Prelacy Sunday School Directors and Teachers Attend Annual Sunday School Seminar

 

Prelacy Sunday School directors and teachers were invited to the annual Sunday School seminar, which was held on Saturday, October 12, 2013, from 12:30 pm to 5:00 pm, at the “Dikran and Zarouhi Der Ghazarian” Hall at the Western Prelacy.  The conference was held under the auspices of H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, and with the participation of clergy and over 35 Sunday School teachers.

The main theme of the meeting was “How to conquer challenges Sunday School students face in the 21st century”.  The day began with lunch.  The seminar convened with the invocation by the Prelate, followed by the Sunday School Anthem and opening remarks by Sunday School Board Co-Chair Mr. Raffi Torossian.

The first speaker was Rev. Fr. Karekin Bedourian, who spoke on “The Holy Bible and the Armenian Church within the Sunday School”. He stated, “It is important in this day and age especially to feature the Bible and the Church in the upbringing of our youth”. The second speaker was Mrs. Maral Bedevian, who is the Director of the Sunday School at the North Hollywood Church. She spoke about innovative ways in which teachers can teach, focusing on the necessity of using the Power Point program. The final speaker was Deacon Khatchig Shannakian, who spoke about “Christian ethics and the challenges the youth face in the 21st century”.  He noted, “Christian ethics does not resemble various other types of ethics, due to the fact that Christian ethics is based on the Bible and the teachings of Jesus Christ”.   He also noted that Sunday School teachers are at the forefront for teaching Christian ethics to the students and becoming second parents to the students.

The lectures were followed by hymnal teachings which were conducted by Rev. Fr. Ghevont Kirazian.

Thereafter, Very Rev. Fr. Muron Aznikian spoke to the teachers about the nature of their mission in the Church as Sunday School teachers. He also spoke about the seminar, stating; “As Sunday School teachers, today was a full day of self reflection, in which we came together to review our faith, with regards to the faith of the 5th century Holy Translators”. He then invited the Prelate to deliver his message.

The Prelate began his remarks by commending the speakers and the teachers for their participating in the seminar. He stated, “Let us close the seminar by keeping in mind that today is the Feast of the Holy Translators and if we understand the lyrics of the hymn “Vork Zartaretsin”, we will realize that the Holy Translators made great sacrifices in keeping the Christian faith and traditions alive”. His Eminence concluded by stating that the Holy Translators brought life to the teachings of God through the translation of the Holy Bible, and that we must live our lives as God wants us to live and steer clear of the many influences around us which can stray us away from the teachings of Jesus Christ.  The Prelate then presented each teacher with a gifts of educational and literary values, Mr. Garo Bedrosian’s three latest books, Feasts of the Armenian Church and National Traditions (Armenian and English versions), and Journey to the Armenian Heritage.

The seminar concluded with the benediction by the Prelate and the Cilician anthem, after which the participants attended a spiritually uplifting evening service held at the “St. Dertad and St. Ashkhen” Chapel.

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