Save as PDFThe 100th anniversary celebration of the foundation of the Holy Dormition (Assumption) Сhurch on “Kurchaki” in MacNutt (near Yorkton), Saskatchewan, took place on August 28, 2009.
Considering that the parish is almost 1000 km from Edmonton and considering that there are relatively few parishioners, on this day there were gather more than 140 believers from the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba and Saskatchewan, who took part in the festival celebrations of the parish.
The small size of the church could not accommodate all who wished to participate in worship, so before it was placed a huge tent, which almost doubled the size of the temple.
The Pontifical Divine Liturgy and festive Moleben was conducted by His Grace Bishop Job, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada and temporarily the United States.
Before the Liturgy Bishop Job, according to the old Ukrainian tradition, was accompanied from the parish hall to the temple by a procession with the altar cross and church banners, while the church bells were ringing.
Before entering the temple of the Lord he was greeted by the Vice-President Bill Shewchuk, the eldest member of the parish, with bread and salt, and the President of the Parish, Anne Pitz, presented him with flowers. The rector, Father Igor Kisil, greeted Bishop Job inside the Church.
The co-servers at the service were the parish Priest Fr. Igor Kisil, Priest George Sergeev (Rector of the “Orthodox V” Parishes), Archpriest Andrew Piasta (American Orthodox Church) and Deacon Joseph Winnick.
The beauty of the Divine Liturgy and Moleben was enhanced by the mellifluous singing of a church choir under the direction of Zenovia Duch.
At the end of the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Job greeted all the parishioners and guests on the occasion of the patronal feast of the Dormition of the Theotokos and on the 100th anniversary of the foundation of the church. He wished all people present God’s abundant mercies, the protection of the Theotokos, and thanked them for keeping the faith of their forefathers and for their love of Holy Orthodoxy.
On behalf of the parishioners and guests Fr. Igor Kisil thanked Bishop Job for his Holy prayers, his archpastoral blessing, and for his visit to the parish. Fr. Igor prayerfully wished His Eminence bountiful health in his archpastoral service, good health, and many years of life.
After the veneration of the cross and anointing with holy oil, a moleben with the small blessing of water was conducted outdoors at the place where the first temple originally stood. This was followed by a festal procession around the church. “Many Years” was then sung and the memorial plaque was blessed. After that, a prayer (litia) was served on the cemetery for the departed founders and parishioners of the Holy Dormition Church, and a new monument in memory of all departed infant children of the parish during the pass 100 years was blessed. “Memory Eternal” was then sung.
Then a group picture was taken on the church grounds.
Following this, a festive Anniversary banquet and jubilee program was held at Calder memorial hall.
After the prayer “Our Father” was sung and the meal was blessed, Joanne Keast (daughter of Anne Pitz), the master of ceremonies, declared the jubilee festivities “open” and introduced the head table to all those present. After the meal, the festive jubilee program took place.
Bishop Job presented a Patriarchal Hramota (certificate of merit) to the church board and the parishioners of the Dormition Church on the occasion of the celebration of the 100th Anniversary of the founding of their parish, and in recognition of their hard work and zealous efforts toward the consolidation of Holy Orthodoxy in Canada. His Grace Bishop Job conveyed to the gathering congratulations and the blessing of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and all Russia, and thanked the President, church board and the parishioners for organizing and preparing everything for the jubilee.
Congratulations messages were then delivered by the Secretary of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada and President of St. Barbara’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral in Edmonton, Roman Lopushinsky, President of the “Orthodox V Association”, Kim Lopushinsky, President of the “Orthodox IX” Parishes and President of St. Mary’s Church in Nisku, David Borys. On the occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the MacNutt Parish, and on behalf of the parishioners of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada, Mr. Roman Lopushinsky presented to the congregation the jubilee plague, and Mr. David Borys presented to St. Mary’s Church in MacNutt the icon of the Dormition of the Mother of God on behalf of the parishioners of the “Orthodox IX” Parishes. The oldest parishioners of the congregation, William and Anne Shewchuk, shared their memories about parish’s life. The President of St. Mary’s Church in MacNutt, Anne Pitz, in her speech talked about the history of the Parish.
Congratulations speeches were interrupted with a concert of the church choir under the direction of Mrs. Duch, who sang several old Ukrainian spiritual chants.
The hall was also arranged with several stands of pictures displaying the one hundred year history of the parish.
At the end of the program the Parish Priest, Father Igor Kisil, expressed his gratitude to Vladyka Job, to the clergymen, to the President, the church board, the cantor Zenovia Duch and church choir, to the Parishioners and the guests. In his speech he said:
“On behalf of everyone, I want to thank His Grace Bishop Job, Administrator of the Patriarchal Parishes in Canada and our ruling Bishop, for his spiritual guidance and wise leadership, and for his holy prayers for all of us.
Also, a very big thank you to our fathers, Archpriest Andrew Piasta, Reverend George Sergeev and Deacon Joseph Winnick, for their prayers and assistance today.
A special thanks to the Church Board of St. Mary’s Church, the Anniversary Committee, the Sisterhood, to all parishioners, donors, assistants and to all who helped put together this joyous celebration.
Also, I would like to express my personal thanked to the President, Anne Pitz, for all her efforts, energies and hard work in preparing for a beautiful and memorable day in our church.
A special appreciation to the life members of our parish, Bill & Annie Shewchuk, for their dedication to this church throughout the years, where they have not only cared for the church building and cemetery, but have consistently shown kindness and gracious hospitality to all the clergy who have served here.
I would like to extend my personal gratitude to Mrs. Zenovia Duch and the members of the church choir for their angelic singing today, which uplifts us spiritually with its beautiful music.
I express a special thanks to all those who have prepared a truly delicious meal.
I thank all of you who have made cordial speeches here today, and who have addressed sincere greetings to us.
Many thanks to all our guests who came from different parishes and places (from Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and British Columbia) to participate in our celebration and for making the effort to travel so far to be with us today.
May God grant that when our grandchildren and great-grandchildren celebrate 200 years of Holy Dormition church in MacNutt, they will remember us with a good word, remember us in their prayers, and that they will always keep the Orthodox faith and love of the Holy Mother Church.
And finally, my dear brothers and sisters, to you, to your families, I wish good health and success in everything and many joys and spiritual consolation on this festive day and in all the days of our lives. Thank you all again and remain in God’s loving care.”Then Father Igor said a few words about, and proposed singing “Memory Eternal“ in memory of, newly-departed Nick Pitz (husband of Anne Pitz) who was a very active and dedicated member of the parish, and who passed away just a few weeks before the celebration.
After that, Father Igor presented Anne Pitz with a resin tabletop cross, in appreciation for all her years of devoted service to the parish as President, and for organizing things for the jubilee.
The banquet ended with the singing of a closing prayer, Bishop Job’s blessing and the singing of “Many Years” by all parishioners and guests. Following this, a time of fellowship and reminiscing was shared.
It was a beautiful celebration that lifted the spirits of all gathered. I want to thank you all for coming and helping us celebrate this, our 100th Anniversary. We honour our forefathers for their contribution to the life of our church.
May God Grant the parishioners of St. Mary’s Church in MacNutt and all of us Many, Many Years!
На Mногая Літа Bсім!