On Monday evening, May 19, the Sts. Vartanantz Church Bible Study joyfully celebrated its 25th anniversary with a dinner and special prayers! This Bible study has met continuously on Monday evenings from September to May since January of 2000. Der Gomidas established our Bible study group shortly after arriving as our new pastor and led the group from its inception until May of 2016. Always extremely well attended, the group became a close-knit family of approximately fifty parishioners and friends that looked forward to coming together weekly to grow in their faith and understanding of the Bible. We were blessed during those sixteen years to be led and inspired by such a faithful servant of God.
In September of 2016, Der Kapriel assumed the leadership of the Bible study as Der Gomidas prepared to retire the following month. We thank God that the Bible study has continued to flourish with new members joining each year. Our group meets in an atmosphere of ecumenism as we also have members from Sts. Sahag and Mesrob Church, the Armenian Evangelical Church, other Orthodox Churches and the Catholic Church. We gather together to study God’s word from an Armenian Orthodox perspective while respecting the traditions of the different churches. With over fifty members currently, everyone agrees that Monday evenings are a treasured time of fellowship with one another as our bonds of friendship grow though our mutual connection and love for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The evening began with a Requiem Prayer Service for all the members of our Bible study who had entered their eternal rest during these past twenty-five years, some just in the few months. We fondly remembered all those who had been a part of this very special group and thanked God for them, as well as for His blessing upon our group throughout these many years. A joyous fellowship filled the rest of the evening as we shared a delicious buffet dinner and dessert table. We all enthusiastically look forward to returning in September to begin our 26th year together! We welcome everyone to join our Bible study and become a part of this very special fellowship.
(photo credit: Nancy Derderian Potts)
