Fr. Mesrop Ash

And Now For Something Completely Different

Wed, 02 May 2012 00:18:03 -0700

By the grace of God I was ordained and consecrated into the Sacred Order of the Priesthood on Sunday, April 29, 2012 by His Eminence Abp. Hovnan Derderian. This was the culmination of 8 years of preparation, and great support on behalf of my wife Annie, my family, and the entire of Western Diocese.

According to our Sacred Tradition, I was given a new name, Mesrop, to signify the new life in which I’ve been graced to serve.

I contemplated leaving this blog as is, and creating a new blog under my new name, but instead I’ve decided to change this blog’s name, and keep my old posts as a record of my journey.

In the near future I hope to post some reflections on my ordination.

God bless.

New Beginnings

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 22:58:32 -0800

Today marks the beginning of a new year, and the beginning of a new journey in my family’s life. I have been assigned as the pastor of St. John Armenian Church, and will take up my duties as soon as we are able to relocate ourselves to the City by the Bay.

For the past two and a half years you may have followed our experiences in Armenia on this blog, flickr, twitter, or Facebook, etc…, where I studied and prepared my mind and spirit for the calling of the Priesthood. By the grace of God, this period of time was fruitful and strengthened not only my vocation, but Annie’s as well. We returned to the United States with the blessing of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin to continue our mission and serve our people.

Now, we look onto this new path thats laid before us and we are indescribably humbled. I am humbled that the faithful of St. John Armenian Church have given me the opportunity to be their pastor. I have some small faith in my abilities, more faith in my wife to be my support and my inspiration, and great faith that God will guide us where we falter.

As we start this new chapter in our lives, I’m going to take today’s gospel reading to heart. I’m going to make it my anthem, my motto for the rest of the year. Christ says,

Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. – Luke 22:26

With the Lord’s help, youth and humility are going to be standards of my service. Youth is ignorance in the wisdom of men, which can be corrupt and conceited. Instead, it’s a type wisdom that flows truth and boldness. Humility is the most valuable of all virtues. The humble cast away their ego and their pride and become God’s tools for good. Without humility love couldn’t exist in this world.

I will fall short of these ideals… constantly. However, I pray that God grants me, and all us, the strength to pursue them relentlessly. Please join me in this prayer, and follow us as we begin this new journey in our lives.

Taken with Instagram at Palace of Fine Arts

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:11:48 -0800

Taken with Instagram at Palace of Fine Arts

I Confess With Faith… and So Can You

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:43:00 -0700

Last Saturday was the feast day of St. Nersess Shnorhali, a genius of the Armenian Church, who authored many of the hymns and prayers which continue to be said in our sanctuaries throughout the world.

As part of my personal regime, I’ve committed to praying his seminal work, Հաւատով խոստովանիմ or “I Confess with Faith”, once a day. Toward that goal I’ve formatted the text for my digital devices: the iPad, iPhone, and the Kindle.

Having this prayer with me at all times has allowed me to easily incorporate it into my daily schedule. When I find myself with 10 free minutes, I can just pull out the most convenient device and pray.

I hope that this prayer will enrich your prayer life as it has the faithful of the Armenian People for centuries.

Download

Feel free to download this prayer which includes the original (Ancient) Armenian, and the English translation. The English translation is courtesy of Western Diocese of the Armenian Church.

ePub - This will work on iPhones, iPads, B&N Nooks, and several other e-book readers. Here are some instructions on how to put it on your iOS device.
Mobipocket - This will work on Amazon Kindles. These are instructions to get the file on your Kindle (video).
PDF - Plain old PDF. Works everywhere.

"While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another. Habit..."

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 04:04:09 -0700

“While my care was employed in guarding against one fault, I was often surprised by another. Habit took the advantage of inattention; inclination was sometimes to strong for reason.”

- Benjamin Franklin on trying to achieve “moral perfection”

Armenian Apostolic Church Uses Modern Information Technology

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 13:39:00 -0700

Armenian Apostolic Church Uses Modern Information Technology:

I was interviewed by Radio Free Liberty regarding my involvement with a youth organization started by the deacons of the Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, who have heavily used Facebook as a tool to reach out to the young people of Armenia. The interview was given just prior to my giving a presentation on Ecology and the Church to a “Manana” (meaning Mana) group at St. Mary Church in the area of Malatia. The following is a translation for my friends and family that can’t read Armenian.

Also lecturing in the Manana framework is Dn. Matthew Ash, who’s first expertise was Web Design, but is now clergyman. Matthew’s mother is Armenian, but by his admission, until the age of 23-24, he hadn’t known a single word of Armenian. Only later, according to his words, he began to learn Armenian having become conscious of his clerical calling.

