…You are the light of the world…..Let your light shine in front of people.
Then they will see the good that you do and praise you Father in heaven.
Matthew 5:13-16

Remember Burt Lancaster?
The boys of my generation should.
Burt Lancaster was our early childhood Hero on screen. ‘The Crimson Pirate,’ ‘From Here to Eternity,’ ‘Trapeze.’
We had no TV, no laptops, no iPads, no livestreaming on gadgets. The big screen was the only media where we scrambled to see the Lancaster movies as often as they were shown. And we loved it in the wilderness of our childhood minds. And then… ‘when I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.’
The issue of the AMAA News in your hands is rich covering:
Heroes discovered ‘when I became a man.’
Role Models who are the epitome of ‘train a child in the way that he should go, and when he is old, he will not turn from it.’
Role Models who have garnered the prize of graduating Sunday School where they learned ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.’
Role Models who not only lived a life guided by the light of Scripture but applied its teachings in their lives.
Growing up, youngsters need a Hero, a Role Model, someone to look up to, someone to emulate, a Leader to follow.
A Leader, with indelible integrity, honesty, sought after and trusted.
A Leader, who despite a towering presence in society and prominent role in life, demonstrates boundless humility and modesty.
A Leader, who practices what he or she teaches and is a shining light of goodness.
A Leader, whose ‘good reputation is more desirable than great wealth.’
Reckoned names in God’s service match the above criteria. As a community in the service of the Lord and humanity we are rich because of the grace of such Role Models who have enlightened our path and whose memorialized or living legacy is what we invest in the lives of our youth in the present.
That is what AMAA’s mission is all about and that is where the focus of your support and the spotlight of our attention is now and forever.
Burt Lancaster and his acrobatic heroism still brings a smile to my face. But the glowing legacy of the late Dr. Mihran Agbabian and the shining light of Rev. Dr. Vahan H. Tootikian and the path they have carved as Role Models has impacted my life and the lives of the multitude.
‘Let your light shine in front of people.’
Thank you for your support and thank you Dr. Agbabian and Rev. Dr. Tootikian.