Third Annual St. Mary Armenian Church Festival 2011
Costa Mesa

October 9th proved to be the day for the Third Annual St. Mary Food Festival! After a week of terrible weather, the temperature was pleasant, the sun was shining, and the people were smiling. More than 1,200 church members, community members, friends, and family joined together under a 4000 sq. ft. tent, for fellowship and to experience the delightful sights and sounds of the festival, taste the delicious homemade food and enjoy the outstanding music and entertainment.

Participants indulged in such traditional Armenian delicacies as lamb shish kebab, chicken kebab, luleh kebab, shawerma plates and sandwiches, yalanchi, lahmajoun, rice pilaf, hummus, and cheese beoreg. And what could taste better with a cup of Armenian coffee than a delectable homemade pastry made by our hard working church women, such as baklava, choreg, kadayif, kurabia, and for the kids chocolate chip cookies & brownies! We even had Balboa Ice Cream bars.
Children took great pleasure in face painting, carnival games, bounce house, slide and playing with their friends. Our Zvartnots Children’s Choir and Dance group entertained the crowd with traditional Armenian songs and dances. Music was provided by Tom Bozigian and his band. His folkloric dance music even inspired St. Mary’s Adult Dance Class, under the direction of Simon the instructor, to demonstrate Armenian line dances.

Vendor booths featured our own Cultural Booth with books, CDs, DVDs, and artifacts; others included a variety of beautiful jewelry, clothing, fruits and nuts. We also held a 50-50 Raffle. Kotayk Armenian Lager Beer was a big seller, as was our take - out booth, where festival goers could take some of the foods home with them.
Attendance surpassed the previous year’s record . Many of the foods sold out, like the lamb and chicken kebab, and hummus. Everyone experienced the hospitality and friendliness that we Armenians are known for. Everyone was made to feel at home and “part of the family”.

Under the direction of Fr. Moushegh Tashjian, the festival was organized by Chairman Brian Der Matoian and committee members Yn Sylva Tashjian, Suren and Izzy Toumanian, Wayne and Debbie Simonian, Hovsep Bergciyan, Claudette Mekalian, Annette Singhal, Nina Yousefian, Rose Kaskavalciyan, Hagop Barin, Anita Karakesisoglu, Gevork Martirosian, Kris Mirzayan, Tony Markarian, Armenak Balian, Michael Hollis, Gevork Martirossian, Saro Semercian, Rosie Gharadaghian, Christeen Amloian, and Ara Calibasi.

The festival was made possible in part by generous donations and sponsorships, and many hours of volunteer service before and during the festival itself.
We hope to see you there next year!
 

Costa Mesa, CA.: Hundreds, including 4 bus-loads of pilgrims from Glendale and L.A. area attended worship at St. Mary Armenian Church in Costa Mesa. On Saturday, August 13, 2011 the eve of the Feast of Assumption of Holy Mother of God (Verapokhoum), over 260 pilgrims arrived from Glendale and L.A. area by four motorcoaches and private cars, to attend a one-hour prayer service, which included traditional evening services, prayers and hymns dedicated to holy Mother of God and congregation singing of Der Vogormia (Lord have Mercy) and Hayr Mer. Several visiting deacons also took part in the services. The Pastor of St. Mary Armenian Church, Archpriest Fr. Moushegh Tashjian welcomed the pilgrims and thanked Mr. Nahabed Melkonian and the Jerusalem Armenian Tarkmanchats School Alumni for organizing the annual pilgrimage. "Tonight the walls of this house of worship have trembled with your powerful prayers. Never in our church history so many pious faithful have entered this church together in such a brief time, and never so many hundreds of candles have been offered and illuminated St. Mary Church", said Fr. Moushegh. St. Mary Ladies Society and the Madagh Committee welcomed the guests with refreshments of Madagh meat sandwiches, choreg, dessert, grapes and strawberries in the Fesjian Hall, where a short program of speeches, recitation of psalms, songs and prayers ensued. All the pilgrims received favors as gifts, compliments of Peter & Henrietta Bodourian, church members. The pilgrims, some of whom first time visitors, departed at 11:00 p.m. , expressing their thanks and gratitude for such a genuine and heartwarming welcome by St. Mary parishioners.

