PRESS OFFICE
Diocese of the Armenian Church of America (Eastern)
630 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10016
Contact: Karine Abalyan
Tel: (212) 686-0710; Fax: (212) 779-3558
E-mail: [email protected]
Website:
October 30, 2009
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ACYOA AND COLLEGE MINISTRY SPONSOR HOME-BUILDING TRIP TO NEW ORLEANS:
BUILDING HOMES, BUILDING FAITH, BUILDING LIVES
>From August 2 to 8, ACYOA and the Diocesan College Ministry Department
co-sponsored an all-expenses-paid Ecumenical Work Week in New Orleans, La.,
to help rebuild homes devastated by Hurricane Katrina.
A total of 12 Armenian young adults, ages 18 to 24, took part in the
program, spending a week painting and performing exterior repairs to two
homes in New Orleans. The trip was led by the Diocese’s College Ministry
Facilitator Julie Hoplamazian.
The group was also visited by the Rev. Fr. Nersess Jebejian – a member of
the Special Commission for the Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, which
organized the work week – and Vasken Kaltakjian, parish council chair of St.
Garabed Armenian Church in Baton Rouge, La. Participants engaged in prayer,
explored New Orleans, and shared fellowship with other Christians.
Erika Belezarian, a college student from St. Mark Armenian Church in
Springfield, Mass., and a member of her local ACYOA executive board,
participated in the effort. Below is her reflection of the weeklong project.
The New Orleans work week is the latest in a series of "alternative"
programs meant to give an outlet for Armenian youth to perform hands-on
ministry, and to contribute to the community at large. Each year, the
Diocesan College Ministry program sponsors three "Alternative Spring Break"
trips in the month of March, during which students work with Habitat for
Humanity and are hosted by a local Armenian church.
Also in 2010, College Ministry and ACYOA will team up to sponsor the third
annual "4 Days 4 Life" program for the week following Sports Weekend in
Watertown, Mass. In addition, plans are underway for another Ecumenical Work
Week in New Orleans, from August 1 to 7, 2010. For details, contact Julie
Hoplamazian at [email protected].
***
The Alternative Summer Vacation
by Erika Belezarian
Mardi Gras. Crawfish. Bourbon Street. The birth of Jazz.
Devastation and destruction. A city in shambles.
Four years after the wrath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, New Orleans is
still in the process of recovering. I, along with eleven other Armenian
youths from across the country, was able to witness first-hand one of the
most widespread devastations in the history of the United States, and lend
my hand to the effort to repair the city.
Traveling from all parts of the country-Texas, Michigan, Maryland, South
Carolina, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts-many of us had never met before.
One week in the hot New Orleans sun was all we spent, and although painting
a house seemed like a menial task, when the project was realized, we saw
what a big impact we had made on others’ lives.
>From the very first night we were together, many of us stayed up late
getting to know one another despite the fact that we had to be up at 6:30
a.m. for breakfast. Within hours, it was as if we had all known each other
for years. We became like a family.
The next day, the group was split into two smaller groups to work on
separate houses. The house my group worked on is owned by Roosevelt Emery, a
disabled survivor of the hurricane who had fled to his children’s home in
St. Francis when Katrina hit. With him lives Alyce, a survivor of domestic
violence, who was homeless near the time of the storm. Roosevelt met Alyce
at church one Sunday and the two have shared the house since. Roosevelt and
Alyce spoke to us about their experiences of surviving the hurricane,
telling stories about neighbors who refused to leave their lives’ work and
their homes behind.
In addition to painting homes, we participated in fellowship and worship
with the group from the Presbytery of South Florida-which was staying at the
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Volunteer Village Olive Tree-as well as
with groups staying at Camp Restore, another facility a couple blocks away.
We also took part in Bible studies, conducted by our group leader Julie
Hoplamazian.
One evening we attended an ecumenical service, where our group sang the
"Hayr Mer," and a couple of our participants contributed Bible readings.
Attending the ecumenical service was a unique opportunity to see how other
faiths celebrate Christ.
At the end of the week, we witnessed a house dedication-a ceremony in which
the house keys and gifts are presented to the owner of a house that has been
rebuilt.
Throughout the week, we were able to experience the nightlife and culture of
New Orleans. We also had the opportunity to enjoy some local fare, including
crawfish and beignets.
Overall, the program was great and I highly recommend it. It was a fantastic
trip and an experience I’ll never forget.
###
Photos attached.
Photo 1: Participants in the Ecumenical Work Week paint a home in New
Orleans, La.
Photo 2: The Rev. Fr. Jebejian – a member of the Special Commission for the
Just Rebuilding of the Gulf Coast, which organized the Ecumenical Work Week
– with group leader Julie Hoplamazian and participants.
Photo 3: Participants at a prayer service during the Ecumenical Work Week
paint a home in New Orleans, La.