A MOMENT TO EXPRESS OUR GRATITUDE

As you read these lines you are probably with some of the people closest to your heart or on your way to joining them at the table. So dear to every American, Thanksgiving Day is also especially meaningful for Armenians and all the other communities that make up the United States, enriching it every day with the culture and traditions they have been bringing to these lands and the hard work that makes this country a beacon of freedom, prosperity, and hope, just like it was becoming already on that day of November 1621, when the Pilgrims and the Wampanoags shared their first Thanksgiving meal.  

This year, as in 2020, our best wishes for this cherished holiday carry with them a heartfelt sense of gratitude. We are acutely aware of how challenging these last two years have been by reason of the Covid-19 pandemic, the catastrophic crisis in Lebanon, and the war in Armenia and Artsakh that has been keeping us on edge since last year.   

Yet in one of those paradoxical instances of the human condition, we find strength in adversity. It may be because in tribulations we forge our common will. While there is no shortage of difficulties and reasons to despair, your response to our Catholicos’ and Prelacy’s appeals to come to the aid of our less fortunate brethren in Armenia and Artsakh as well as Lebanon—the Diaspora’s “home away from home”—has been nothing short of outstanding. We know that for so many of you, other goals or priorities were sacrificed to serve this higher calling.   

And all the while, you have helped us grow and multiply our efforts at the Prelacy as we are adjusting to a new way of working and getting together in the post-Covid world. Thank you for making the difference.