Holy and life-giving God,
we come to you today with trust,
knowing that your Spirit hovers over all existence,
bringing life out of nothingness,
beauty out of ashes,
and resurrection from the depths of the earth.
Today, we remember the atrocities of the Ottoman Empire, that was marked on April 24, 1915, when many Armenian priests, scholars, and community leaders were lined up and assassinated ruthlessly. We also remember many Armenians who were deported and sent into exile in the deserts. Some survived by crossing rivers of living water and found new life.
Tender God, we cry for all the victims of the Armenian Genocide. The cry of the 1.5 million Armenian victims can still be heard, and the soil absorbing their blood still refuses to yield.
God of Life, the Armenian Genocide was one of the worst atrocities of the 20th century, Turkey attempting to eliminate the Armenian race, the very first nation to accept Christianity as a nation;* but the oppressor was defeated because your persistent love stands by the oppressed.
Therefore, today, we praise you for your grace, mercy, and power upon the Armenians, whose faith remains to be their compass, whose hope helps them soar, and whose joy helps them sing and dance even in despair.
We pray with thanksgiving,
in the name of the One who was, and is, and shall be forever.
Amen.
—Rev. Takouhi Demirdjian-Petro (revtakouhi.ca) is the first Armenian woman ordained by The United Church of Canada and is a descendant of an Armenian Genocide survivor. She is Lead Minister at Grace United Church,-Gananoque, ON.
Copyright © 2023 by Takouhi Demirdjian & TerraUtopia Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part of this publication may be used by all churches in worship and be reproduced for the purposes of worship in their church bulletin, online, and other gatherings.
*First Christian nation: Armenia, March 27, 2023.