1

8-19-10 1: Pani Matka Smereka welcomes Bishop John Bura to the parish on Thursday evening, August 19, 2010, with the traditional signs of hospitality, bread and salt. Fr. Ivan Smereka beams with obvious pride at the right frame of the picture. Their younger daughter is about to give the bishop a lovely bouquet of lilies.

8-19-10 2: Bishop John preaches at the Divine Liturgy that evening. The parish clergy served with him: Fathers Appleyard, Bumbar and Smereka. Steve Zinski led the singing.

8-19-10 3: Bishop John blesses the refreshments prepared by some of the parish's most dedicated volunteers for the social that followed in the church hall.

8-19-10 4: The next morning Bishop John went to the kitchen to mix with the pyrohi workers before serving the 9 o'clock Liturgy. He was invited back to taste the dumplings after the Eucharist.

8-19-10 5: After church, Bishop John was back in the hall where Stefanie Fedora served him a piping hot plate of pyrohi. He commented--more than once--on the dedication of the volunteers and the quality of their product. The bishop then left to visit two of our sick priests, returning to inspect the books of the parish before meeting for a talk with the lay members of the PAC that evening. Bishop also made a quick inspection of our cemetery and Trinity Acres.

8-21-10 1: Bishop brought his inspection of the parish to a close on Saturday morning with the Divine Liturgy. He got an opportunity to see how well we handle the unexpected when the power in the area went out just before the nine o'clock Liturgy! The power did come back on about thirty-five minutes later. After church, the bishop held a session with the Diocesan Resource Committee in the church hall to review their work and discuss possible adjustments for the future.

Theodosios Pancratius Alf Wassil Medwig was baptized and confirmed on Sunday, July 25th. He had been born on the previous Tuesday, July 20th, but the baptism was held quickly to accomodate his material grandmother who was scheduled to return to Germany on the following Tuesday. In the photo, from left to right, beginning with the "Bear Clan," paternal grandfather Tom Medwig and grandmother Ming holding his sister, Athanasia; Msgr. George behind her; then Theodosios held by his mother Carola (née Graefin vom Hagen), with his father, Michael Medwig behind them, then godmother Christine Diane Medwig and, finally, his maternal grandmother, Angelika Graefin vom Hagen (née von Harpe) who served as proxy for his uncle and godfather, her son Johann Christoph Albrect Graf vom Hagen.

4-25-10 1 Left to right, Slava Komichak, Hannya Konecka and Marika Zaliszczuk stand beside the array of baked goods they were selling to benefit Soyuz Ukrainok. The Ukrainian Women's League, as it is known in English, had provided the desserts for the dinner following the annual meeting of our Samopomich/Selfreliance Credit Union, that took place on Sunday afternoon, April 25th, at St. George's Church.

4-25-10 2 The children of Ridna Skola recite and sing for the assembly during the program.

4-25-10 3 Some of the officers of the Credit Union listen to the report being given by Raymond Komichak, the president. Left to right, Nicholas C. Kotow, Eugene Czuczman, Roman Kyshakevych and Ted Sywy.

SVYACHENE 2010

4-11-10 1 John Besspiata presides over mountains of food as the fixin's are about to be served at this year's Svyachene, sponsored by the St. Josaphat Society and their friends.

4-11-10 2 "Egging on the priest!" Waiters hold trays of eggs as the blessing of the foods begins with Canon Philip Bumbar (right) reciting the first prayer. It is a custom for the head of a household to give a piece of egg to each member of the family on returning from church on Easter, and this parish custom reflects that.

4-11-10 3 Mary Fedora Reabe (lower left) directs one of the waiters to take a tray of food to a waiting table. The empty table is reserved for the workers, so you see how much effort goes into this labor of love.

4-11-10 4 In the center of the hall a table displayed the traditional foods blessed for The Great Day: bread (the most ancient of the blessings), meat (incorporated into the tradition in response to a heresy which claimed that eating meat was evil and sinful) and, finally "eggs, butter, cheese and all the good things set out here." That should do it!

4-3-10 1 & 2 At the blessing of paschal food on the vigil of Easter

4-3-10 4 Miriam Halyna Sich rests in the arms of her big brother in preparation for her baptism during the Easter Vigil. Her father, Alexander Sich, a professor of nuclear physics at the Franciscan University of Steubenville, stands to viewer's right, and her mother, Nataly (nee Bobrek) to to the far right. One set of Miriam's grandparents stand to the viewer's left, and everyone else in the picture is her sibling!

4-9-10 1 Members of the St. Josaphat Society and their friends pitch in to make holubtsi for the parish svyachene, held on Sunday, April 11th.

4-9-10 2 "Little birds" snuggling in a nest, ready for the sauce! Yum!

On Sunday afternoon, the local branch of Soyuz Ukrainok, the Olha Bassarab chapter, held its business meeting here at Holy Trinity Church, at which they presented Katheryna Zaliszczuk with a hramota for her many years of devoted participation in the group. Her daughters Marika and Hannya stand beside her, along with the other members of the chapter.

A very happy Carter Miles Pflugh goes for a ride in the arms of his mother, Rebecca, after his baptism on Sunday, February 28, 2010, while his father, Richard, looks on. His sponsors stand at either end: Ron & Elizabeth Artinger; and the clergy are behind them:Canon Philip, Msgr. George and Father Ivan.

Pyrohi Workers and 2009 Christmas Party

1/10/2010

Metropolitan Constantine of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church USA chats with Bishop Robert during the reception. To the right his his chancellor, the Very Rev. Michael Kochis.

Metropolitan Constantine gives the invocation at the beginning of the dinner. From the Metropolitan's left, Bishop Robert, Bishop Richard Seminack (who delighted our congregation by conducting the 11 o'clock Liturgy that morning),Fr. Valerian Michlik and Bishop Robert's sister, Betty Boyle.

Bishop Robert made a few remarks at the end of dinner and then sang two songs to the delight of the gathering. From left to right, Fr. Valerian Michlik, Bishop Robert, Fr. Kochis and the Very Rev. Mark Shuey, protopresbyter of the Mid-Atlantic Deanery.