An Armenian Evangelical Fellowship Is Reborn

On a Cold Weekend in February, Renee and I traveled to the Washington DC metro area. For months, Rev. Heather Ohaneson and I had been establishing contacts and building relationships there. Many years ago there was a vibrant group meeting regularly, uniting Armenian Evangelicals from DC, Virginia and Maryland. Since some people from that group are still around and new people have moved down that way, it made sense to think this fellowship could be established again.

Rev. Heather’s proximity to the area made it possible for her to visit in person numerous times over the past six month. I had done my part from 3,000 miles away, by telephone and email. So, by the time we arrived at Ronald Reagan Airport, close ties had already been built with a number of people who were enthusiastic to help with this kick off event.

Having left behind 75 degree weather in Los Angeles, we landed in Washington to face 25 degrees, frozen snow piled up everywhere and wind chills into the single digits. AMAA Field Director, Harout Nercessian also joined us for the weekend making it a bit of a joint collaboration.

Many thanks to Rev. Emily DeAndrea, pastor of the Potomac Presbyterian Church who welcomed us and graciously provided space for our Saturday evening event. She also invited Harout to give a presentation on the work of the AMAA in her church on Sunday morning.

We had hoped to have 10-15 people on Saturday evening, but were thrilled to discover that over 25 people, of all ages, attended. After singing a hymn, we played a get to know each other game and I shared a short message on the topic “What Makes Us Family.” Finally, we took some time to discuss our vision for the future of this group before singing the Hyer Mer together to close out our time.

Following the event, Paul and Cyndy Mamalian invited us to their home which was just a few minutes away. About 20 of us continued our fellowship there with a wonderful kebab supper and delightful fellowship around the table.

We hope to build on this great start by planning additional events and program both in person and on zoom to keep this group connected. There are many Armenians in the area who could also join as we build this group up and develop a focused vision for what we can do together. Continue to pray as we seek God’s guidance and develop the identity of this revitalized Armenian Evangelical Fellowship.

Rev. Ron Tovmassian

Field Pastor