PRESS OFFICE
Department of Communications
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Jake Goshert, Media Relations Specialist
Tel: (212) 686-0710 Ext. 160; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
May 10, 2007
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DIOCESE HOST REGIONAL WORKSHOP OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATORS DURING ASSEMBLY
WEEKEND
It wasn’t all budgets, proposals, and ballots during the 105th Diocesan
Annual Assembly in Nashua, New Hampshire. On Saturday, May 5, 2007, more
than 30 Sunday School teachers and superintendents from throughout New
England gathered for a Diocesan workshop focused on "Creating an Environment
of Excellence."
"We had a truly inspiring Saturday gathering," said Elise Antreassian,
coordinator of Christian education for the Diocese who organized the
gathering. "I have nothing but superlatives about the people who came and
the positive energy they radiated."
The meeting was a direct result of a request from the newly revitalized New
England Region Superintendents’ Association at its last meeting. The
Armenian Sunday School educators wanted to gather again for more networking
and group learning.
PRAYERS OF ST. GREGORY
The educators heard from Tom Samuelian, an American-born lawyer practicing
in Armenia who also has his doctorate degree in linguistics from University
of Pennsylvania. A noted academic, he completed the first full English
translation of the prayers of St. Gregory of Narek and was bestowed the Sts
Sahag and Mesrob Medal from His Holiness Karekin II, Supreme Patriarch and
Catholicos of All Armenians.
Samuelian spoke about St. Gregory’s life, identifying specific prayers,
themes, and methods for presenting the Narek in the classroom.
"The prayers of this world-class Christian poet have been compared with
Augustine’s Confessions and the Psalms, among other works," Samuelian noted.
"The Narek, although often referred to as ‘lamentations,’ is actually not a
lamentation by genre. Rather, it is a uniquely designed spiritual handbook
that uses striking word pictures to guide us in developing our relationship
with God through the practice of prayer."
CONNECTING TO LIFE
Following the discussion of St. Gregory of Narek, the teachers focused on
ways to create an environment of academic excellence in their classrooms.
The goal of the session was to show how teachers can connect real life with
faith an inseparable theme. It is a theme that Diocesan Christian education
staff will take on the road this fall in a series of regional workshops.
During one exercise, a pop culture quiz, teachers were left stunned at how
little they knew about the world of children and middle schoolers. Though
the questions were trivial, asking about TV shows and video games, they
pointed to an issue of larger importance.
"This understanding is important because advertisers, media promoters, and
substance pushers go to great lengths to learn about this world in order to
get our children’s attention," Antreassian said. "Also, think of how Jesus
taught. When he wanted to describe God’s boundless joy at finding a lost
sinner, he didn’t ask anyone to ‘imagine’ it. He told them to relive that
very feeling by thinking of lost sheep and lost coins, the very stuff of
their lives. That’s what we have to reclaim to be effective Christian
educators."
Teachers also explored how to use games and activities to help students
apply their faith to everyday situations.
The gathering included a healthy mix of experienced veteran educators and
new comers to Christian education. Many thought such a meeting should become
a regular feature of future Diocesan Assemblies.
"Getting together was an uplifting experience," said Mark Kashgegian, a
Sunday School educator from the Church of the Holy Translators in
Framingham, Massachusetts. "We spend many hours preparing lesson plans that
hopefully will deliver the message that we are trying to convey to the kids
each week. That’s the biggest challenge! To be able to come together and
share thoughts, ideas and experiences is most helpful."
— 5/10/07
E-mail photos available on request. Photos also viewable in the News and
Events section of the Eastern Diocese’s website,
PHOTO CAPTION (1): More than 30 parish Christian educators gather during
the 105th Diocesan Annual Assembly in Nashua, New Hampshire, for a special
regional workshop on creating an environment of excellence in the classroom.