The Diocese
Posted: 05/28/2021
After more than a year of meeting exclusively through virtual means, the newly elected Ladies Society Central Council (LSCC) was able to have some of its local members meet in person at the Diocesan headquarters of the Western Diocese to form the 2021-2022 executive board. His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate, presided over the meeting which also included members who attended through Zoom. He installed the ladies to the following board positions:
Gladys Saroyan, (St. James, Los Angeles) Chairlady
Belet Shahbazian, (St. Leon, Burbank) Vice-Chairlady
Aida Sethian, (St. Gregory, Pasadena) Treasurer
Aida Askejian, (St. Garabed of the Desert, Rancho Mirage) Corresponding Secretary
Nancy Berberian Thompson, (St. Gregory, Fowler), Recording Secretary
Darlene Chardukian, (St. Paul, Fresno), Advisor
Lisa Manoogian, (St. Vartan, Oakland), Advisor
Along with their executive board positions they were also assigned as liaisons to the Ladies Societies of the various regions of the Western Diocese.
Archbishop Hovnan Derderian stressed the importance of in-person regional meetings for the coming term, beginning with a morning meeting and visit to St. Gregory parish in Fowler California on June 5, 2021 where the Ladies Society will host the meeting and a luncheon to follow. The Ladies Society of St. Mary’s in Yettem, as well St. Paul Ladies Society of Fresno will also be present as active participants and welcomed guests. The speaker will be LSCC Advisor as well as Chairlady for St. Paul Ladies Society, Mrs. Darlene Chardukian who will discuss Christian Education.
The LSCC will host a gathering at St. Leon Cathedral on August 13 where LSCC Advisor and St. Vartan Ladies Society vice-chairlady Lisa Manoogian will discuss and share the creative and compassionate manners that were utilized by the Ladies Societies of Northern California during the pandemic to reach their members and maintain contact as well as provide assistance. Special efforts were made to get in contact with severely isolated members such as widows, and others who were unable to leave their homes due to disabilities and health safety risks.
More regional meetings are planned for the fall of 2021 which will include the ladies societies of St. Vartan and St. John of San Francisco, as well as the Ladies Society of St. Garabed parish in Rancho Mirage.
It was with great enthusiasm that the newly elected LSCC executive board embraced their duties and Archbishop Hovnan Derderian's vision of in-person gatherings planned for this year and beyond. Already, a date is set for a prayerful and fellowship gathering of all the ladies' society and parish members at the Western Diocese headquarters in Burbank, California, on February 22, 2022.