On Sunday, August 14, Feast of Assumption of Holy Mother of God, Grape/Madagh Blessing and Name Day services were presided by Archpriest Fr. Moushegh Tashjian, Pastor who also conducted the Badarak assisted by church deacons and acolytes serving the Holy Altar. During the services, Fr. Moushegh delivered the sermon and blessed the grapes and Madagh which was shared with the faithful in the church. The Hovsepian Choir sang the hymns of the badarak and the variables of the day, directed by Dn. Rupen Ozsogomonyan. Over 400 pounds of lamb meat was cooked over the weekend and 1,000 sandwiches prepared by dozens of volunteers. After the services, a love meal was served in the Fesjian Hall, which included Madagh meat, rice and bulgur pilaf, Madagh sandwiches, salad, grapes and dessert. Of course, this being the annual fundraising day, congregation members, benefactors, supporters and church committees showered the church with outpouring donations and gifts. Albert Vartanian entertained the guests with beautiful inspiring music on the duduk, accordion and flute. A total of $100,000 was raised, of which $25,000 was donated by the Ladies Society. We thank committee chairman Mr. Armenak Balian for chairing this year's Madagh Committee.

Saint Mary Armenian Church of Costa Mesa in Orange County was the site of a very joyous Armenian Food Festival On October 10, 2010. Hundreds of Armenians from a plethora of backgrounds and non-Armenian guests from the surrounding community gathered at St. Mary to enjoy their culture and heritage. They watched St. Mary's own Zvartnots Dance and Choir Ensemble perform wonderful Armenian Dances. They enjoyed live music by Tom Bozigian and his band and danced "Shurch Bar". Admission was free and delicious homemade Armenian food was plentiful, including Lule Kabob, Chawarma, Yalanchi Dolma, Shish Kabob, and Lahmajoun. For dessert scrumptious baklava and other Armenian desserts were available along with Armenian Coffee. It was a pleasure to see Armenians of all ages enjoy each other's company and intermingle with each other. While the adults either danced, the kids enjoyed each other's company while bouncing in the giant bounce house, or when they were getting their faces painted at one of the the entertainment booths supervised my Mommy & Me parents. There were shopping booths for the visitors selling Armenian books, artifacts jewelry and hand crafted gifts. "The attendance has almost doubled from last year" said Arch-Priest Father Moushegh Tashjian with a great smile "I am so happy to see that our church has become a true Armenian Community Center in Orange County, besides weekly liturgy services, Saint Mary is home to AGBU Saturday School, Sunday School, Zvartnots Dance and Choir Ensemble, Mommy and Me, Mr. and Mrs. Club and Ladies Society." The festival was made possible with the cooperation and hard work of dozens of volunteers led by the St. Mary Parish Council, Festival Committee. "Vartzgernit Gadar."

"Dear St. Mary Festival committee,
Congratulations on a wonderful and highly successful event yesterday! The festival was was as perfect as the date: 10/10/10. Below is a link to a few pictures I took that you might enjoy. Sorry I didn't get around to get photos of everybody. We were a little busy (like all of you!) with the kids games.
Thank you all for the wonderful work you do for our beloved St. Mary parish!"

Sincerely,
Dr. John Hovanesian

Archpriest Fr. Moushegh Tashjian, Pastor attended the 3rd week of camp at beautiful 160-acre Armenian Church Western Diocese Camp also known as Camp High Sierra, near the Sequoia National Park in Dunlap, CA. Dozens of St. Mary Church youth from Orange County attended as well and enjoyed all the fun, together with other campers, counselors and staff totaling about 160. Activities included 2 daily chapels in the morning and afternoon. Classes of various topics, such as bile study, religion, liturgy, Armenian culture, music and dance arts and crafts, and outdoor activities such as swimming, boating, ball games, fishing, hiking and campfire. Camp started on July 18 and will last through August 14 (4 weeks). Fr. Moushegh attended 3 days during the 3rd week and taught liturgy, hymns of the Liturgy, Armenian songs and gave sermon during the evening service. Camp Chaplain for the 3rd week was Fr. Yeghia Hairabedian (St. Gregory, Fowler); Fr. Datev Tatoulian (St. John, San Diego) and Fr. Serop Azaryan (Armenian Church, Las Vegas) were present and participating. St. Mary campers were very happy to see their pastor with them at the camp. Also, Dn. Kevork Hallajian as instructor and Mary Washburn as camp nurse from our church were present.
There will be more campers from St. Mary attending during the 4th week.
In the pictures, Fr. Moushegh giving sermon to the campers' Fr. Moushegh, Dn. Kevork and Mary Washburn with St. Mary Church campers.

