(71st Annual ACYO Convention - St. Leon Armenian Cathedral, Burbank - January 19, 2020)
The Armenian Church Youth Organization (ACYO) of the Western Diocese held its 72nd Annual Convention (General Meeting) on Friday January 22, 2021. Although we were unable to host your usual in-person convention weekend due to the Coronavirus; the 2020 Central Council set forth to deliver the first ever virtual ACYO-WD Annual Convention. Over 60 members from twelve different parishes gathered on Zoom for this annual meeting.
The first virtual ACYO-WD Convention commenced with an opening prayer and welcoming remarks by His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, Primate of the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church. His Eminence prayed for the faith, guidance, and leadership for our youth as we continue through the challenges brought upon by the pandemic. The ACYO-WD Central Council Chairlady, Victoria Amran, followed with her opening remarks and the introduction of the 2020 Central Council Members.
The 2020 Administrative Report was presented by the ACYO-WD Central Council Chairlady wherein she informed the members present with the Central Council’s 2020 objectives and accomplishments. She discussed the unusual year we had due to Coronavirus, and how the Central Council adapted to continue the mission of the Armenian Church Youth Organization; with the introduction of the ACYO Zoom Կապ-Connect Sessions, and various events held throughout the year to support Artsakh and Armenia.
Following the Administrative Report, the 2020 Publicity Director, Andrew Hagopian; went into detail about our ACYO Zoom Կապ-Connect Sessions. He emphasised that the Central Council realized the necessity to provide the youth with a forum to stay connected with their peers and their faith during such trying times. He explained that these were one hour zoom sessions that were hosted by Central Council on Friday nights. Each Session was led by one of our dedicated priests or members from the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church. These Կապ-Connect Sessions were set up to include activities that emphasized the Four Pillars of the ACYO: Worship, Service, Fellowship, and Education. We were very happy with the immediate success and great turnout for these sessions, with a total of 115 members that joined us through the year.
This year Armenia and Artsakh have endured the toughest circumstances for any country. With that in mind, the Central Council realized the importance of helping our brothers and sisters. Victoria Amran discussed the Missions that our members can participate in to help Armenia and Artsakh within the Diocese. This included the Humanitarian Aid for Artsakh Families fundraiser led by His Eminence Archbishop Hovnan Derderian, the Chrsitan Youth Mission to Armenia, Nerouj, and upcoming projects in the works.
The Christian Youth Mission to Armenia was thoroughly explained by Gayane Parsegov, current member of the CYMA Committee. She explained CYMA’s new mission and our $50,000 Initiative with a sole purpose to fund service projects in Armenia. She concluded by describing the different aspects of a CYMA trip including potential Internships and Service Projects which members will be able to participate in, along with an upcoming Information Session.
Following the elaboration on our missions, Tamar Chavdarian invited each chapter to say a few words about ways they were able to overcome and adapt to the challenges of the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. Each chapter’s Chairperson spoke greatly about their continuous efforts to keep the Armenian spirit alive within our youth through events hosted and found ways to contribute to humanitarian projects to help Artsakh and Armenia.
After hearing about each chapter’s highlights, Ossanna Amran briefly explained what the Central Council has been doing behind the scenes. She explained that we have upgraded our ACYO-WD Brochure and Website to attract new members to the Armenian Church Youth Organization.
Following the Christan Youth Mission to Armenia presentation, we were very happy to introduce Vartan to show the members a Demo of the first ever ACYO-WD Mobile App. He showed all of us how the different resources that can be found in the app, such as a Chapter Directory, The Bible, Upcoming events, and more. Vartan also showed the members some fun features on the App; for example The Photo gallery where members will be able to submit photos from previous events starting from the date 1950. The ACYO-WD App will be available on the app store soon. At the end of Vartan’s Presentation he was presented with a Member Recognition Award on behalf of the Central Council for his outstanding work, service, and helping us bring the ACYO-WD App to reality.
The ACYO-WD 2021 Initiatives are programs that the Central Council plans to implement this year which include: The Chairpersons Summit and ACYO-Collab Sessions. Nerces Der-Aprahamian explained the Chairman’s Summit. These sessions will be hosted by the Central Council once a month for the Chairpersons from each Parish ACYO to discuss current updates, questions, and/or concerns. Victoria Amran followed with a detailed explanation of the ACYO-Collab Sessions that will be hosted once a month by ACYO Chapters from across the Western Diocese of the Armenian Church.
The 2021 ACYO-WD Virtual Convention concluded with closing remarks by Victoria Amran and closing prayers lifted by the Primate of the Western Diocese, Srpazan Hovnan Derderian, and the clergy present: Fr. Mesrop Ash from St. John, San Francisco, Fr. Haroutioun from St. James, Los Angeles, and Fr. Krikor from St. Vartan, Oakland.
The 2022 ACYO-WD Convention will be held at St. Geragos Armenian Apostolic Church of Las Vegas from January 14-16, 2022.
