By Cathy Flynn / News Staff Writer
Sunday, October 3, 2004
FRAMINGHAM — When the town of Framingham built a park near the Armenian Church of the Holy Translators, the church came through with a nice gesture: extending the path that cut through the new park.
“We wanted to ensure that the area stayed welcoming and nice,” said Dora Garabedian, a founding member of the church, which today draws almost 200 members from around MetroWest and the Milford area.
When Armenian Church Archbishop Khajag Barsamian visits the church today to dedicate its new stained glass windows, it will be an occasion to celebrate the paths that the church has forged between its members, their heritage, the community and the world.
“Our motto is ‘where faith, family and fellowship meet,'” explained Father Krikor Sabounjian, pastor of the church, located at 38 Franklin St. in downtown Framingham. “We have a philosophy of inclusion…of making people feel welcome.”
Many of the church’s 160 members are couples in mixed marriages including non-Armenians, and children are always an important part of Sunday services, Sabounjian said.
The new windows, donated by Tom and Dora Garabedian of Hopkinton, show historic symbols of the Armenian Church. Designed by Worcester artist Arthur Arakelian and built by Ken Paulson of Paulson Stained Glass Window in Upton, they depict grapes and pomegranates, wheat sheaves, the Armenian cross, and the colors of the Armenian flag. The angels hold a lyre and a harp to signify the church’s love of music.
“We wanted to make it a warm and welcoming symbol,” said Garabedian, adding that the windows harmonize with the building’s more modern architecture and the Byzantine touches added by the church.
The windows are the latest of many milestones celebrated by the church in its 7-year history. The first was its birth around a kitchen table in Hopkinton, where four Armenian couples, including the Garabedians, decided to establish an Armenian Church in MetroWest.
“Our church has some wonderful roots in Worcester, Watertown and Boston,” said Garabedian. “But MetroWest has many young families, and it was tough for us to drive 40 minutes to a church for a three-hour service.”
Through the Armenian Church of America, the new church was established as a “mission parish,” a term for fledgling churches without a permanent structure and priest. Sabounjian was its deacon.
From its original 25 members, the church quickly rose to 40 members and continued to grow. While the first worship services were celebrated in members’ homes, the Sisters of St. Joseph later donated their facilities on Bethany Hill in Framingham for worship and Sunday School. The church found its present location — once the home to Brazilian and Baptist churches — in 2001.
Both Sabounjian and Garabedian said that Armenians have always had strong faith, which in turn leads to a strong connection with their own heritage.
“Whenever you have a commonality of ethic background and religious purpose, it keeps the community strong,” said Garabedian.
About 45 church members made a pilgrimage to Armenia last summer, visiting ancient monasteries, a monument to the one million Armenian victims of the Ottoman genocide in the early 20th century, and the capital city of Yerevan.
“We have a strong tie to Armenia, and our pilgrimage emphasized that,” said Sabounjian. “It was the first time that many of our members had been there. The biggest tie to Armenia is through the church … it maintains both the religion and the culture.”
The church is also making its mark in other parts of the world. Through the Merguerian family of Ashland, church members whose son John spent a year in Iraq, the church sent care packages to soldiers there.
Members also volunteer at the nearby Salvation Army soup kitchen. Through the state Department of Social Services, the church also donates turkeys, Christmas gifts and Easter baskets to local families in need. Its youth group participates in the annual Walk for Hunger sponsored by Project Bread.
Today’s service, which starts at 9:30 a.m., will be followed by a coffee hour.
Yorumlar kapatıldı.