Armenian Church Picnic
Our church picnic was on Sunday, and it was a great success! PB and I got to church early to help. He helped with the table set up and I helped in the kitchen…
…a few hours later and the picnic began! The picnic included traditional Armenian foods, and eveything was absolutely delicious.
I don’t talk about our church very often, but I joined PhillyBoy’s church when we got married. Within a couple of months it went from HIS church to OUR church. I love our church so much. It is the reason that we have such a great group of friends in Philadelphia, and the reason that PB and I met (we met at an Armenian wedding). All of the parents are friends, their parents (the grandparents) were friends, and now the kids are too. PB has known most of his church friends since he was born. It is pretty amazing.
Check out our picnic!
This was the first time the men brought their grills instead of using the big grill the church has. It was so fun!
After helping in the kitchen I took a long break, but quickly got recruited to help serve at the table.
These sandwiches (seen here with chicken kebab) were the biggest hit in my opinion! They were stuffed with luleh kebab (ground beef with spices and other goods), and parsley & onions. The lavash bread was made by a local family, who (very sadly) does not sell their bread.
A bunch of the guys donate a lot of time to set up and break down this tent. It is incredible to see the amount of work that goes into the picnic, but no one complains.. because it is OUR church. Our home. Our family.
This side was a labor of love that was worth every effort. The men grilled peppers, eggplant, and tomatoes, and then we peeled them and cut them up. Add just a dash of salt and parsley and a grilled vegetable salad was made!
My dad’s version of this salad (he is Jordanian) is a little different than this, but both taste pretty similar. I look forward to my dad’s version every time I go home, so it was a treat to have it in Philly! I was responsible for dressing the salad, and as the bowl was the size of me (I couldn’t even lift it!) it was hard to gauge how much to add of each ingredient. Suffice it to say I had to keep adding more and more lemon juice to get the right taste!
Bulgur Pilaf is my absolute favorite Armenian dish. I will share the recipe when I am feeling really nice one day, but according to my new aunts, the trick to good pilaf all in the pot!
Here is my plate of food (which I shared with PB). We got grilled tomatoes, chicken kebab, bulgur pilaf (which I did not share), tomato/cucumber salad, and grilled vegetable salad. And a side of diet pepsi, which was a rare and fun treat!
Here are the grill masters posing for a photo- they are all straight from Armenia!
PB and two friends:
Aside from the food, there was also a small table of art for sale, a dunk tank, and a moon bounce for the kids!
When I first moved to Philly I did not know if I like it. Well I do, in fact I love it, and much of that love has to do with being a part of this church.
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It’s been years since we went to our Armenian church Father’s Day picnics! But looking at your photos brings back memories from the ones I went to growing up at Colt State Park in Bristol. I’m glad you had fun 🙂
what a fabulous church picnic! i’m so glad you have found a church that feels like home and is Y’ALLS church 🙂 those sandwiches sound absolutely incredible!
Wow…what a spread! They really go all out. It looks like a fabulous day. I’m glad you feel at home in Philly!
That’s some picnic!
Finding a great church home is crucial to settling down in an area… and loving it! I’m so glad to see that you have been able to do that. Plus, I’m sure you feel like you know so much more about your husband… being able to see him with all the folks he grew up with. Such a great thing! And the food looks wonderful, too!
Thank you so much for sharing this with us! It is so heartwarming to know that other people love their church like I love mine!!!
I love church picnics! We have ours every summer and it is truly one of my favorite days. I always look forward to it. Your’s looks like so much fun!
Wow that’s amazing. What a great time with everyone coming together.
Wow that looks delicious and please please share that burger pilaf recipe it looks like it’s something that I would devour!
wow sabrina, that all looks amazing!! i eat lavash bread and tomato/cucumber salad all the time! on another note, i was in fairmount yesterday looking at my boyfriend’s new apartment, and i spotted a capogiro umbrella at a restaurant. turns out, it was’t capogiro – it was mugshots! i immediately recognized it! maybe when the boyf moves in and i’m down there for a visit, we could have a little meetup for cupcakes and coffee 🙂
awww. I miss church picnics! We haven’t found a church we love in our new town yet (I guess not so new anymore!).
If my church had barbecues like that I would go a lot more often! Hate that we “Americans” are stuck with hot dogs, hamburgers, etc. etc. = grossness. That Armenian food looks fresh, healthy and delicious.
WOW…that is one awesome church picnic!!!
That looks awesome, Sabrina! I’ve been trying to get the hubby to go to our local Armenian church but so far he hasn’t budged.
It looks like they make their bulgur pilaf with “shayler” noodles. Is that right?
This looks like so much fun! And the food looks delicious! Have so much FUN in Jordan! I can’t wait to see pictures and hear stories. Be safe!
I just discovered your blog and love it! I’m Orthodox too so it’s neat reading about your Armenian church. 🙂 I was actually in the country of Georgia for the summer of 2008 and was on the border with Armenia a couple of times~ beautiful area!!
@Anna, Thanks for your nice comment! Lucky you to have visited Georgia! I would love to go to both Georgia and Armenia one day.
Thank you for reading!
I married into an Armenian family too and I’m slowly learning to cook all the foods. I just learned how to make meat dolma (stuffed zucchini, peppers, etc). That looks just like the church picnics where my husband grew up in Queens. I love going to them- I feel like an honorary Armenian now.