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FORMER CARETAKER OF MADRAS ARMENIAN CHURCH COMPLAINS IT'S BEING NEGLECTED
http://hetq.am/eng/news/22181/former-caretaker-of-madras-armenian-church-complains-it%E2%80%99s-being-neglected.html
23:24, January 10, 2013
Dear Friends,
It was indeed a happy moment for me to be at our church for Christmas
on Jan 6.
We said a prayer and lit some candles and I also rang the bells. A
special prayer was also said for the Armenians in Syria, in the hope
that peace returns. I also placed some flowers on the grave of the
father of Armenian journalism, Rev Haruthiun Shmavonian grave.
The maintenance of the church is still poor despite church members'
instructions to the caretaker on December 12 to better the upkeep. I
decided that I would clean some of the pictures myself. I pray that
the present caretaker takes more interest to keep our church clean and
neat. He also informed me that the church roof leaks severely when it
rains and also discovered that rodents have started burrowing their
way into the property and many hairline cracks are visible in the
pillars. Let's hope that all this will be rectified at the earliest.
The Armenian church in Madras is of historical importance for Armenians
throughout the world.
then went to the cemetery which is four kilometers from our church to
put flowers on the grave of the former caretaker Mr. George Gregory and
his wife Joan. I was shocked to see the condition of the cemetery. The
quarters where the Gardner family lives has caved in due to the heavy
rains last November. They are now somehow managing with a small tent
on the property. This needs immediate attention and I hope something
will be done soon. The garden needs to be maintained properly. The
main gate has fallen off and needs to be fixed.
It pains me that when I was caretaker for the church from 1994-2004 we
put our hearts and soul to maintain our beautiful church and cemetery,
and too see them now being neglected is heart breaking. For a brief
period in 2008, they were maintained very well. But now they are
neglected once again. Though the Kolkata church was kind enough
to carry out extensive repairs a few years ago, this work needs to
be reviewed periodically. God bless the Indian Armenians and Mayr
Hayastan..
I also urge our respectful pastor in India Rev. Fr.Khoren Hovanissian
to intervene in this matter along with the honorable committee members.
Michael Stephen
Bangalore, India.
Former Caretaker -Armenian Church of Madras, India
http://hetq.am/eng/news/22181/former-caretaker-of-madras-armenian-church-complains-it%E2%80%99s-being-neglected.html
23:24, January 10, 2013
Dear Friends,
It was indeed a happy moment for me to be at our church for Christmas
on Jan 6.
We said a prayer and lit some candles and I also rang the bells. A
special prayer was also said for the Armenians in Syria, in the hope
that peace returns. I also placed some flowers on the grave of the
father of Armenian journalism, Rev Haruthiun Shmavonian grave.
The maintenance of the church is still poor despite church members'
instructions to the caretaker on December 12 to better the upkeep. I
decided that I would clean some of the pictures myself. I pray that
the present caretaker takes more interest to keep our church clean and
neat. He also informed me that the church roof leaks severely when it
rains and also discovered that rodents have started burrowing their
way into the property and many hairline cracks are visible in the
pillars. Let's hope that all this will be rectified at the earliest.
The Armenian church in Madras is of historical importance for Armenians
throughout the world.
then went to the cemetery which is four kilometers from our church to
put flowers on the grave of the former caretaker Mr. George Gregory and
his wife Joan. I was shocked to see the condition of the cemetery. The
quarters where the Gardner family lives has caved in due to the heavy
rains last November. They are now somehow managing with a small tent
on the property. This needs immediate attention and I hope something
will be done soon. The garden needs to be maintained properly. The
main gate has fallen off and needs to be fixed.
It pains me that when I was caretaker for the church from 1994-2004 we
put our hearts and soul to maintain our beautiful church and cemetery,
and too see them now being neglected is heart breaking. For a brief
period in 2008, they were maintained very well. But now they are
neglected once again. Though the Kolkata church was kind enough
to carry out extensive repairs a few years ago, this work needs to
be reviewed periodically. God bless the Indian Armenians and Mayr
Hayastan..
I also urge our respectful pastor in India Rev. Fr.Khoren Hovanissian
to intervene in this matter along with the honorable committee members.
Michael Stephen
Bangalore, India.
Former Caretaker -Armenian Church of Madras, India