On Tuesday, October 1, in an inaugural lunch meeting, Bishop Michael Barber, Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Oakland and Vicar General Fr. George Mockel met with two clergymen of the Armenian Church in the San Francisco Bay Area, Fr. Hovel Ohanyan, Pastor of St. Vartan Oakland, and Fr. Mesrop Ash, Pastor of St. John San Francisco. 

The Ladies Society of St. John Church hosted a luncheon on Saturday, November 9. St. John Paul Family Fellowship hall was filled with the sweet aroma of the Ghapama, along with the beautiful traditional song "Hey Jan Ghapama". More than 40 ladies were present, as well as Western Diocese Ladies Society Central Council chairlady, Gladys Saroyan.

This year St. John Armenian Church celebrated its 71^st Annual Food Festival on Saturday, October 19, and Sunday, October 20. For the past six months our wonderful hard working ladies prepared numerous traditional foods including Sue Boreg, Kufta, Choreg, Cheese Boreg, Spinach Boreg, Sarma, and many more dishes. Under the leadership of Dn. Charles Cherezian, and the dedicated committee the Food Festival was indeed a great success. One of the main reasons for the success was the devotion and positive spirits of our volunteers.

In April 2013, the Sayat Nova Cultural Committee of St. John Armenian Church organized a concert in honor the Holy Priesthood of the Armenian Church on the occasion of the First Anniversary of the Ordination of Fr. Mesrop Ash. Thanks to the generousity of our parishoners who supported this event, a donation was given to the Paros Foundation to provide much needed pianos for the Kanakervan Art School in Armenia. The Paros Foundation has just reported that these pianos have been purchased and installed in the school. Watch the video and follow the link below for more information.

When St. John Armenian Church of San Francisco announced that it would be launching a weekly Armenian Language class for adults at the beginning of October, the response was remarkable. On October 8, 2013, with over 30 registrants, free weekly Armenian classes began, providing Eastern Armenian instruction to students from teenagers to seniors and from a myriad of backgrounds.

On Wednesday morning, Bay Area Armenians were pleasantly surprised to hear a fun and thoughtful story about our community, our annual Food Festival, our culture and faith aired on KQED. The story, by Rachael Myrow, was made possible by the facilitation of Food Festival committee member Elise Kazanjian and with the support of Mrs. Amelia Surabian. St. John parish thanks all involved in bringing this story about.

Sunday, September 8, 2013 following the Divine Liturgy, the Honorable Judge Adrienne Krikorian, Esq., and the first female Chairperson of the Diocesan Council of Western Diocese, gave a presentation about House of Hope / Mer Hooys.

Community members, we can use your help at the Food Festival, out biggest event of the year! If anyone wishes to volunteer please call the office 415-661-1142, and we will schedule the time and the volunteer area at your request.

Pre-Sale
Thursday, October 17, 1:00pm-6:00pm
Friday, October 18, 1:00pm-6:00pm

Take-Out-Booth
Saturday, October 19, 11:30am-9:00pm
Sunday, October 20, 12:00pm-4:00pm

We are happy to announce that the 2013/2014 Sunday School year begins September 8 with the first Family Day of the school year, and Fr. Mesrop will offer a special sermon on the occasion. The following Sunday, September 15, will be the first day of Sunday School classes.