On Sunday June 13th Parishioners filled the Church and later the Fesjian Hall to celebrate the 18th Anniversary of the Consecration of our Church. Solemn Liturgy led by Primate Hovnan Derderian and assisted by Rev. Arch Priest Moushegh Tashjian. Hovsepian Choir and Zvarnots Youth Choir sang the beatiful hymns of our Badarak. The strength of the future of our church was evident in the presence of over eight children in the church. After a wonderful ceremony, a Love-Meal was served. During the program Hovsepian Choir sand traditional songs and Zvartnots Youth Dance Ensemble and Choir performed songs and several dances. The Hall was packed with parents, grandparents and parishioners who greatly enjoyed the performance of their children and grandchildren. After Father Mosuhegh's wonderful message, Primate Hovnan Derderian delivered the Benediction expressing his beliefs in the enormous importance of teaching our youth the Armenian culture and values and praised St. Mary for having exemplary youth programs and organizations.

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Zvartnots Dance ensemble performed for the first time with new instructor Baron Alex Khatchaturian at the Armenian Festival in Montebello on May 22nd. The girls dance was a smash hit as they danced in front of hundreds of Armenian people from all over! We would like to thank all the parents for participating and a pat on the back to our beautiful dancers!

Please join us to celebrate St. Mary’s 25th Anniversary on June 13th after church service for a reception as Zvartnots dance and choir ensemble will be performing.

Zvartnots is St. Mary's youth dance and choir ensemble. Don’t miss this opportunity for Cultural enrichment! Learn church hymns, traditional Armenian songs, and Armenian Folk Dances while making new friends. Sign up your kids now. For more information please see Zvartnots Flyer.

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The Ladies Society of St. Mary Armenian Church had a beautiful and successful event with their fourth annual luncheon/fashion show & silent auction at the Marriott Hotel Fashion Island. A Gentlemen's table was filled and they had fun participating in the silent auction. We thank the Fashion Show Committee for their hard work and for putting a beautiful event together. We also want our sponsors and donors to know how much we appreciate their support. The room was filled with parishioners and friends who came and enjoyed a beautiful day and supported this event.

On Thursday night, March 11th St. Mary held their annual Mitchink (Mid-Lent). The evening was extra special due to the presence of our Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, and because of the special services he was to officiate over. We started out with our Lenten services, and then Hovnan Srpazan met the several young boys he was going to ordain as Acolytes. The boys who participated were Arin Musurlian, Armand & Padric Pigeon, Elias Tchapadarian, Vahan Vorperian, Paul Yousefian and Anthony Zorayan. The acolyte ordination is comprised of the cutting of a small piece of hair on their head, symbolically giving the keys of the church, a broom, and the bible, and a candle. Near the end of the service, Hovnan Srpazan sat the boys around him, and had a touching and warm chat with them on the importance of serving their church. There was also a “Blessing of the Veil” ceremony held for Hasmik Keropian, Rosie Toumanian, & Izzy Toumanian. Baruyr Mirican was ordained as tbir as well. Everyone was given a beautiful certificate to take home with them.

Following services, the Ladies Society prepared a wonderful Lenten Dinner. The menu included dolma, fasoulya, spinach beoreg, salmon, roasted potatoes, and for dessert, halva & tangerines. Yum! Der Moushegh & Yn. Sylva, after dinner, led us in song. Then, Hovnan Srpazan made some presentations. A beautiful book entitled Karekin l “The Gift of Faith” was presented to Claudette Mekalian, Ladies Society Chairwoman, Suren & Izzy Toumanian, Parish Council Chairman & Sunday School Superintendent respectively, for all their hard work and service to the church. The Ladies Society was also presented with videos entitled “Armenia a Homeland Discovered”. Nishan & Ruby Derderian were presented with a beautiful, framed piece of artwork, for their many years of dedication to the Western Diocese.

