During the weekend of March 25-27, the Armenian Church Youth Organization of America (ACYOA) gathered 35 young adults from across the Eastern Diocese for its 2022 ACYOA Seniors National Lenten Retreat.
At the scenic St. Iakovos Retreat Center in Kansasville, WI, participants were joined by Diocesan clergymen and laypeople for an enriching retreat focused on spiritual reflection and fellowship.
The retreat was underwritten by the ACYOA Central Council, covering all costs of the program for participants, including lodging and meals at the retreat center.
Participants arrived on Friday, March 25, ecstatic to be reunited once again with old friends for the first time in a long time. For some of the weekend’s attendees, the last in-person ACYOA ministry that they took part in was also at the St. Iakovos Retreat Center: the ACYOA Seniors National Fall Retreat held in November 2019. Bishop Daniel Findikyan, who spent the entire weekend with the ACYOA Seniors, was overjoyed by the smiles and emotions expressed by the participants as they all reconnected.
The retreat kicked off Friday evening with a series of icebreakers and fun team-building exercises led by ACYOA Central Council Ministries and Outreach co-coordinators Melissa Fanizza and Ani Misirliyan. Participants were then asked to reflect upon their Lenten season journeys, filling the walls of the St. Iakovos Retreat Center with notes on what Great Lent meant to them.
The evening concluded with a beautiful Vespers service and reflection led by Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan, the Diocesan Director of Ministries, setting the tone for a weekend retreat focused on disconnecting from the outside world and being present in their spirituality.
Saturday morning, retreat participants kicked off a full day of workshops with a Matins service led by Fr. Guregh Hambardzumyan of St. John the Baptist Church (Greenfield, WI). Kathryn Ashbahian, Program Administrator of the Eastern Diocese’s Department of Youth & Young Adult Ministries, led the first session of the day entitled “To Whom Do I Belong?” In a current world where human attention is constantly divided, this session offered participants the chance to reflect upon the distractions they encounter on a daily basis and relate that to a passage from Henri J. M. Nouwen’s book, The Return of the Prodigal Son.
Saturday’s second session was led by Bishop Daniel and entitled “Building up the Body of Christ: In Living Color.” The session was marked by an engaging, back-and-forth discussion between Bishop Daniel and the retreat participants as they dissected a unique icon of Mary and Jesus, at the time of Jesus’ birth.
Service to Others
Following lunch, participants were introduced via Zoom to Sarah Stites, Development Officer of Ayo!, the Fund For Armenia Relief (FAR) fundraising platform driving local solutions to local challenges across Armenia. Sarah shared her life story as a diasporan living in Armenia and gave updates on Ayo!’s impactful projects. ACYOA Seniors participating in this summer’s Armenia Service Program will have the opportunity to volunteer in a community project with Ayo!
Later on Saturday afternoon, the ACYOA welcomed Fr. Avedis Kalayjian of St. Mesrob Church (Racine, WI), for a session titled “Holy Week at a Glance.” Fr. Avedis led the group through the intricacies of Holy Week services and gave participants the opportunity to dive deeper into various moments of Holy Week by tying together how those moments are depicted through iconography, hymns, and the Holy Bible.
A key component of the season of Lent, and one of five circles of the ACYOA, is service. Coming into the weekend, retreat participants were asked to bring socks for donation to two homeless shelters serving hundreds of men, women and children in Wisconsin and Illinois. Following dinner on Saturday evening, the participants spent time writing heartfelt messages on cards to tie to the pairs of socks. The hundreds of pairs were then collected and delivered by Fr. Andreas Garabedian of St. Gregory the Illuminator Church (Chicago, IL) and Fr. Yeprem Kelegian.
Saturday evening’s Vespers service was celebrated by Fr. Garabedian. The powerful service combined various forms of prayer used in the Armenian Apostolic Church, helping to convey the importance of continual prayer in a distracted world and the power of taking in God’s light and passing said light on to others in our communities. Saturday evening concluded with a campfire filled with treats, music, games and laughs amongst all of the participants.
On Sunday morning, the group wrapped up the retreat by participating in the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan, with the sermon offered by Bishop Daniel Findikyan. After a closing brunch and session reflecting on the retreat at large, the group departed St. Iakovos Retreat Center with a renewed energy and light to share with their families, friends and peers. The ACYOA Central Council sends its heartfelt gratitude to all of our Diocesan clergy who dedicated their time over the weekend to help deliver a wonderful retreat experience.
Click here to view photos from the 2022 ACYOA Seniors National Lenten Retreat.
Upcoming Events
The ACYOA Central Council invites ACYOA Juniors and Seniors on April 10 to take part in the last Sunday Scripture virtual discussion until Fall 2022, led by Fr. Tavit Boyajian of Sts. Joachim and Anne Church (Palos Heights, IL). The 2022 ACYOA General Assembly & Sports Weekend will take place in Dallas, TX, from May 26-30 and is open to ACYOA Seniors.
Follow @ACYOA on Facebook and Instagram to stay up-to-date on upcoming events, or subscribe to its email 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