Mission Crossroads is a three-time-a-year magazine focused on worldwide work of the PC(USA). It offers news and feature stories about mission personnel, international partners and grassroots Presbyterians involved in God's mission in the world.
Issue link: https://missioncrossroads.epubxp.com/i/491857
14 Spring 2015 Armenians endure as one of the oldest Christian nations in the Middle East. Te ancient nation had already existed 1100 years when Armenia adopted Christianity as its state religion. Centered geographically on Noah's Mount Ararat, it survived the clash of Egyptian, Mongol, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman cultures. Today's Republic of Armenia is the size of Maryland, bordered by Georgia, Azerbaijan, Iran, and Turkey. Te attempted elimination of Armenians by Ottoman Turks 100 years ago was the frst genocide of the 20th century and a model for Adolf Hitler. Presbyterians sent relief throughout WWII as over two million people were systematically exterminated or displaced. Survivors later erected Holy Martyrs Armenian Church and Memorial in the desert at Der Zor, Syria—until an ISIS attack took it down last September. Many Armenians again fnd themselves refugees in their own land. Te Jinishian Memorial Program is a main contributor to their survival. It began in 1966 when Vartan Jinishian gave his entire estate in his parents' memory to care for Armenians in the Middle East. Jinishian's Syria director, Talin Topalakian, and her staf have traversed dangerous territory to deliver emergency aid, gather the needy for Easter, or minister to traumatized children. "As descendants of heroic survivors and having the same strong faith, we are confdent that God hears our cry and will save our nation once again." Jinishian, with a 50-year legacy of service and 100 percent local teams, now reaches over 40,000 Armenians each year in Syria, Lebanon, Armenia, Turkey, and Jerusalem. "Everywhere we work is under ongoing confict, politically tense, and vulnerable," says Executive Director Eliza Minasyan. "We are unique in that we partner equally with Apostolic, Catholic, and Evangelical churches and serve the community as a whole. We swiftly adapt to constantly changing conditions and provide everything from emergency relief to long-term community development and discipleship programs." In Syria and Lebanon Jinishian emphasizes medical assistance due to war, scarcity, and infation, but nearby Armenia focuses on sustainable impact. Dozens of projects in this post-Soviet republic include prenatal care, clean water, micro-lending; and about 3,000 needy or disabled children each year—many from villages with no church— encounter Christ at summer camp. Country Director Armen Hakobyan says the best part "is hearing the stories of faith. Tey are learning to live in peace and love and bringing this experience home." Learn and Pray. Te Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) designated Sunday, April 26, 2015, for national commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Armenian genocide. Rev. Christine Chakoian, Presbyterian pastor in Lake Forest, IL, believes this action "helps ensure that no other peoples experience such sufering and [it] witnesses to the Christians who are persecuted in the region today that they are not forgotten." Find materials for your congregation at pcusa.org/jinishian including curriculum, liturgies, videos, ways to invite a speaker on Armenian genocide to your church. Adopt a project. From Liberty Corner Church in NJ to St. James in Tarzana, CA, congregations are partnering with Jinishian in Armenia and the Middle East. For those in Southern California, Bel Air Presbyterian invites you to learn more about Armenian missions on Sunday, June 7, 2015. Other regions may contact jinishian@pcusa.org. Travel to Armenia. Each year, the World Mission Initiative at Pittsburgh Teological Seminary hosts a tour. Tis year's tour is scheduled for October 8-18. Healing wounds and sustaining hope in the Armenian church By Cara Taylor One hundred years after the Armenian genocide, the Jinishian Memorial Program keeps hope alive through critical relief to surviving generations— enduring violence in Syria, overcoming poverty in Lebanon, and clinging to their legacy of faith in Christ. In the Republic of Armenia (above), Jinishian micro-loans and new technologies restore dignity and independence to this tenacious people.