It was a wonderful way of celebrating Mitchink/Mid-Lent with our community. Lent isn’t over, yet. Please come out every Thursday for our church services and Lenten dinners hosted by our various church organizations.

St. Mary Armenian Church Ladies Society held its 15th Annual Hye Style Afternoon Tea on Saturday, February 27, 2010. Our church's Fesjian Hall was completely transformed into a beautiful tearoom. 18 tables were exquisitely and uniquely decorated by 24 hostesses who were all acknowledged by Ladies Society Chairman Mrs. Claudette Mekalian, who thanked each and everyone of them and presented each hostess with a unique handmade vintage aprons specially made by Claudette Mekalian. A gourmet buffet table was prepared by Salpi's Catering and a special 15th Anniversary cake, donated by Sarkis Pastry was served to all guests. A special musical program consisting of Armenian songs was presented by a young talent Melineh Merdjanian. It was truly a very enjoyable afternoon!

On Saturday Night, February 13th 2010, Saint Mary was taken over by Indian families, French couples, Motorcycle riders, Criminals, Gypsies, Cowboys and by characters from all walks of life for a few hours. Zvartnots Choir and Dance Ensemble’s annual “Mardi Gras”, “Paregentan” Party was officially the “funnest” event held at the church. Guests enjoyed a great dinner and watched each other in amazement as they danced all night to the sound of festive music. It was hard to decide the winners of the costume contest since there were so many great outfits. “We have not had this much fun in a long time”, said some guests at the end of the night and vowed to return with even better costumes next year.

After a dismal week of cold and rainy weather, Sunday appeared with sunshine and comforting bowls of homemade soup. St. Mary’s Sunday school held their annual “Souper Bowl Soup Kitchen Fundraiser”. All the funds raised benefited FAR’s, (Fund for Armenian Relief), Soup Kitchen Program in Armenia. Each year, the Sunday School tries to recreate what a soup kitchen in Armenia would be like.
This year there were six different kinds of soup made by Maral Pigeon, Maral Derkrikorian, Ruth Markarian, Izzy Toumanian, and Nina Yousefian, Chairlady of this event. There was sure to be something that pleased every palette from red lentils to potato leek, minestrone to good ol’ chicken noodle to even a taco soup… Mm! Mm! Good!
Along with the soup, they had salad, bread, and simple cookies as part of the menu. A little more than what our brother and sisters in Armenia get, but it showed how blessed we are to have so much.
The final tally isn’t in yet, as there are still donations coming in. Each year the goal is to raise $1400.00. That is the amount needed to support all the Soup Kitchens in FAR’s program for 2 days. If you were unable to come out on Sunday, but still want to support this cause, the Sunday School is still taking donations.
A big thank you goes out to Jack Baghjajian, President of Perfect Sign in Santa Ana, for his generous donation of a banner for Sunday School’s Souper Bowl Soup Kitchen fundraiser. His participation in this endeavor is greatly appreciated.

Sunday School held its annual Nativity Play on Sunday, December 27^th to a packed house! It was fantastic to see all the students participating. The 6^th, 7^th & 8^th graders along with the High School class took care of all the narration and speaking parts, while the Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten class were angels. The roles of Mary, Joseph, the 3 Kings, & Shepherds in full costume were acted out by the 3^rd, 4^th, & 5^th graders and Barnyard Animals were acted out by the 1^st & 2^nd graders. What a sight to see! There were camels, donkeys, lambs, and let’s not forget the Christmas Star. We also had a Christmas Carole sing-a-long that the entire parish participated in. Silent Night, Hark! The Herald and Joy to the World! never sounded sweeter.

