A message from Pastor Ara

Posted on by Lisa Bell

It has been my great joy to serve with others throughout the world during 34 years of pastoral ministry. I took my first trip to Armenia in 2003. I thought it would be my one trip, but here I am at trip No. 15.

This one is different: little work and a lot of celebration.

Usually, my group works on a house in the village of Lusaghbyur. We have finished 16 houses in a village destroyed by the earthquake of 1988. There were only four habitable structures remaining, out of 240+ after the ground stopped rolling.

My former congregation established a sister church relationship with a church in Gyumri. Over the years, we purchased chairs, refinished hardwood floors, equipped a computer lab, donated a projector, replaced lighting and purchased a piano.

We have started several businesses. We have purchased cars for pastors. We have encouraged several young people to go to college and pursue advanced degrees, in word and deed ($).

I have done weddings, baptisms, preached, celebrated communion. This trip I celebrate the fruit borne of over a decade of nurture.

On Sunday, Sept. 30, we dedicate a new sanctuary and community center in Gyumri. The following Sunday, we attend the wedding of a young woman we encouraged through college. I have known Anna since she was 8 years old. It will be a great party.

Finally, a bit of work, several Fresnans are sending the resources to buy a delivery van for Grand Hope, a ministry that takes donated goods from the capital to the border villages of Armenia.

Please pray for me and the 11 fellow travelers. See you on Sunday, Oct. 14, in worship at Robinson Park for our congregation’s second annual Blessing of the Animals (more details to come).

Please allow me to introduce myself

Posted on by Lisa Bell

I am Ara, Pastor Ara. I have served as a pastor for over 34 years, most recently as interim pastor/head of staff at First Congregational Church

Prior to Big Red, I was pastor/head of staff at Pilgrim Armenian Congregational Church, a multi-staffed ethnic and long-established congregation in Fresno, CA. I also serve part-time as the chaplain for Bright Horizon Hospice.

I love what I have been called to do. This is my second interim position, so although I will touch things, I am very aware of being gentle so I don’t break anything. Pray for me, please.

I am a YES person. I say yes, then do all I can to do it. “Can we, pastor?”  Sometimes I take a moment to think, if I or we haven’t done it before. Then “Sure,” say I.

Being a lifelong Presbyterian and a long-serving pastor in a congregational church, it is easier to say YES, for there is a council or session to say wait, … And a strong group to make the Yes talk a reality.

I am a Mission person. I talk a lot, a part of the job, sure. Ask my family, I am rarely at a loss for words.

Talk is easy, action is hard. I endeavor to match my deed to my word. By the grace and power of God, I have been able to live an integrated life.

I have been to many places, rarely as a tourist. There are always siblings to relate to and work with as we seek to reflect the love of Christ. I look forward to the places we will go in 2018 and 2019.

I serve on the board of directors of the Armenian Missionary Association of America, the mission arm of the Armenian Evangelical Union of (mostly UCC) congregations of the Americas. I have a couple of ongoing projects in Armenia and Buenos Aires, Argentina. I hope to visit South Korea again in 2019. This time to Daejeon, South Korea, where a friend and colleague is establishing a great work, I pray.

I am vice moderator and Stewardship Committee chair of the Presbytery of San Joaquin. There I am planning a local mission project and a week-long project in El Salvador. Again, I solicit your prayers.

Finally, some fun stuff. I am, along with Diane Wieble (our conference minister) and millions of others, a St. Louis Cardinal fan, have been since 1967.

I am a 58-year-old grandfather. I am not a rational, reasonable person around the grandson, Zekiel.

I wear interesting socks. No gifts of socks, please (unless you clear it with Vivy, my wife). My rather large sock drawer is overflowing.

The music here is exceptional. I appreciate most genres of music, but my personal non-worship playlist would include the Clash, Peter Gabriel, the Ramones, Rage Against the Machine and Radiohead.

I enjoy film. I go to the movies on my day off and I was able to attend the most recent Fresno Filmworks Festival for the first time this past year, Great Joy.

I am available. This call — as the four previous — is my priority (that is why no film festival before). Call, text or email me. My cell number is 559.862.3874. I put my phone on vibrate around 10 pm and back to ring around 7 am. Occasionally I forget, because I am a forgiven sinner, a broken creature, restored and occasionally put to good use by his creator, redeemer and sustainer.