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So I'm waiting in the dentist's office reading an old issue of Money Magazine trying

to figure where to invest my millions when I came upon an interesting article.

Annually the magazine rates the 300 best places in America to live. The ratings are

based on climate, affordability, amenities, crime rate, public transportation, medical

care, and other factors. Some of the cities and towns were well known, some not so much and one was the town

next to where I live.

Coincidently, a few weeks later, USA Today, took a similar approach with churches. Apparently, several major

metropolitan newspapers regularly review churches. A religion writer makes an unannounced Sunday visit to

various churches and analyzes everything from the sign on the outside to the sermon on the inside. Like

restaurant and theater reviewers, some writers even use ratings, from one star (poor) to five stars (excellent).

In his preface, the reviewer had made a basic observation and comment that most people rate church

atmosphere within the first 15 minutes of their first visit. They may not be able to fully explain how they

reached their conclusions, but there are certain things that they are looking for.

Having visited a number of parishes in our Diocese and elsewhre, I do understand and agree with most of the

writer's assessments. So if I needed a place to worship, what qualities would I look for in a parish church? My

list is as follows.

Sure, a priest would say this. But I believe very strongly that people expect God to come to the church they are

attending. At least, I would imagine those good folks who come to church to pray to him and to seek his

presence in their lives would do so.

Just as people can sense the presence of evil, they can also sense the presence of God. For some who have never

before experienced God, this single characteristic may determine whether they ever come again and whether

their lives will take a turn for the better. Experiencing the supernatural is a high priority, that its importance

dwarfs everything else in rating a church's atmosphere.

Contributing factors to this are the manner in which the Badarak is celebrated and offered by the priest, deacons

and choir. Does each convey that sense of being in the presence of the sacred while standing before the Holy

Altar upon which rests the Holy Chalice and Christ himself?

songs as prayer, worship as they sing, know that they represent the angles in heaven? If those who are the main

participants of the service are not "into it" shall we say how can one expect those in the pews to be inspired?

One parish that I served, St. George, Hartford, CT, was and probably still is an "others" parish. If a newcomer

were to enter the sanctuary, within a few minutes, one or more of the parishioners would go and sit next to the

person, welcome them, assist them with a pew book. Then after services they would accompany them to the

fellowship hour. Introductions would be made to the priest and to other community members with the

concluding genuine invitation to please come again.

Conversely, once while covering for a vacationing pastor of xyz parish, I walked into the hall for coffee hour

after Badarak. The people were talking and laughing and having a good time. They apparently liked their

church, but they didn't take the time to notice me. After a few minutes of uncomfortable invisibility, I was

finally asked by a Parish Council member to bless the table so people could begin eating. Only one other

person approached to say hello.

think you understand the difference.

On a few of occasions I have published the following in the Sunday Bulletin of our Mission Parishes:

Have you ever been a newcomer to an Armenian Church? If so, . . .

How you greet and treat newcomers to your community may determine whether they will ever

come back.

Coming into an Orthodox Church, Armenian or otherwise, can be a very nerve racking experience for someone

who is "not of the tribe". You can observe that as soon as one enters they look around to see where it is that

they can find a similarity – in the way we/they are dressed, look, talk. Their level of comfort can be high or low

depending on how quickly they find someone else similar to themselves.

In a gathering where everyone is young and casually dressed, the older person in a business suit feels out of

place. When everyone is speaking Armenian and one does not, they not only will feel left out of the

conversation but also wonder if others are talking about them. If everyone in the parish church is old, younger

people are less likely to come.

It is amazing how even the smallest symbols can make an impact. Seeing one person who looks and dresses

"like me" ushering or pictured in church publicity can communicate an open and inviting atmosphere.

You can often tell more about a parish church by the way it handles problems than by the way it handles

success. This makes for an easy measure because every parish has problems.

What happens when the sound system emits a squeal or drops into embarrassing silence during services? How

How do you find a teacher willing to teach Sunday School when everyone else says they are too busy? What

makes a healthy church is not the absence of problems. It's how problems are handled.

In one church where a clergy friend of mine serves, every attendee is invited to complete an information card at

every service. There are blocks to check areas of interest. Each week many people write questions, comments,

and criticisms on the back of their cards. By Monday morning all of the cards are sorted and assigned for

personalized follow-up. It is part of their commitment to be accessible in every possible way and to handle

concerns before they become problems.

Of course you realize that this not an Armenian church of which I speak. For if it were, as it is written in the

The article stated that every Saturday the Minneapolis Star Tribune reviews a local church and every review

evaluates whether the church building is handicapped accessible and whether there is adequate parking.

