New England “Walks Thru” the Bible
15 November 2011
On Saturday, November 12, 124 parishioners of all ages from parishes throughout the New England region gathered at the Church of Our Saviour in Worcester, Mass., and were exuberantly miming, gesticulating, and shouting out the key words and phrases that outlined the story of the entire Old Testament.
When one of the participants videoed the scene to his wife on his iPhone, she replied, "Wow, that's the happiest, most participatory group of Armenians I've ever seen in the church!"
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And indeed, the high spirit in the room was a thing to behold.
Sponsored by the Diocesan Department of Youth and Education (DYE) in partnership with the New England Region Sunday School Superintendents Association (NERSA), "Walk Thru the Bible Old Testament" was an effort to infuse all parishioners with the infectious joy that comes with the knowledge of Scripture and a love of God.
"One of the things all superintendents have come to realize is that unless the entire community is modeling a powerful and authentic faith, then whatever we offer our children and young people is futile. They learn from believing adults who are faith models," said Elise Antreassian, the Diocese's Christian Education coordinator.
Worcester Sunday School superintendents Rebecca Kapur and Joan Arakelian were gracious hosts of the day, welcoming participants from every one of the 11 New England region parishes (of the 124 participants, more than three dozen were elementary, middle, and high school students) who began arriving early. They and their committee and helpers (including an admirable number of youngsters and teens) had prepared a delightful breakfast and lunch buffet and made everyone feel very much at home. In the same spirit, the Rev. Fr. Aved Terzian, the pastor of the Church of Our Saviour, warmly welcomed the audience and the day began.
The Walk Thru the Bible seminar leader was Rich Leland, a pastor for over 30 years, most recently at the Somerset Street Church on Nantucket Island, and an instructor for the Walk Thru the Bible organization for 28 years. From the moment Pastor Leland took the stage, the audience was mesmerized. Between brief explanations of content, he led the audience through gestures and mnemonic techniques to help participants learn and remember the Old Testament story, from Creation through the prophetic voices that preceded the coming of Christ.
He'd regularly leap onto the stage to lead the audience in repeatedly reviewing the cycle of movements and words. It was a wondrous exercise in imagination. At one point he had everyone picture themselves as standing on a map of the ancient Near East and locate the great cities, rivers, and seas of biblical times. By day's end, he had participants eagerly shouting for another chance to go through the story themselves, from the beginning.
Most moving were the occasional interludes when Leland would pause in prayerful reflection and apply Old Testament lessons to people's daily lives. Whether it was Abraham's decision to leave what he knew for what he trusted God to know or David's disheartening vices, there was always something for the audience to reflect upon in their own hearts and personal stories. As a result, many people later cited a desire to grow more trusting, more loyal, more faithful and more loving in their relationship with Jesus Christ, as well as extend those goals into all their relationships from friendships to marriages.
NERSA chair Laurie Bejoian thanked participants for "the blessed presence of children and young people who made this day a truly family event." She drew special attention to the day's youngest participant, one-year-old John Stickler, son of Providence Sunday School superintendent Debbie Onanian.
Diocesan Vicar, the Very Rev. Fr. Simeon Odabashian, formally concluded the day with a prayer and closing remarks expressing his hope that "this kind of inspiring program can be replicated in other parishes and brought to our youth retreats and camps."
