PRESS RELEASE
Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of America
138 East 39th Street
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212-689-7810
Fax: 212-689-7168
e-mail: [email protected]
Website:
Contact: Iris Papazian
November 23, 2004
NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL ADULT SEMINAR
FOCUSES MARRIAGE AND FAMILY IN THE 21ST CENTURY
NEW YORK, NY – The E. Kent Swift Mansion, a turn of the century estate in
Whitinsville, Massachusetts, was the beautiful New England Autumn setting
for a group of over 30 people who attended an ecumenical regional retreat
entitled “We Are Family,” sponsored by the Armenian Religious Education
Council (AREC) of the Eastern Prelacy of the Armenian Apostolic Church of
America on October 23, 2004.
Participants from Watertown, Providence, North Andover, Springfield,
Worcester, and Whitinsville first enjoyed a beautiful morning service
performed by Rev. Fr. Aram Stepanian of Whitinsville, Archpriest Fr.
Antranig Baljian of Watertown, Rev. Fr. Vartan Kassabian of North Andover,
and Deacon Shant Kazanjian, Executive Director of AREC.
Following the morning service, all listened to a PowerPoint presentation
given by Der Antranig, which focused on the Seven Armenian Sacraments,
especially highlighting the Sacrament of Marriage. Der Antranig discussed
the Sacrament of Marriage by explaining the Biblical significance and the
symbolism of the wedding ceremony.
The next topic focused on developing closeness in marriage. This segment was
presented by Dr. Joseph Lombardi who has a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology
from the University of Notre Dame. Dr. Lombardi has been in Christian
counseling since 1981 and has spoken at a number of churches and Christian
conferences since then. Dr. Lombardi began his presentation by focusing on
Genesis 2:24-25 as he talked about intimacy in marriage. He then discussed
ways to achieve closeness, especially by way of spending quality time with
each other and sharing personal thoughts and feelings on a regular basis.
Some discussion focused on obstacles that get in the way of closeness,
especially fear of the unknown, as we looked at Genesis 3:6-10. How to deal
with fear was examined first citing 1 John 4:18 and then discussing the
experience of perfect family love.
Dr. Lombardi then turned his attention to Ephesians 4:26 as he began to
discuss conflict resolution and the role that anger plays in every day
family life. Dr. Lombari led the group in an informative self-assessment
exercise to help determine an individual’s conflict resolution style.
Galations 5:22 was then read as the participants talked about collaboration
and the stages of conflict resolution. The session ended with a reading
from Matthew 6:14 as the topic turned to forgiveness and what happens to
persons when they do not forgive.
The participants were then divided into three teams of nine or ten people
charged with discussing their own conflict resolution style and whether it
was effective in family situations and encounters.
“Creating a Close Family,” was discussed by Dr. Paul Bombara, a clinical
psychologist whose focus and area of expertise is on marriage and family
issues. He stressed the importance of the whole person model when it comes
to stabilizing the marriage and family unit. Dr. Bombara began his
presentation with Genesis 1:28 as he talked about the components that make
up a strong family. These components consisted of commitment to each other,
spending time together, good family communication, expressing appreciation
to each other, having spiritual commitment, and being able to solve problems
in a crisis.
Dr. Bombara presented the attributes of a sustainable family that has
cohesion (a feeling of emotional closeness with other family members),
flexibility (the ability to change its power structure, roles and rules when
needed), and communication (a major key in creating, supporting,
maintaining, or destroying a family).
Dr. Bombara’s final topic focused on handling conflict and discipline of
children. Important reminders included staying calm, avoiding criticism,
not focusing on the negatives all of the time, giving rewards and praise,
being a good role model, and providing a loving and safe environment. He
concluded by offering discipline techniques and tips for parenting.
In order to evaluate the retreat, an evaluation form was provided for
participants to express their opinion of the event. Many expressed that
they really didn’t know what to expect before arriving at the retreat, but
walked away very satisfied, informed, and pleased that the Prelacy sponsored
such a thought-provoking seminar. Participants truly enjoyed the beautiful
setting, food, fellowship, and presentations of all the speakers and are all
looking forward to future retreats of this nature.