However, wheelchair ramps and parking stalls are only the beginning of accessibility. Is there clear and easy

access to getting questions answered, meeting new people, talking to church leaders, joining the membership,

discovering opportunities for spiritual growth, becoming part of a small group, resolving complaints, and an

openness to serve? High ratings go to churches that are "barrier free" in every sense of the term.

Listen to Parish Council members or long time parishioner conversations about the parish, and you can decide if

the primary verb tense is past, present, or future.

Most healthy parishes are hopeful churches. They are permeated with high expectations of God's blessing for

parishes have little or no desire of welcoming new parishioners for fear that they may somehow "rock the boat".

Something along the lines of how the Pharisees viewed and treated Jesus Christ or St. Paul. And boy, did they

rock the boat!

That attitude will stifle and kill any prospect of new growth, new ideas, and progress. I have seen it happen and

experienced it first-hand. Like a fruit tree that every once in a while needs trimming and pruning for the new

growth to be allowed to flourish and produce fruit, so do parishes need new ideas and fresh approaches.

Otherwise, the tree and the parish will eventually die.

The majority of people who come to church and who feel beaten up Monday through Saturday are not looking

for another beating on Sunday. They come to church for healing and hope. They want to hear the good news of

Jesus Christ. They want to be told that God is there, God has not forgotten them, and God will bless them in the

future. The church that truly believes and says, "because of Jesus Christ the best is yet to come" that is the

church that breathes spiritually healthy air.

well. It pretty well sums up the intent of this article.

Bill is wild haired; his wardrobe for college is jeans and a T-shirt with holes in it. He recently

became a believer while attending a campus Bible study.

Across from campus is a well-dressed, very conservative church. One Sunday Bill decides to go

there. He walks in late and shoeless. The sanctuary is packed. Bill heads down the aisle looking

for a seat. Having nearly reached the pulpit, he realizes there are no empty seats, so he squats

down on the carpet. The congregation is feeling uncomfortable.

Then from the back of the church, a gray-haired elder in a three-piece suit starts walking

toward Bill with a cane. The worshipers don't expect a man in his 80s to understand some college

kid on the floor. With all eyes focused on the developing drama, the minister waits to begin his

sermon until the elder does what he has to do.

The elderly man drops his cane on the floor and with great difficulty lowers himself to sit next

to Bill.

That is the kind of church and parish that I would want to be a member of.

More than 150 guests—among them former parishioners, fellow clergy, and friends— gathered in Haik and

Alice Kavookjian Auditorium of the Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America on Tuesday evening,

May 18, to bid a fond farewell to the Diocesan Vicar, the Very Rev. Fr. Haigazoun Najarian.

Fr. Najarian will travel to Europe next month to assume the office of Pontifical

Legate of Central Europe and Sweden. Based in Vienna, Austria, he will tend to

the spiritual needs of the Armenian communities in more than a dozen countries.

His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians,

had proposed the prestigious move earlier this year, and Fr. Najarian accepted in a

spirit of humility and great responsibility.

During the May 18 farewell gathering, friends and colleagues shared their

memories of their time with Fr. Najarian in the relaxed atmosphere, and wished

him the best of luck in his new position.

Archbishop Yeghishe Gizirian, former Primate of the United Kingdom, Executive Director of the Fund for

Armenian Relief, Garnik Nanagoulian, Diocesan communications director Chris Zakian as well as others all

spoke of their friendship and relation with Fr. Haigazoun.

In his benediction, Diocesan Primate Archbishop Khajag Barsamian congratulated Fr. Najarian on his new

appointment saying “Our doors and our hearts are always open to Fr. Haigazoun.”

A man was sitting on the edge of the bed, watching his wife, who was looking at herself in the

mirror. Since her birthday was not far off he asked what she'd like to have for her birthday.

'I'd like to be six again', she replied, still looking in the mirror.

On the morning of her Birthday, he arose early, made her a nice big bowl of Lucky Charms, and

then took her to Six Flags theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park; the

Death Slide, the Wall of Fear, the Screaming Roller Coaster, everything there was.

Five hours later they staggered out of the theme park. Her head was reeling and her stomach

felt upside down. He then took her to a McDonald's where he ordered her a Happy Meal with

extra fries and a chocolate shake.

Then it was off to a movie, popcorn, a soda pop, and her favorite candy, M&M's.

What a fabulous adventure!

Finally she wobbled home with her husband and collapsed into bed

exhausted.

He leaned over his wife with a big smile and lovingly asked, 'Well Dear,

what was it like being six again?'

Her eyes slowly opened and her expression suddenly changed.

'I meant my dress size, you nut!!!!'