He has been in Armenia for two years, and studied in the Gevorgian Seminary. Of the difficulties he experienced living here, one was the language, and the other was missing his mother, sister, and dear ones.

The most important thing that he learned in Armenia, in his words, was the national mentality [style of thinking] and consciousness, as the National Church has a certain type of unique flavor to it.

And to some degree he has been able to transfer to the clergy of Armenia his American mentality and the administrative and educational methods of structuring church life which are used in the United States.

Two weeks ago, I received a Macbook for my 30th birthday. My...

Sun, 26 Jun 2011 07:04:00 -0700

Two weeks ago, I received a Macbook for my 30^th birthday. My wife ferried it halfway across the world, coming back from a recent visit home.

Anyway, as part of the glorious and tedious process of settling into a new computer, which includes transferring files, installing programs, and the like, I decided to seal it with a custom wallpaper.

The wallpaper is primarily a wood background that I found via prettify, but I added my personal touch by inlaying an engraving of the Virgin Mary found in the amazing book, Armenian Ornamental Art. Feel free to download it and sanctify your desktop!

Download the 1440x900 JPG

"Sainthood emerges when you can listen to someone’s tale of woe and not respond with a..."

Sat, 18 Jun 2011 04:00:06 -0700

“Sainthood emerges when you can listen to someone’s tale of woe and not respond with a description of your own.”

- Andrew V. Mason

"The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God."

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 20:00:06 -0700

“The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God.”

- Saint Irenaeus

Marrying Mexican and Armenian cuisine

Fri, 17 Jun 2011 13:44:00 -0700

Marrying Mexican and Armenian cuisine:

My Aunt Mary’s yalanchi (stuffed grape leaves)

If you’ll permit me to boast, this is a pretty great article in the Los Angeles Times about the confluence of my family’s culture with that of the author’s, Lorenza Munoz’s, family.

The author of this article is the wife of my Grandfather’s brother’s son. I can truly attest to the fact that it has been a source of personal and cultural joy for our family to share our heritage with the Munoz’s and likewise share in theirs.

I particularly enjoyed Lorenza’s description of my grandfather Tony’s (Անդրանիկ), culinary habits; his love of mezze and martinis. Indeed, I come from a family with a rich love for food, not only for our Armenian culinary traditions, but food of all kinds.

The Munoz’s are a blessed family, and it has been an enriching experience for all us to share in our respective traditions.

The Armenian Diaspora shouldn’t consider cultural excahange a “challenge”, but instead intermarriage should be embraced as an opportunity to enrichen our lives and share our time-tested values.

A Clockwork Miracle

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 23:07:20 -0700

A Clockwork Miracle:

The excellent radio show, RadioLab, presents the fascinating story of how a 400 year old robotic monk came into existence. While its prayers may not have any power, it certainly had the ability to captivate and amaze those who gazed upon it in 17^th century.

In this video, our students from Ghoghanj Childrens Center, ...

Thu, 16 Jun 2011 09:33:00 -0700

In this video, our students from Ghoghanj Childrens Center, Armine and Anahit, teach us how to take used plastic bags (which are plentiful in Armenia), and create a pretty material which can then be used to create fun and useful crafts like wallets or purses.

My students learned this technique in my wife’s class (the students call her ընկեր Անի). We are produced this in preparation for a website we’re creating called Green Future. We are going to spread awareness about Ecology amongst the youth in Armenia, and also present fun and accessible solutions.

Just witnessed an eclipse of the Moon. Annie and I watched it...

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:11:00 -0700

Just witnessed an eclipse of the Moon. Annie and I watched it occur just after midnight. We couldn’t help but notice that over time it seemed to resemble a Death Star more and more.

“The undevout astronomer must be mad.” — Sir William Herschel

"Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of..."

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 02:09:55 -0700

“Not to share our own wealth with the poor is theft from the poor and deprivation of their means of life; we do not possess our own wealth but theirs”

- St. John Chrysostom

Homegrown Efforts

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 03:00:00 -0700

Despite itself, Armenia can be a surprising place. It tempts those expats who live here into a sense of ambivalence, because, as a watched pot never boils, we wait with anticipation for things to develop as we expect or hope them to, and sink into cynicism when they don’t. However, its the progress that occurs organically and not by will of outsiders with plans, which sends the cynic in to shock.

I experienced this sense of awe once again when I visited the Centaur Hippotherapy Center in the village of Ushi off of the Ashtarak Highway. The path that led me to this place was a little too complicated to explain in this blog, but it is certain testimony to my belief that people who live with a sense of being open to their own conscience are spiritually rewarded.

Centaur is a humble facility that practices Hippotherapy, horse-assisted therapy. They treat children who suffer from congenital conditions such as Cerebal Palsy, Autism, and Down Syndrome. Hippotherapy is an internationally recognized form of effective therapy for patients with such conditions. It helps condition their bodies for normal locomotion and elimination pathological reflexes.

