As part of its effort to reach more deeply into local parish communities, the Eastern Diocese has appointed a new “Children and Family Ministry Council,” to advise on relevant educational and pastoral matters across the Diocese.
Fr. Hatch Sargsyan, the Diocese’s Interim Director of Ministries, undertook the project with the blessing of Diocesan Primate Fr. Mesrop Parsamyan. Over the past several weeks, Fr. Sargsyan reached out to teachers, clergy, and church school superintendents from local parishes, who bring many years service and experience to the council’s mission.
Along with Fr. Sargsyan himself (who is also pastor of St. Gregory of Narek Church in Cleveland, OH), the members include Fr. Garabed Kochakian (retired pastor, Southfield, MI), Dr. Arthur Asadorian (Holy Martyrs Church, Bayside, NY), Yn. Sirarpi Aivazian (longtime teacher and curriculum writer), Andrea Carden (St. Leon Church, Fair Lawn, NJ), Debbie Der Asadourian (St. James Church, Evanston, IL), Dr. Aline Babikian (virtual Sunday School, Cleveland, OH), Greg Burns (St. James Church, Evanston, IL), Yn. Arpi Kouzouian (Holy Trinity Church, Cambridge, MA), and Laura Purutyan (St. James Church, Watertown, MA).
The council gathered online for the first time in mid-January 2023. Under the leadership of the Primate they had a thoughtful and honest discussion of the potentials and challenges ahead. “We all want the same thing for our children and families,” said Fr. Mesrop: “to raise strong, educated Armenian Christians, who are deeply connected to our holy church.”
The Primate charged the council members with creating action plans to aid local Sunday Schools, assess the possibility of revising the current curriculum that has served the Diocese so well for many years, organize teacher training programs, and identify in-person and online opportunities for “spiritual formation.”
Coordination and Outreach
As part of this overall effort, the Diocese is seeking to employ a full-time coordinator of Children and Family Ministry, who will work hand-in-hand with the council members to address the needs of parishes and revamp Sunday School programming. Council members were clear during the initial meeting that identifying the right coordinator is crucial to the overall endeavor. But they also agreed that it would be equally important to promote engaging interaction with parents and teachers at the “grassroots level,” to make them part of the process of children’s education in the Diocese.
Among the obstacles to be overcome, the council members mentioned the problem of declining enrollment in Sunday school programs, the present lack of teacher training and spiritual formation (Andrea that the Eastern Diocese pioneered in former times), and the perennial need to build bridges to young families in the worship service.
The Children and Family Ministry Council will meet on a regular basis to address these and other issues. One council members, Yn. Sirarpi Aivaizan, has already started helping teachers by creating weekly guides for parents and teachers as well as for students. These guides can be found on the Diocese’s Vemkar website (www.Vemkar.us) as well as in the weekly Vemkar e-mail.
In the meantime, Fr. Sargsyan is eager to receive comments and ideas from the parishes–as well as recommendations to fill the coordinator’s position. Contact him at frhratch@armeniandiocese.org.
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