After a two-year pause on national, in-person programming, the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA) embarked on a special ministry: the ACYOA Seniors Mission Trip. The ACYOA Central Council was excited to once again offer this ministry to ACYOA Seniors from across the Eastern Diocese by partnering with Habitat for Humanity of North Central Georgia and the Armenian Church of Atlanta Mission Parish in Roswell, GA.
The Mission Trip was underwritten by the ACYOA Central Council using proceeds from the 2021 Bishop’s 5K, which covered the participants’ lodging, ground transportation, meals, and the fees to take part in a Habitat for Humanity house build.
Fifteen young adults, ranging from college students to working professionals, participated in the trip and were immersed in service, worship and fellowship. They traveled from ten states (New York, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Florida, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, California, Ohio, Georgia, and Louisiana), representing eleven parish communities of the Eastern Diocese. They were joined by group leader Fr. Yeprem Kelegian, along with Jennifer Morris of the Department of Youth and Young Adult Ministries and Dn. Armen Terjimanian.
The group arrived in Roswell on Thursday evening and were greeted by a number of parishioners from the Armenian Church of Atlanta Mission Parish. Early Friday morning, Fr. Yeprem Kelegian led the participants in prayer and discussion before the group took off for Gainesville, the site of the Habitat for Humanity house build. After meeting the Habitat for Humanity staff and acclimating themselves with the tasks ahead, the group got right to work – eager to lend a hand for two full work days as they played an integral role in building the foundation of a home for a family in need. The construction site stood a mere couple hundred feet from a house that was constructed in part by ACYOA Mission Trip participants in February 2020.
Lerna Lacinian, a member of the St. John ACYOA Seniors of Southfield, MI, was one of those participants in 2020. “St. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, ‘If I speak the tongues of mortals and ofangels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.’ The weekend that we spent in Atlanta was filled with love and joy. From putting up scaffolding at the site of Habitat for Humanity to singing and dancing with the parishioners at the Armenian Church of Atlanta, our faith grew stronger as we took part in this fellowship. As a returning ACYOA member to the Atlanta community on this mission trip, it felt like the warmth and the hospitality had not wavered at all. Thank you Der Yeprem and Jennifer for giving me the opportunity, once again, to come along on this eye-opening and life-changing trip.”
Southern Hospitality
After a full first day on the build site, the participants broke up into three groups and visited the homes of three families from the Atlanta Mission Parish. The participants entered their homes as strangers and left as family, sharing life stories and breaking bread together. By the end of their home visits, participants had trouble saying goodbye. “It felt as though I had known the family that I was so blessed to visit for my whole life. The hospitality in this community and in this parish is so heartwarming– true southern hospitality,” Lerna Lacinian added.
Before and after each trip to the construction site, group leader Fr. Yeprem Kelegian led a series of intimate and engaging group discussions relating our Armenian Apostolic Christian faith to daily life and the good works that the group were participating in over the weekend. Exercises included calling on participants to share a Bible verse or parable that epitomized their lives, as well as asking participants to recall a time when they felt like a “hero” to someone in their lives.
Nyree Masoian, joining the trip from San Ramon, CA, gave her thoughts on the discussions: “The evening reflections were an inspiring ending to each day. Der Yeprem facilitated meaningful group conversations about the day’s events and we all shared how our faith and values guide our life. The group grew closer together as we learned about our mutual aspirations and real life experiences of serving our community and helping those in need.”
Following Saturday’s house build day in Gainesville, where they had the opportunity to meet and work alongside the future owner of the home, the group gathered at the Armenian Church of Atlanta for vespers service and dinner with the parish community. The group served dinner to the parishioners which was shortly followed by a program from a few of the group’s participants. Nyree Masoian started the program off by reciting William Saroyan’s “The Armenian and the Armenian,” followed by two vocal solos by ACYOA Central Council member Andrew Yenicag of Holy Martyrs in Bayside, NY, singing a number by Charles Aznavour and “Yerevan Erebuni.”
A traditional Armenian dance was then performed by the trio of Sevana Mailian, Celene Philip, and Lerna Lacinian of St. John, Southfield, MI. Vardan Sargsyan, also of St. John and currently a Ministries Communications Assistant for the Eastern Diocese, concluded the program with a piano solo.
Amber Kallajian, a new member of the Atlanta parish community by way of St. John, Southfield, MI, was grateful to be a part of the Mission Trip experience: “I felt very blessed to be able to serve my community alongside both old and new friends. I’m so proud of our Armenian family and what we were able to accomplish in just a couple of days. It was exciting to have so many young leaders down in Atlanta for the weekend. It showed our Armenian community here that we are not alone, that we have brothers and sisters all around us.”
Patience, Faith, Vulnerability
The trip concluded on Sunday as the group participated in the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Fr. Yeprem Kelegian alongside Dn. Armen Terjimanian and Sub-Deacon Michael Sarafian of St. Hagop, Pinellas Park, FL. Andrew Yenicag was deeply moved during the Divine Liturgy as he sang along in the choir, saying, “There really was something special about being in that particular chapel together with this new family that I got to know over the course of the weekend. There is a lot of love in this parish community, similar to the love and sense of belonging that I also feel in my home parish.”
After a closing fellowship meal and parting conversations with members of the parish community, the group said their temporary goodbyes as they look forward to reconnecting at future ACYOA programs and ministries, including at the upcoming ACYOA Seniors National Lenten Retreat. Jackie Russell of St. Gregory of Narek, Richmond Heights, OH, added her sentiments on the trip as a whole: “Each of us was called by God to serve on this trip. However, this trip proved larger than our service. The Habitat for Humanity volunteers and families, the meditations led by Der Yeprem, and the warmth of the Atlanta Parish community served us. We learned the power of patience, faith, and vulnerability. We left Atlanta not only as friends but as stronger people and Armenians.”
Click here to view photos from the 2022 ACYOA Seniors Mission Trip.
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Follow @ACYOA on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on upcoming events, or subscribe to its e-mail newsletter by visiting www.acyoa.org. Contact Jennifer Morris at jenniferm@armeniandiocese.org or at (248) 648-0702 for information or questions.
By Andrew Yenicag