(Main Picture: at the Assembly and with the Armenian Club Students) 

The Armenian club at the John Burrough's High School in Burbank put together an assembly where hundreds of student attended to hear a unique message by Fr. Vazken Movsesian of the Western Diocese.

Ms. Shake Balian, student counselor and adviser to the Armenian Students, extended the invitation to Fr. Vazken. He captivated the audience with personal reflections on the theme of Genocide. He recounted a visit to Rwanda a decade after the Genocide in that country. "I had a unique vantage point," he said, "As an Armenian standing in Rwanda, I had one foot in the first and one foot in the last Genocide of the 20th Century." The comparisons he drew between the two events were striking in their expressions of inhumanity. He brought it all together by talking about our necessary reactions. He explained, "The Armenian Genocide is not a history lesson. It's a call for us to react for the sake of peace and humanity in the world today."

Fr. Vazken gave examples of student activism, especially by outlying his work with youth for Darfur and areas of great atrocities. After several questions and answers the assembly warmly thanked him. Ms. Balian said, "Students and teachers were truly inspired."

This is part of a series of lectures and talks that Fr. Vazken gives connecting the Armenian Genocide to the many atrocities that plague society today. Fr. Vazken can be followed on www.InHisShoes.org