The director, Hasmik, working with a child.

To return to my original point, one reason that I have fallen in love with this place is that its mere existence is the result of the love and sheer effort that has been put into it by its founder, Hasmik, and her staff. With no financial support, they bootstrapped the entire project from scratch. What they’ve achieved has been through the funds they’ve been able to scrape together and the sporadic support of sympathetic acquaintances.

When they moved into to their current donated space they spent many months grading the land that would become their horse range by hand, using buckets and shovels, because they didn’t have the funds to hire the necessary equipment. They still personally shuttle children back and forth from their homes with their one car, because many of their patients don’t have the money to pay for the transportation.

This isn’t the only project in Armenia that exhibits this homegrown characteristic, there are many (my wife works for one). However, the discovery of such dedication truly inspires us to continue enabling them to pursue their efforts.

Unconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 04:37:00 -0700

Do you like computers? Do you like the Internet? People who, like me, would not only say yes to these questions, but also not even quite understand why someone wouldn’t, fall under a oft-used title these days, geek. I was never a big fan of the term geek, because it certainly wasn’t something I would have wanted to have been called as a child, but its been reappropriated as of late, and is apparently something cool now.

BarcampEVN ‘11 took place on June 4-5 at the American University In Armenia

Are you a geek? Do you live in Armenia? People who, like me, answered yes to these questions, were at the Third Annual Barcamp, Yerevan, which was held on June 4-5. This is the second Barcamp I’ve attended in Armenia, and last year I gave a presentation on my studies regarding the usage of Armenian Webfonts. I regreted not being able to give a presentation this year, but my schedule wouldn’t allow it.

Whenever I participate in an event in which I have played no part as an organizer, I feel a sense of serenity. After so many years of coordinating events of one type or another, I feel like its a true privilege to just show up and observe one. So, I enjoyed my time as a passive observer at the Barcamp.

Impressions

I have been extremely impressed by the Barcamp’s organizing committee. During the Barcamp, they seem to be present at all times, working to keep the event running smoothly. They engaged the participants in a very friendly manner, and eagerly answered people’s questions, despite the fact that no one paid a fee to participate (one of the rules of a Barcamp). In the months prior to the event, they regularly tweet updates to the event’s and their personal profiles, as well as maintain the event’s blog. This is the international standard for geek event promotion, but its a source of pride that they don’t do a good job “for being in Armenia”, but are simply doing a good job.

Opening of BarcampEVN. At the podium are Arpik, Mika, and the middle guy.

It is also worth noting that Armenians have a certain habit of formalizing things. Its a natural inclination to make events appear organized by imposing structure and bureaucracy where its not always necessary. The cornerstone of a Barcamp is its informality. Its wonderful that the organizers have been able to maintain a stasis of order and informality despite our discordant culture.

It also does the organizers credit, and speaks to the growing sense of geekiness amongst Yerevan’s young adults, that the attendance of the this event has steadily grown every year.

Reflections

After having attended this event for two years, I can say very certainly that its true virtue is not its many presentations, but in the non-virtual social networking that occurs. Its an opportunity for people from different backgrounds to convene and interact. The participants of this event are not cut from the same cloth. They are mostly young, mostly Armenian, and nearly all active in online social networks, but that is the extent of their similarity. Some are into social media and citizen journalism. Others are geeks of the true order, engaged in computer science and engineering. A few are of the class of communicators and designers. Businessmen and entrepreneurs are in the mix too. Finally, there are some people who showed up simply because it seemed like a cool place to be. (Perhaps literally, because the air conditioning at AUA is great). The potential for the exchange of ideas that could occur in this environment could be pivotal for Armenia’s future development both economically and socially.

Expansion

Keeping this in mind, one thing that I heard many people mention was that it was unfortunate that it should only happen once a year. I am of the same opinion. As they say, when something isn’t broke, don’t fix it. Therefore, I wouldn’t suggest that the organizers should alter the general format of the current Barcamp, or simply do it half-yearly or quarterly. Nevertheless, it seems clear that the demand exists. Perhaps more focused barcamp style events could be hosted in smaller formats a couple times a year, with one focused on Social Media and another on Web Design, Development, and Business Development. I understand that the capacity of the organizing committee is limited, and this may hinder their ability to expand programming. If this is the only limiting factor, hopefully the ranks of the committee will grow over time so that new people can learn from their experience and widen the scope of their activity.

Language

The presentations in the Big Hall on the First Day.
Two were in English and two were in Russian.

