Ministry Pieces

Palm Sunday – Love Conquers All

A day to celebrate Love, to Celebrate the fact that Love conquers all. An exhausting week and Holy Week has not begun yet. Went to church this a.m. and told the secretary that I’d rather be in bed and sleep in. Then, people started knocking on the office door, talking to me, giving hugs and slowly a new energy started to creep out on me. There was Joy in being at the church building and being with the church (the people) all together… Our Palm Sunday processional began and we started singing, “He Comes Riding on a Donkey”. All the … Read more

Are You Plugged In?

It was quite a hectic morning and I was trying to rush out the door for a few appointments – Amazing appointments if I may add. I planned to go and meet a great person who is making me a clerical shirt, have a bowl of soup at the local restaurant, and then meet the principal at the local high school with two teachers to plan a time and date to share my journey of displacement into Canada at the local high school. I was so proud of myself as I had decided to use the slow cooker to get … Read more

Doubly Blessed!

Often the thought has crossed my mind and my mouth has uttered the words, “Serving a One Point Pastoral Charge must be so much easier. Maybe that is why many colleagues I know go from a multi-point charge to a one-point.” That is, until this past Sunday, January 31, 2016. when we officially welcomed three wonderful members to the pastoral charge and celebrated the Sacrament of Baptism – I was walking on cloud nine… At the end of the second worship celebration at Elgin United, while singing the last song, “I Have Called You by Your Name”, I heard a … Read more

God Moments

I am not sure how many times this has happened in the past, however, at yesterday`s (Jan. 24, 2016) Sunday morning worship celebration that took place at Portland United Church, it happened again. I clearly remember not so long ago, during a sermon where I had just finished saying, “And God Calls us…” that a visitor`s cell phone rang. I made sure not to look at anyone, so that no one feels bad, and waited for the laughter to stop and continued. We cannot plan such moments in life. What reminds me of this incident with the cell phone is … Read more

Saints and Sinners

Yesterday, November 5, 2015, someone told me that on All Saints Sunday she was given the opportunity to think of the saints in her life – I was one of the saints she thought of. I was truly touched by these words because I always remind the people in the pews that we are all saints and sinners but I had never experienced this feeling of being called a saint. A moment of warm embrace, a spirit moment moved my heart and hers and both of our eyes started to accumulate tears. She continued on to say, “Takouhi, you do … Read more

Language of the Heart – The Lord’s Prayer

Have you ever offered to do something then felt nervous about it, because you have never done it before? On July 30th, I replied to a mass e-mail that was sent to all GC42 attendees to wear something that represents their heritage for the Saturday, August 8th evening worship, in Corner Brook, Newfoundland. Contemplating it for a while, I could not help but reply back, “I do not have any Armenian folklore garbs available, but I can sing the Lord’s Prayer in Armenian”. A scary thought to get up and sing in front of four to five hundred people, but … Read more

Canada’s 42nd Election – UCCC’s 42nd GC – 2015

When I heard the news that Canada’s 42nd election was called today (August 2, 2015), some kind of an alarm went off in my mind and heart. Because, for the very first time this year, I am attending the 42nd General Council of the United Church of Canada in Corner Brook, Newfoundland (Aug. 8 – 14). I was elected to be a commissioner – given the chance to have a “voice”, one of the voices of the Four Rivers Presbytery that I am part of. There are many recommendations for change that are coming forth within our United Church and … Read more

Welcome!

Every day is a piece of the larger puzzle that we create. Every moment is the revelation of the bigger picture. The pieces have dark and light images, but ALL make up One picture. With its beauty and bleak moments, we do know that unimaginable possibilities are found in every moment for all of us to grow deep and expand our horizons. The purpose of this blog is to share my journey. The blogs are divided into two sections. One will be snippets of my personal life (Personal Pieces) and the other will be my ministry life (Ministry Pieces); however … Read more