, 2019 6:30 - 7:00 pm At the St. Garabed Armenian Church |
Alabama Becomes 49th U.S. State to Recognize the Armenian Genocide
MOBILE, AL – Alabama officially became the 49th U.S. state to recognize the Armenian Genocide when Governor Kay Ivey issued a powerful proclamation recognizing the Ottoman Turkish Empire’s centrally-planned and executed annihilation of close to three million Armenians, Greeks, Assyrians and Syriacs from 1915-1923, according to the Armenian National Committee of America – Eastern Region (ANCA-ER). “We welcome this proclamation by Governor Ivey, making Alabama the 49th state in the union to officially re-affirm this international crime against humanity,” said ANCA-ER Board Chairman Steve Mesrobian. “This proclamation serves as a powerful reminder that truth about genocides should never be held hostage to the denial of its perpetrators and those who continue to profit from that crime. We salute the Alabama Armenian community and our ANCA coalition partners who together stand united in our efforts to create awareness about the Armenian Genocide and prevent future such atrocities,” said Mesrobian. While Governor Ivey’s proclamation notes that the Ottoman Turkish government’s crime “still requires justice,” it also provides a glimpse into Alabama’s active participation in the Near East Relief’s efforts during the Armenian Genocide as well as the U.S. recognition of the Armenian Genocide in 1951. The proclamation recognizes genocides that followed the Armenian Genocide as well as the act of genocide committed against Christians and Yazidis by ISIL, recognizing that proper commemoration and awareness and education about the Armenian Genocide helps ensure that similar atrocities do not occur again. “I am so proud of the work that the ANC of Alabama and our friends in Alabama have done to obtain this official recognition of the Armenian Genocide,” said ANC of Alabama activist Jack Hagopian. “Armenians have long called Alabama home, aiding in the education and awareness of the Armenian Genocide throughout the state. It brings me great pleasure to know that our work has been successful. I know that we will continue to educate, motivate and activate our community to ensure that the cycle of genocide comes to an end.” With the addition of Alabama as the 49th state, Mississippi remains as the last U.S. state to officially recognize the Armenian Genocide. The full text of Gov. Ivey’s proclamation is provided below. ##### PROCLAMATION WHEREAS, during the Armenian Genocide from 1915-1923, one and one-half million ethnic Armenian men, women and children as well as over one million Greeks, Assyrians, Syriacs and others were massacred as part of the planned complete eradication of those indigenous communities by the Ottoman Turkish Empire during the first modern genocide that still requires justice; and WHEREAS, Near East Relief’s efforts, with the active participation of the State of Alabama, resulted in delivering unprecedented 117 million dollars of assistance from the American people between 1915 and 1930, that directly resulted in the salvation of the Christian Armenian, Greek, and Assyrian survivors from being completely annihilated by the genocide; and WHEREAS, Raphael Lemkin cited both the systemic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire and the Jews, Gypsies, Poles and others by the Nazis when he coined the word Genocide in 1943; and WHEREAS, the United States government first officially acknowledged the Armenian Genocide in 1951, in a document submitted to the International Court of Justice; and WHEREAS, the Republic of Armenia, the Hellenic Republic, the Republic of Cyprus, and the Republic of Artsakh are now free, independent, democratic states and strategic allies of the United States of America in the region; and WHEREAS, other cases of genocide include the killings in Cambodia in 1975, the massacres in Bosnia in 1992, the slaughter in Rwanda in 1994 and now in the 21st century, the displacements and deaths in Darfur as well as targeting of religious minorities by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in the Middle East; and WHEREAS, the United States House of Representatives adopted H. Con. Res. 75 in 2016, declaring the atrocities perpetrated by the ISIL against Christians, Yezidis and other religious and ethnic minorities in Iraq and Syria war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide; and NOW, THEREFORE, I, Kay Ivey, Governor of the State of Alabama, do hereby proclaim April 2019 as GENOCIDE AWARENESS MONTH. https://er.anca.org/press-release/alabama-becomes-49th-u-s-state-to-recognize-the-armenian-genocide/ People lay flowers to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks, at the Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex in Yerevan, Armenia, April 24, 2018 Alabama has become the 49th U.S. state to officially recognize Ottoman-era killings and deportations of Armenians as genocide. Kay Ivey, Governor of the State of Alabama, proclaimed April 2019 as Genocide Awareness Month. “We welcome this proclamation by Governor Ivey, making Alabama the 49th state in the union to officially re-affirm this international crime against humanity,” said Armenian National Committee of America-Eastern Region Board Chairman Steve Mesrobian. “This proclamation serves as a powerful reminder that truth about genocides should never be held hostage to the denial of its perpetrators and those who continue to profit from that crime.” Thus, all U.S. states except Mississippi have recognized the Armenian Genocide. Since the 1960s, the Armenian community of the United States has sought Washington’s reaffirmation that the massacres of 1.5 million Armenians in Ottoman Turkey in 1915 constituted genocide and its condemnation of the crime. However, the White House leaders have generally avoided the use of the term genocide in their annual addresses and offered their support in the reconciliation of Armenians and Turks. The 44th and 45th U.S. Presidents, Barack Obama and Donald Trump, used the Armenian expression “Meds Yeghern” in their April 24 messages. |
“Prince of Armenia”
“Prince of Armenia” written by Nshan Erganian, brother of St Garabed parishioner Carolyn Freese: |
France’s Macron Announces April 24 National Day Marking Armenian Genocide
Article in English here: Video in French here: |