Early Sunday morning, Parish Council Chairman, Dn. Steven Cherezian and his crew were up preparing food and supplies for the Annual Church Picnic on Sunday.

The gorgeous sunny day, an ideal picnic area located near Coyote Point Marina, the Armenian music, and the aroma of the Armenian BBQ (Khorovads) brought the St. John family together. The day started with the morning service and spiritual message delivered by Fr. Mesrop Ash.  The lunch was served at noon; more than 175 people attended and enjoyed the food and fellowship.

The Feast of the Transfiguration of Our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the five main “Tabernacle” feasts of the Armenian Apostolic Holy Church. It commemorates the transformation or the “transfiguration” that came over Jesus while He was praying.  Christ’s face shone like the sun and his clothes became a radiant and gleaming white. The Apostles Peter, James and John witnessed that event which occurred on a high mountain named Tabor.

The St. John Internship Program started on Tuesday, July 1st. Ever since then we have gained more hard working interns. The interns registered for this summer are Andrew Boghossian, Enrike Kaltakhtchyan, Josiah Kazarian, Alex Kouyoumdjian, Gayana Saakyan, Allen Torchiyan and Alex Tour Sarkissian. St. John Internship is twice a week every Tuesday and Thursday. Lunch is provided and it is a good way for the St. John youth and young adults to obtain new skills.

Organize and Thrive was a free life changing presentation by Christina Ardemis. Christina Ardemis discussed the matter of organizing things in your home and work and how it makes you feel less stressed and happy. Fifty eager people attended Organize and Thrive and we hope that they all took the information and advice and applied them to their own circumstances. Christina Ardemis is a professional organizer, Vice-Chair of St. Johns Ladies Society and she sings in the choir. What a skilled and talented woman if I do say so my self.

Sunday, June 1, was the last day of Sunday School.  As usual students gathered in the Ashjian room for a short rehearsal, and attended church to receive communion and a spiritual message by Fr. Mesrop Ash.

One of the projects of St. John Parish Council this year is to have Family Nights and dedicate them to diasporan communities that Armenians came from.

The first Family Night took placed on Saturday May 17, 2014, and was dedicated to Fresno Armenians. More than 80 people from the community attended the event. Following a casual dinner, respected members of the community that grew up in Fresno shared their stories about the farm and town life in the Valley during the good times and bad.

For the past 54 years the men of St. John Armenian Church have cooked and served breakfast for our mothers on Mother’s Day.

This year was no exception, Sunday, May 11, the hall was decorated with flowers, and one could inhale the aroma of the coffee, and famous French Toast in the Paul Family Fellowship Hall.

It was a perfect family environment and mother’s day present when mothers, grandmothers joined their families for a delicious breakfast.

We need volunteers to lead each cooking sessions as an example, Linda Lester will take the lead for souboreg and kufta. If you are interested please contact Linda Lester at 415-648-3540 and we will contact volunteers to help you.

St. John has enjoyed the bounty of our garden over the past few weeks, but the time has come to share the wealth. Friday, April 25, the Garden Ministry donated the lettuce harvest to the Martin de Porres House of Hospitality soup kitchen, and on Saturday some of the parishioners volunteered in preparing and serving lunch.

On Good Friday, April 18, 2014, St. John Armenian Church held its first Blood Drive, initiated and organized by Anoush Kelegian in memory of the Armenian Genocide Victims. Giving blood is giving the giſt of life for those who need it most. By collectively donating blood in honor of the Genocide Victims as a community, we symbolically expressed our gratitude as genocide survivors and expressed our devotion to uphold life in honor of our ancestors.