The Diocese
Posted: 08/18/2020
On Sunday, August 16, 2020, over one hundred faithful came together in Yettem, California in 107 degree heat to celebrate Asvadzadzin and to take part in the traditional ceremony of the Blessing of Grapes at St. Mary Armenian Apostolic Church.
This is always a very special day for the Yettem parish as it is also the name day for our Soorp Mariam Church. Joining our parishioners were Southern California pilgrims who traveled to our Garden of Eden in the Central Valley of California to celebrate this meaningful day. This was the first Holy Badarak that was celebrated outdoors for a very long time. During most of the COVID pandemic, services at the parish have only been conducted indoors and have been live-streamed on the parish website www.stmaryyettem.org.
The Rev. Father Vazken Movsesian was the day’s celebrant and homilist. Der Vazken delivered a strong sermon reflecting on how each individual grape is alive only when connected to a living vine and correlated that to our lives as members of the Body of Christ. He suggested in our lives we should be khaghoughs (grapes) and not chameech (raisins) by staying connected to Christ.
Following services, a beef kebab luncheon was served and also made available by drive-through to others who watched online. The luncheon was organized by the Parish Council and supported by members of the ACYO and Ladies Society. At the luncheon, Parish Council Chairman Myron Sheklian announced that Father Mashdots Keshishian will become the Parish Priest in Yettem in mid-September and thanked Surpazan Hayr for his support and guidance during the process of selecting a new priest for the parish.
