On Sunday, August 28, 2016, H.E. Archbishop Moushegh Mardirossian, Prelate, presided over Divine Liturgy and delivered the sermon at St. Garabed Church in Hollywood, after which a reception was held in the honor of his 40th anniversary of ordination and 20th anniversary as Prelate. Divine Liturgy was celebrated by parish pastor Archpriest Fr. Vicken Vassilian.
Prior to the sermon, Fr. Vicken greeted and congratulated the Prelate on behalf of the parish family, noting that it was the first visit of His Eminence to the church since his re-election.
The Prelate delivered the sermon on the day’s Gospel reading Mark 4:35-41, which recounts Jesus calming the storm and the message of which is that we have no reason to be fearful if we have faith. The passage described Jesus and His disciples crossing the sea when a great storm arose as Jesus slept, filling the disciples with tremendous fear. Jesus calmed the storm and taught the disciples a great lesson on faith exhorting. “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”
The Prelate noted that we all have storms in our lives; we have fears, worries, and we experience hard times. However, we can overcome with prayer and by placing our absolute trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, remembering that He has the power to calm our fears just as he calmed the storm and the fears of His disciples. Therefore, let us remove doubt and anxiety from within us, for Jesus is our strength and will restore peace to our lives, stressed the Prelate.
At the conclusion of the service, Fr. Vicken, delegates, Board of Trustees members, altar servers, and Ladies Guild members gathered at “Karapetian” Hall where a reception was held celebrating the Prelate’s 40 years of priesthood and 20 years of leadership as Prelate. Fr. Vicken once again conveyed the parish family’s congratulations and best wishes to the Prelate. His Eminence conveyed his thanks for the reception and their well wishes and commended the parish members for their dedicated service.
The parish family had prepared a cake on this occasion and also presented a miniature statue of Gomidas Vartabed created by Mr. Khatchig Yerikian.