Armenia has always been a multilingual country, with most of the population speaking some amount of Russian and/or English. The few guests who had come from abroad were welcomed to speak in their native language. Perhaps for most this wasn’t a problem, but it seemed that for at least a few, many things weren’t understood. In my case, being able to speak Armenian and English meant that the Russian presentations were out. For others who didn’t understand English well, the opposite was true. For a few that didn’t know Armenian at all, such as the international guests, it seemed to me that most of the presentations were unintelligible. I realize its expensive, but having translators, at least in the main hall, could be a big improvement.

Self promotion

If I have one gripe about the openness of the Barcamp format, its that it enables people to come and advertise their own products for half an hour, for free. If, in the presentation of their product, they discuss some idea or approach, technological or professional, which could be useful for the attendees, then I accept it. However, I don’t like the idea of Barcamp being used as a platform to promote one’s product. It shows a lack of respect for the audience. I’m sure that if they wanted to promote their product they could be a paid sponsor of the event like many other companies were.

I don’t know how this can be discouraged, but it would be great if it didn’t continue in the future.

Congratulations

I would like to sincerely congratulate all of the people responsible for this important event. I hope and pray that they’ll be able to continue their work for many years to come for the benefit of the Armenia’s economic, social, and cultural life. This sort of effort is exactly what we need.

Note I had to re-title this post from “Nonconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow” to “Unconferencing for a Brighter Tomorrow”, because Nonconference is not a word. Unconference is a word. My bad.

The sacrament of ordination is rare and special occasion. On...

Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:20:20 -0700

The sacrament of ordination is rare and special occasion. On June 2, during the commemoration of the Christ’s Ascension, seven priests were ordained. On a personal level, some of them are my friends and it was a blessing to experience this moment with them for which they have been preparing for many years.

When a priest is ordained, it is important that we keep them in our prayers, because they are called to a service, which can sometimes bring them to the edge of their capacity as human being in pursuing Christ’s example. This is something we are called to, but it is something that is expected of a priest. The pressure can be overwhelming at times. Therefore, remember them and all of our clergy in your prayers when you are able.

Our students from our Sunday School at St. James Armenian Church...

Tue, 24 May 2011 22:37:42 -0700

Our students from our Sunday School at St. James Armenian Church in Los Angeles performing the Armenian National Anthem. Very cool! Great job everybody.

"All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap...."

Sun, 01 May 2011 04:00:06 -0700

“All of us who do creative work, we get into it because we have good taste. But there is this gap. For the first couple years you make stuff, it’s just not that good. It’s trying to be good, it has potential, but it’s not. But your taste, the thing that got you into the game, is still killer. And your taste is why your work disappoints you. A lot of people never get past this phase, they quit. Most people I know who do interesting, creative work went through years of this. We know our work doesn’t have this special thing that we want it to have. We all go through this…. It’s gonna take awhile. It’s normal to take awhile. You’ve just gotta fight your way through.”

- Ira Glass (via nefffy)

Localizing Data Models in MongoMapper

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:00:00 -0700

One of my longterm goals for The Oratsouyts Online was to have the content available in at least both English and Armenian. I had developed the site using insanely cool NoSQL technology called Mongo because of its speed and flexibility. The flexibilty was key because I hadn’t worked out the whole data model when I started the project, and I knew it would grow and change in the future.

I had built the site using the Ruby micro-framework Sinatra at first, but later as the project grew I ported it to Padrino. At that time I moved from the raw Mongo Ruby Driver to the sleek looking MongoMapper. It had certainly made the already easy Mongo syntax significantly easier.

When I finally got around to localizing the site I found that localizing the UI was a breeze with Padrino’s baked in i18n support, but when I started on the data, MongoMapper was presenting a problem. With the ridiculous flexibility that Mongo offers I assumed it would be a piece of cake. Hours and days of searching for solutions and then trying to hack my own proved fruitless. Eventually, I posted on the MongoMapper group, in the hope that someone else had done or could do what I couldn’t. Fortunately within a couple days a solution was found. I wanted to post it here simple to provide another vector by which someone else may find this solution lest their googling be fruitless as mine.

The Solution

I had started with a solution I found on Stackoverflow, but it really didn’t work. Eventually with the help other group members, we ended up with this solution. Its a custom data type that should be applied to the keys that will be localized.

Here is the code.

Here is an example of what the model would look like.

Here is an example of how to interact with the model in the console.

An important note, to add data to the localized field the << operator must be used. Adding data using = will result in the localization being nullified.

For more info, I encourage you to read Stackoverlow solution, as well as my comment on the MongoMapper group.

A second solution

After I implemented the above solution, another user posted his solution which acts as a MongoMapper Plugin and not a custom data type. It actually looks more effective, but I haven’t tested it yet. It can be found in this GitHub Gist

I hope these solutions will be helpful to anyone who finds themselves in the same position I was.