Tag Archive for: News

MANTI AN ARMENIAN DELICACY

On Saturday March 15, 2025, St. John Armenian Church again welcomed Justin Aprahamian, owner of Sanford Restaurant, as he conducted another wonderful cooking demonstration to a class of 35 guests. The entrée of the day’s session was Manti, an Armenian delicacy that is quite labor intensive but a favorite of all. Many remember their grandmothers preparing this dish decades ago. Justin demonstrated the preparation of the dough, the lamb filling, the broth, the yogurt, and the parsley garnish, and how to put it all together in an artistic presentation.
Feedback from the participants was overwhelmingly positive.

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ST. JOHN CELEBRATES CHRISTMAS TWICE

St. John the Baptist Armenian Church was active throughout the holiday season in 2024-25. On December 22, a celebration of Western Christmas was added after Badarak [Liturgy] with the congregation singing familiar carols such as “Silent Night” and “We Three Kings”, interspersed with reading of the Christmas story. Santa (Mark Strong) visited the Culture Hall during lunch, bringing presents for the children.

On January 5, Armenian Christmas was observed with the traditional Blessing of the Water service conducted by Rev. Fr. Guregh Hambardzumyan and St. John’s former pastor, Rev. Fr. Nareg Keutelian. Arthur Spice was godfather of the cross and helped dispense the holy water to worshippers. In his Christmas sermon, Der Guregh explored the idea of the creator of the universe making himself known to humanity

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DECEMBER IS STEWARDSHIP MONTH AT ST. JOHN

On three Sundays during the month of December, presentations were made after Badarak regarding year two of St. John’s successful stewardship program.

On December 1, Dr. Gary Seabrook spoke of stewardship in terms of “Time, Talent and Treasure.” He focused on Treasure, reviewing St. John’s budget and explaining the parish’s multiple sources of income. In 2024 the largest dollar amount came from the Armenian Church Endowment Fund, followed by proceeds from Milwaukee Armenian Fest, the most profitable year for our festival to date. Running a close third was the money pledged by our members through the stewardship program, trailed by income from sacraments, candles and the Sunday collection plates. Gary noted that since we went to the “Stewardship System” there has been a growth in voting membership and that as of December 1, only a few people hadn’t yet fulfilled their pledges.

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ST. JOHN CELEBRATES 82 YEARS OF SERVING FAITH AND HERITAGE

“It’s good to be back home,” said Rev. Fr. Tadeos Abdalian, the celebrant and guest speaker for the 82nd anniversary celebration at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church, Greenfield. The November 10 event was a special occasion for Der Tateos and Milwaukee’s Armenian community. St. John was his first parish, the beginning of four decades of service in the Eastern Diocese. His years in Milwaukee were also a turning point for St. John, with Der Tateos taking the lead role in building the sanctuary that continues to be central to Armenian spiritual life in Milwaukee.

Der Tateos’ sermon was a reminder to parishioners who knew him in the ‘80s of his penetrating intelligence grounded in faith. He spoke of the power of silence, referencing the Book of Ecclesiastes 3:7, as a way to hear the voice of God in a world of noise and distraction. It’s a voice, he said,…

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ARMENIAN WINES FOR TASTING AND SALE IN MILWAUKEE

On Sunday, Oct. 27, Victoria Aslanian from ArmAs Estate gave a presentation and a wine tasting at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church in suburban Milwaukee. ArmAs Estate has become a leader in Armenia’s “wine renaissance,” earning some 50 awards worldwide including gold and silver medals at the Mundus Vini wine festival in Germany, silver and bronze at London’s Decanter World Wine Awards and silver and bronze at the Vyno Dienos International Wine Competition in Lithuania. ArmAs has been favorably mentioned in publications ranging from Wine Enthusiast to Forbes and Foreign Affairs.

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EXALTATION OF THE CROSS CELEBRATED WITH ARMENIA SERVICE PROJECT PROGRAM PRESENTATION

Milwaukee, WI — On Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024, Milwaukee Armenians gathered to celebrate one of the major feast days on the Armenian Church calendar, the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The ceremonies at St. John the Baptist Armenian Church, Greenfield, included the Blessing of the Four Corners of the World (Antasdan) and the Blessing of the Basil, commemorating the discovery of the True Cross in a field of basil outside of Jerusalem in the year 326. The basil used this year in the service was grown in the parish’s garden.

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SEVEN NEW PRIESTS ORDAINED BY BISHOP MESROP’S HAND

This week, Diocesan Primate Bishop Mesrop Parsamyan was blessed to ordain seven new priests to serve the Armenian Church. He did so while he was visiting Armenia to attend the Supreme Spiritual Council meeting at Holy Etchmiadzin.

The ordination service took place on Sunday, June 16, at St. Gregory the Illuminator Cathedral in Yerevan. Each of the seven young men who knelt before the altar embodied a unique calling that God had planted in their hearts. These seven represent the first priests to be ordained by the hand of our Primate.

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EVENTS FOCUSED ON ARMENIAN GENOCIDE THEN AND NOW

The last several years have seen peace and stability shattered across the world. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine occupied headlines, until pushed aside by Hamas’ terrorist attack on Israel and Israel’s assault on Gaza. But there have been other bloody conflicts ignored by the American media and America’s politicians.

Last September in the Caucasus Mountains of the former Soviet Union, Azerbaijan attacked a self-governing enclave called Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabagh), forcing more than 100,000 Armenians to flee a land inhabited by their ancestors for centuries.

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HOLY WEEK 2024 AT ST. JOHN

The Milwaukee Armenian community began its celebration of Holy Week on Sunday, March 24 with the Opening of the Doors (Turun-Patsek), marking the end of the Lenten closed curtain season in the church sanctuary. Following the Palm Sunday liturgy, parishioners gathered in the church hall for St. John’s annual Palm Sunday brunch, a fundraiser prepared by Sunday School teachers and parents. For the first time in memory, St. John observed the full Holy Week schedule, including the Commemoration of the Ten Maidens on Tuesday, March 26. Ten young girls from the community took part in the evening service.

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POON PAREGENTAN 2024 OBSERVED AT ST. JOHN’S IN MILWAUKEE

St. John Armenian Church of Milwaukee, WI, in observance of the Great Lent, held a Poon Paregentan festivity after today’s divine liturgy. The fun included a luncheon shared by the church members as well as a shish kebob dinner treated by Drs. Russ and Sue Kashian. Children activities were organized by the Sunday School.

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