The Jinishian Memorial Program–Lebanon organizes events on various occasions with the goal of bringing joy and creating a warm social and spiritual environment for the elderly who live alone and face financial and other difficulties.
Within the framework of these events, a Mid-Lent gathering for elderly was held on Tuesday, March 13, 2012, at the JMP–L center.
A group of students from “Levon and Sofia Hagopian” Armenian College surprised attendees with their artistic performances during the event. They entertained the elderly with their songs, dances and poetry readings.
The student who delivered a speech on behalf of her classmates said that it is a great pleasure for her and her friends to be present at this event and receive the blessing of the older generation. She asked the elderly to pray for them to become hard-working and creative Armenians.
At the end of the performances, the students distributed presents to the elderly which they had bought with the money they had raised by organizing a dessert-sale fundraiser at their school.
The second part of the event opened with a speech by Father Sevag Vasilian. He spoke about the meaning and importance of Lent, inspiring attendees with his spiritual advice and spreading hope among them. He also added that love, repentance, and forgiveness are graces that Jesus Christ taught us about, and that praying constitutes spiritual salvation.
A group of female volunteers prepared and distributed the meal. The dessert, Armenian tahini bread, was offered by an Armenian bakery.
The event was unique because it brought together representatives of younger and older generations on the occasion of Lent. The enthusiasm of the young students to show their care for and respect to the elderly, as well as the efforts of the women volunteers, are praiseworthy.
Read the Armenian version of this article published in The Aztag Daily.
