Mark Brunet came to Armenia with charitable purposes driving a bicycle


YEREVAN, OCTOBER 1, ARMENPRESS: Mark Brunet is the name of the person, who came to Armenia with charitable purposes driving a bicycle from his motherland, passing territory of 6000 kilometers. Mark launched his biking tour on July 21 from his native town Valence.

The trip passed through more than ten countries: Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia, Turkey and Georgia. From the very beginning of the trip Brunet traveled alone, without anybody’s assistance. He slept in a tent or in the houses of random people that he met on his way. On September 26 Brunet reached Ijevan, which is the sister town of Valence.

According to Armenpress, as was reported by Mark Brunet at the press conference on October 1, Armenia was a very valuable fact for him, but he hardly remembered when he had read or heard about Armenia for the first time.

“I did not even think about such reception and enthusiasm expressed by the Armenian people. There was already the idea of the preliminary motivation and interest and that was enough”, - said Mark Brunet.

Mark Brunet has a recording studio in France and he is an amateur sportsman as well. He initiated this trip not only as a sports fan. His objective is humanitarian. During his trip he collected means for the organizations “Hope for Armenia” of France and “Armenian Missionary Association of America”, which have worked together in Armenia for more than 20 years. The collected means will be allocated for the restoration of the heating system of “Arevik” kindergarten.

“What I have done is not a deed. I just turned the pedals of my bike. The real deed was made by the people, who provided those money. In total about USD 10,000 was collected”, - said Brunet. He did not forget to mention as well, that he was astonished by the nature and sightseeings of Armenia.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of France to the Republic of Armenia Henri Reynaud named the act of Mark Brunet a real deed and considered the implemented mission to be a connecting cycle between Valence and Yerevan. Mark Brunet will definitely return to Armenia with the purpose of new discoveries.

Source: http://armenpress.am

An Interview with Haig Kherlopian (USA), on his initiative to raise funds for Syria

While we are seeing the destruction of Syria and the killing of innocent civilians, Christians in general and the Armenians in specific have quickly joined hands in sending food and help to the Syrian people. While collective efforts are much needed, individuals have also taken initiative in helping relieve some of the challenges facing the Syria people. Haig Kherlopian, the pastoral intern in Armenian Martyrs’ Congregational Church in Havertown, Pennsylvania, USA, has partnered with AMAA to raise funds for Syria, by running the marathon. In order to understand the reasons and to get to know Haig further, we conducted with him this interesting interview.

(Interview by Raffi)

Raffi - Who came up with the initiative to fund raise for Syria through the marathon run? 
Haig - I was looking at different charities that were sponsoring the Philadelphia Marathon, but none of the organizations spoke to me either because I was not passionate about them or they were organization that funded research that had too much overhead costs. So I contacted the Armenian Missionary Association and talked to them about running for one of their missions’ projects. Syria relief was the one that made the most sense. My father is originally from Homs, Syria. It seemed like the right thing to do.

Raffi - Who was supportive to you?
Haig - My church community was the biggest support group. I am a pastoral intern at the Armenian Martyrs’ Congregational Church in Havertown, Pennsylvania. They supported me with their encouragement and prayers for my health. They gave financially to the cause and continue to pray for the region. My friends also helped out a lot. Many non-Armenian friends gave contributions. The great thing about this fundraiser was that it was a lot of smaller contributions with different types of people supporting the event.

Raffi - Did you find people appreciative or negative? What was your reaction to both?
Haig  - For the most part people were appreciative. People like donating to causes that have an immediate impact. When I was telling them that it would help bring food and water to people in need, they were glad that their giving would be put to use on something that was tangible.  The reality is many Americans are ignorant on the details of what is happening in the Middle East. With the presidential election, Hurricane Sandy, and the Petraeus affair taking up the news headlines in recent months, it was good to remind people of what is still happening in Syria.
Raffi - How did you prepare for this run?
Haig - While I was studying in Seminary, I did two half marathons. They were necessary steps to take before running the full marathon. On my day off, which is Mondays, I would do a long run at a nearby state park. I listened to audio books and/or Christian progressive rock music during my long runs because I can get bored easily. Whenever I had time in my schedule during the week, I would go on shorter runs, which was usually after work.

Raffi - What kind of difficulties did you face before and during the run?
Haig - People talk about hitting a wall when running a marathon. I hit the wall close to Mile 24. My legs cramped up when I stopped for the last water station. I ran a really slow couple of miles at the end and it hurt my finish time. It was also difficult to ignore all the people running pass me. I did my best not to run their race, but stay true to my pace.

Raffi - How did you feel after finishing?
Haig - My goal was to just finish, so I felt good that I was able to scratch the Marathon off my To Do List.  Whatever energy I had after the race was used to focus on Youth Group in the evening. My thoughts and feelings were on 1st Corinthians which is what we are studying for Youth Group. 1st Corinthians 9:24-27 was on my mind towards the last five miles of the race, it motivated me to finish.