The play ended when the entire cast shouted out Shnor havor nor dari yev Soorp Dzenount! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

December 6th 2009 was a historic day for Saint Mary Armenian Apostolic Church of Costa Mesa. After the sixth annual Building Fund-Raiser event, St. Mary raised enough funds through hard work by the Parish Council, Building Fund Committee and especially by Arch-Priest Moushegh Tashjian to pay off the mortgage on their adjacent Apartment Building and paved the way for their future expansion plans.

Five years ago, St. Mary purchased the adjacent apartment building for future expansion. The Building Committee members and the Parish Council Members at the time promised the Parish Assembly that they would coordinate their efforts to pay the mortgage off in five years by paying it down every year in addition to making monthly payments.

The day started with the Morning Service at 10AM performed by Western Diocese Primate Archbishop Hovnan Derderian and our Arch-priest Moushegh Tashjian. The Primate gave a moving sermon about the Parable in the Gospel of St. Mark in which a man invites his friends and workers to come to his banquet, yet each decline to attend for different excuses. He then invites the hungry, the poor and the travelers who come and fill his table. The Primate then gave the Sunday School students each a prayer book and said that 20,000 copies of the prayer book will be dispersed to the faithful in the Diocese. Following the Badarak a short cocktail was served before the Fund-Raising Luncheon graciously sponsored by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Palanjian. As the parishioners enjoyed their delicious lunch, they were entertained by renown Violinist Meroujan.

During the Luncheon six hard working parishioners, Maryam Arslanian, Mariya Barin, Hovsep Bergciyan, Hilda Sakarya, Annette Singhal and Izzy Toumanian were bestowed upon the The Dicocesan "Hye Spirit Award" by the Primate for their service, devotion and dedication.

The Parish Council Chairman, Suren Toumanian opened the Luncheon with his remarks and introduced the event Chairman Hovsep Bergcyan who is also the Treasurer of the Building Committee and Parish Council. Hovsep invited Puzant Zorayan, The Building Committee Chairman to deliver his remarks.

The excitement in Fesjian Hall built up as the donations were announced and the total neared the amount needed for he payoff. Father Moushegh encouraged the Parishioners to come up with the final five thousand necessary to burn the mortgage. His Eminence, Primate Hovnan Derderian delivered the Benediction to close the days festivities.

The event ended with a traditional Armenian "Surch Bar" to celebrate the success of the Fund-Raiser. You can find more pictures from the event here.

What an amazing month Zvartnots has had thus far. In just four short weeks, membership has doubled and continues to grow each week as more families hear about what Zvartnots has to offer. Immediately following dance practice on Friday, October 27th, pizza was served to celebrate the success of the new beginning and Thanksgiving. Click here for pictures.

You don’t have to look beyond the two practice halls to see why the success. Professional dance teachers Alex Khachaturian and his wife Shushan effortlessly capture the attention of the dancers each week and instill in them the love of Armenian music and dance. Paying close attention to the students’ progresses and comprehensions, Alex and Shushan gently articulate their vast knowledge and expertise with the members in a relaxed atmosphere that is balanced with authority.

Don’t miss out on this wonderful opportunity to enrich your children’s lives with Armenian Culture. As they learn church hymns, traditional Armenian songs, and Armenian Folk Dances, they will build Armenian friendships that last a lifetime

Join us without any obligation. First lesson is free! Come see what everyone is raving about.

For more information, email us at zvartnots@stmaryarmenianchurch.com.

The 6th Annual Family Worship Sunday took place at St. Mary on November 15th. Our Sunday School students participated in the Badarak in very special ways, from the front door all the way to the altar! As our parishioners were greeted and welcomed, they entered the church to find children serving on the altar, presenting the bread and wine for Communion, and giving the Kiss of Peace. The children led the congregation in the Havadamk (Nicene Creed), presented the Maas to Der Moushegh for blessing, then packaged it up, and distributed it at the end of services to the congregation. They even passed the plate for collection and gave the bible reading of the day. From the very tiniest students of the Pre-Kindergarten class up to the oldest students in our High School class, everyone participated in this unique worship experience. While the children had fun, they also learned an important lesson…it takes many dedicated people to provide us with our Sunday services. Many thanks go out to our parishioners who support us year after year, and to Der Moushegh who continues to encourage our students to bring alive their Armenian Christian faith.

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