On October 21–22, 2015, St. John Armenian Church hosted their 75th Annual Food Festival. This spectacular event is a major attraction that draws thousands of visitors from the Greater Bay Area each year. The Festival is a cultural feast of Armenian flavors, an authentic traditional cuisine that is handed down from generation to generation, Armenian folk music, and dancing, showcasing Armenian gifts from Armenia and bringing the community together.

We are excited to announce that in conjunction with the celebrations being coordinated to mark the 75th Anniversary of St. John Armenian Church in San Francisco, our community will witness the ordination to the diaconate of two of its beloved sons, sDn. Nshan Kesecker and sDn. Kevin Kestekyan on November 19, 2017. 

His Eminence Abp. Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese will celebrate the Divine Liturgy and preside over the ordinations of these devoted young men.

Beginning mid-September, St. John will be offering two five-session Bible study courses to the faithful, led by Fr. Mesrop Ash. 

The first course will be an updated version of the Fresh Faith series, which is an engaging review of essential concepts of Armenian Apostolic Christianity. This course will be offered Sept. 19 through Oct. 17, each Tuesday from 10:30 am to 11:30 am. This course is perfect for those looking to engage their faith for the first time, or those who are looking to just brush up on crucial concepts.

it was quite a site. Boxed bikes parts being assembled, helmets, water bottles, sleeping bags, bike bags and the excited chatter of bicyclists on a mission that would go from San Francisco to Georgia.

For 2-1/2 days St. John graciously hosted 28 bicyclists (aged 19-70) representing The Fuller Center for Housing, as they began their journey across the country to raise money and awareness of Fuller's commitment to providing people with a decent place to live.

An altar server training program was held at the Western Diocese in LA. Allen Torchiyan, Enrike Kaltakhtchyan, Paul Israelian, and I were able to attend. It was a great weekend for us to learn different aspects of the Sunday Liturgy. Topics included learning different liturgical hymns as well as learning the different roles of an altar server. On that Sunday, we attended the liturgy at the cathedral. We also got to know the Burbank ACYO Chapter a little better. They were very welcoming.

In commemoration of the 60th Anniversary of the consecrations of both St. Vartan Oakland and St. John San Francisco a first-of-its-kind joint pilgrimage was organized by Fr. Hovel Ohanyan and Fr. Mesrop Ash. This group consisted of 54 faithful from the area and throughout the Western Diocese, who signed up to reconnect with their ancestral homeland and commit themselves to spiritual renewal.

St. John Armenian Church is happy to release the Unified Camp Scholarship Application for 2017. It is a source of great spiritual joy for our community that many of our young people have applied and been accepted to participate in the Armenian Church Summer Camp of the Western Diocese. Through the generosity of various funds established with the purpose of sending young Armenians to Hye Camp, St. John is offering several scholarships to children and youth who have been active in the life of the parish.

On Friday April 28, St. John held another family night dinner to honor this community's long record of service by our veterans, peace officers, firefighters, and other first responders. Proceeds from the dinner are still coming in, and are expected to exceed $ 1,000.00, which is to be used for the chaplaincy program that assists current and former soldiers and their families in Artsakh, led by Dn. Volodya Najaryan.

Mother’s Day is a celebration honoring mothers. There is simply no way we can ever really thank mothers for all they do for us. Around the world, people follow different traditions of celebrating Mother’s Day.  Here in the United States Mother’s Day is one of the most important holidays, and it always falls the second Sunday of the month of May.

On Friday, January 20, St. John once again hosted a Family Night, this time honoring the Armenians from Baku. St. John has been a real home for Armenians from Baku, since the time that many came to the Bay Area fleeing the brutal Sumgait Pogrom in 1988, and the war for the independence of Artsakh.