Friday, October 20, 2006

Forthcoming

I have been working on a post on women in the church for a while. I hope I will finish it sometime this week.

In the meantime, I have been working on making a MIDI file of Yerevan Erepooni that I can use for choir rehearsal. When I do, maybe I will post it.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Just discovered your blog and really enjoyed it. Can't wait to see your post about women in the church. I'm the "lost generation", half-Armenian, - in my 40s, haven't been to a church in 15 years.

I grew up in a church in CT. Got turned off by the emphasis on language and culture over religion and stopped going. Then in the late 1980s, I visited a church in Oakland, CA, where they incorporated a little English into the services, and were very welcoming. It was really great. There was also a journal out, "Window" which explored contemporary issues like language, role of women, environment. There was really a sense of excitement that things might change.
Moved to the Washington area and attended the DC church a couple times, but no one said hello or anything, felt like I didn't belong, and have never been back. It seems there's a backlash now against having any English at all or even talking about it. Your blog is a needed resource for those of us who follow things from a distance and want to see change.

Anoushig said...

Argh- IE ate my comment!

The Oakland church is supposed to be great! I have met a few people from there, and have heard nothing but good things about it.

I had a similar experience at one of the churches in DC. My visit to the other one went a little better b/c I had my sister with me, who knew someone there from her time at the summer youth programs at the Eastern Diocese.

I would love more English in the service. I am fine with the actual Badarak being in Armenian, but I like to have an English sermon, and it's also a nice touch if the confession is translated as well. I go to two churches, depending on where I am on any given Sunday, and one has more English than the other. I think it helps when the priest has been in the US a long time and is comfortable with English.