Raffi - What will happen with the raised funds?
Haig - The funds will be given to Armenians in Syria through the Armenian Missionary Association of America (AMAA). They will provide provisions and help keep Armenian schools operational. Donations went straight to the AMAA.

Haigazian University Founders’ Day Celebration


Haigazian University celebrated its Founders’ Day on Monday, October 15, 2012, in the presence of Board members, faculty, staff and students.

 The processional march kicked off the annual event, which pays tribute to the unaiversity’s founders. Following the Lebanese national anthem, a prayer of invocation was offered by thenew campus minister, Rev. Bruce Schoup.

 Dr. ArdaEkmekji, the Dean of Arts and Sciences at Haigazian,prepared a special presentation about the historical HU Rocket Society, famous for being the first to launch a rocket in the Middle East during the 1960s, the age of space exploration. The audience was then shown the movie trailer for “The Lebanese Rocket Society”, a documentary film by Joanna Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige that was featured at this year’sToronto International Film Festival.

 After a short musical interlude, in which Arno Babajanian’s “Elegie” was beautifully performed by current Haigazian student ShogherGerboyan,Haigazian University President Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian delivered a speech for this commemorative celebration, placing particular significance on the university athletics department.

 In his address, Haidostian acknowledged all the various sports teams of the university, praising them for their effort and dedication. Additionally he stressed on the importance of the university’s collaboration through a memorandum of understanding with the Beirut Marathon Association, an internationally recognized non-profit and non-governmental organization that aims to promote unity and wellness in Lebanon now and for generations to come.

 Mrs. May El Khalil, the president of the Beirut Marathon Association, was the keynote speaker of the event. After presenting a brief overview of the organization’s history and development over the years, Khalil concentrated on the main traits that make any organization a success, such as vision, perseverance and belief, all of which are vital to the sport of marathon running.

 Furthermore Khalil discussed the memorandums of understanding with the universities and how this relates to the importance of youth participation in national events. As she spoke, Khalil also revealed inspirational photos from the Beirut Marathon over the years in a powerpoint presentation.

 Afterwards, President Haidostian presented El Khalil with a plaque of appreciation and congratulations in celebration of Beirut Marathon’s 10th Anniversary.

 At the conclusion of the ceremony everyone rose to sing the university’s Alma Mater, which was followed by the recessional.




Muslim - Christian Dialogue is the only way towards peaceful Co-existence

There is no doubt that to get access to people's convictions is not easy, but as it’s imperative to bring about change and development and improvement it is essential and important to get into people’s beliefs and convictions. Because the difficulty of change lies in accepting the implications of this change and its requirements, the conviction plays a very important role for the success of the process of change. You must have the conviction in order to accept change and become an active participant and a contributor to this major development of change.

And when the issue at hand becomes subject to extensive dialogue it suddenly includes all segments of society, and when this happens the importance of the change becomes the driving force and you need the conviction and belief in it to promote it and make it viable for our whole society and that means all strata of society. This will force dialogue, and the ultimate goal is not total agreement on everything but at least partial agreement on the importance and the overall idea and the necessity of change which will keep the dialogue and the move towards change alive.

On Friday, 12th of October 2012, Rev. Haroutune Selimian, President of the Armenian Protestant Community in Syria, warmly welcomed the Islam Religious Leaders, at his office.

During the meeting they discussed the political reforms taking place in Syria. They especially focused on the current developments, dangers, troubles and problems facing Syria these days. Syria has in the course of the past year-and-a-half become the scene of killings and violence executed by the opposition parties thus turning Syria into a land that lacks peace after years of being a great symbol of peace and security.

Rev. Selimian said. “In these abnormal, sad and inhumane circumstances that face Syria, the Armenian community, which was and still is an integral part of the Syrian people, has endured and still bear all the difficulties and troubles testing all citizens without exception. Our community with its institutions, organizations and its church have for years worked on the development of Syria and the progress of its people. Until today this Armenian Community takes a neutral stand in regards to the situation, led by the basic principle of its people that we want to be a productive and positive segment of the Syrian society.”

At the end of the meeting, the Islam Religious Leaders thanked for the opportunity of sharing thoughts with the Armenian President of the Evangelical Community and said. “Muslim -Christian dialogue is the only way towards peaceful co-existence.”


Armenian Evangelical ARMISS choir will perform in BEIRUT CHANTS Festival‏



Dear Friends,

It is with great pleasure that I want to announce that Armenian Evangelical ARMISS Choir has been selected as one of the performers for Beirut CHANTS 2012 festival. The Armiss concert, dedicated for Christmas, will take place on Wednesday, December 12, at 8 pm, in Armenian Catholic St. Yeghia Cathedral, Downtown Beirut. The admission is free. Would love to see you with us on December 12. We  will also   appreciate if you can announce/ encourage your congregations/ constituencies/ friends/ families to join us for this special Christmas concert.

Looking forward  seeing you all on December 12.

Sincerely,

Hrayr Jebejian
Chairman- Armenian Evangelical Armiss Cultural Committee