Armenian Government and Clergy Representatives to Join with Community Leaders at Opening Ceremony on March 19
WASHINGTON—Representatives from the Hamazakayin Armenian Educational and Cultural Association of the Eastern United States will gather in Washington, D.C. this weekend to review a year of successes and plan the future expansion of Armenian American cultural initiatives at their 34th annual convention.
The weekend activities will be kicked off by a March 19 opening reception, hosted at the home of long-time Hamazkayin members Grigor and Arax Khachikian. A broad array of Armenian government and clergy leaders will be present, including the ambassador of the Armenia to the U.S., Tatul Markarian, and the Armenian ambassador to the United Nations, Garen Nazarian. The evening cultural program will include remarks by Hamazkayin Central Executive member Edward Misserlian and Hamazkayin Eastern U.S. chairman Zarmair Setrakian, as well as message from the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) Eastern Region.
Father Sarkis Aktavoukian will offer remarks on behalf of His Eminence Oshagan Choloyan, Prelate of the Armenian Prelacy of the Eastern United States. The evangelical community will be represented by the Armenian Missionary Association of America. A special message from Most Rev. Manuel Batakian, the Armenian Catholic Exarch in the U.S. and Canada, will also be read.
Joining Hamazkayin international and regional leaders at the opening reception will be representatives of the ARF, Armenian Relief Society, Homenetmen Armenian Athletic and Scouting Association, and the Armenian Youth Federation. The annual convention will bring together local leaders from eight eastern U.S. chapters, including Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and Washington, D.C.
The weekend convention will take place at the Soorp Khatch Armenian Church Arabian Hall, 4906 Flint Drive in Bethesda, Md.
Guest Contributor
I Do Still Cry,
Where’s My Land
Where is my land
I feel orphaned
Since a century dart.
Where ever we stay
We feel in demand.
We feel every love
Working hearty-hard.
Giving beyond
Any one can give
With ‘Genial Smiles.’
Our keenness
Has never seen end
As our senses fit right.
Even to greenless sand.
We live on Earth
Have ever you heard
Belonged to any else?
All must soon sigh.
But…like to die
Under the shade of a green tree
Where my ancestors
Planted even before BBC
There …dined and danced;
Still their soulful incenses
Breathe there
Hence no-where!
I want to smell
Before I sigh
How can I lie
In an undefined-
Soulless lay.
March 22, 2010