ST. JOHN ’S UKRAINIAN

ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL

10611-110 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta

Phone: 780.425.9692 Fax: 780.425.3991

APRIL 2013 VOLUME XVII, ISSUE I A QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER

THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

IN THIS ISSUE

GREETINGS

FR. CORNELL

2-3

PRESIDENT ’S

GREETINGS

4

“BASKET CASES” 4-5

Easter dates 6

Communicating 7

UWAC 8-9

90TH

ANNIVERSARY

10

HAVE YOU

NOTICED?

10

CATHEDRAL

ROOF

11

CATERING NEWS 12

ABCA 13-14

SR. CYMK 14

JR. CYMK 15-16

CONCERING

THE 60%

17-19

Upcoming

events

19

Financial

Report

20-21

MEMBERSHIP

PLEDGES

21

IN MEMORIAM 22

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕС! ВОІСТИНУ ВОСКРЕС!

Дорогі Брати й Сестри в Христі!

З нагоди великого й радісного Свята Воскресення Христового, від

себе та своєї родини, щиро й сердечно вітаю всіх членів та

прихильників Катедри Св. Івана та бажаю всім веселих Великодних

Свят.

The Resurrection of Christ is the crown and the glory of the acts accomplished for our salvation through the sacrificial love of Our Lord Jesus Christ for the human race. May the inexhaustible grace-filled joy of Pascha be ever with us, shining in our hearts with the unwaning light of Christ’s Resurrection.

Let us celebrate in joy the Holy Pascha on the bright-dawning night of the Resurrection of Christ and at this light-bringing Paschal season; and let us this day especially glorify from the depths of our faithful hearts Christ Risen from the dead, and sing to Him, the Victor over Death, the hymn of love and gratitude: Christ is risen from the dead, tram-pling down Death by death, and upon them in the tombs bestowing life. And unto us hath He given life eternal. Wherefore, let us adore His Resurrection on the third day!

Therefore we greet all of you with this glorious and blessed holiday. We pray to God that the grace of this Holy Day will illuminate each and every one of you with its heav-enly light.

Нехай Великоднє Чудо стане всім нам ясним запевненням, що ми всі

міцно віруємо в Свого Господа Бога, і всі поспішаємо до Нього, і що ми

надалі будемо любити один одного, як Воскреслий Христос любить нас! І

що ми будемо завжди жити в братерській згоді та в міцній єдності, бо

Христос Воскрес і Вічна Радість Його Воскресення! Ще раз, усіх

сердечно вітаємо з Воскресенням Христовим і всім голосно й щиро

проказуємо:

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕС!

In Christ’s love,

Father Stephan & Dobrodiyka Diana

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ПАСХАЛЬНЕ ПОЗДОРОВЛЕННЯ О. КОРНИЛІЯ…

Де твоє, смерте, жало? Де твоя, пекло, перемога?

Воскрес Христос – і ти повалене! Воскрес Христос– і попадали демони!

Воскрес Христос – і радіють ангели! Воскрес Христос – і життя триває!

Воскрес Христос – і немає жодного мертвого у гробі!

(Свт. Іоан Золотоустий, “Слово огласительне на свято Пасхи”)

Таких могутніх та підбадьорюючих слів, що написані людиною – мало! Святитель і отець наш,

Іоан Золотоустий, дарує їх нам, віруючим, кожного року в його «Слові» про радісне і світлоносне

свято Пасхи. Тінь пустого Хреста повністю обгорнутий світлом пустого Гробу. Колишні символи

страждання та смерті перетворюються в світильники життя й радости. Христос знищує двері

аду, стає переможцем над смертю, а ми – життям обдаровані! Хто свобідно вирішує стати

наслідником та причасником Воскреслого Господа, Ісуса Христа, жодного жалу не відчуває, не

переживає жодної поразки, не боїться жодного демона, не піддається смертю!

Живучи у Христі, нам обіцяно волю від всякого роду неволі, ми переходимо від смерти в

життя, від страху в перемогу, ми – спасенними стаємо! Це – одинока наша ціль в цьому житті:

подвизатись протягом нашого земного життя – молитвою, жертвою, службою та любов’ю до

свого ближнього – щоб стати достойними вічного життя, щоб «поселитись в оселях святих,

спочивати в лоні Авраама, та до праведних приєднатись». Стоячи в храмі рано-вранці на

пасхальній службі й співаючи гучними голосами тропар свята, «Христос воскрес із мертвих,

смертю смерть подолав, і тим, що в гробах життя дарував», відновімо в собі тверду віру

у Воскреслого Христа; з кожним нашим кроком пригорнімо Його до себе, будьмо тими

«розумними вівцями стада Його» якими ми присягали бути коли прийняли св. Хрещення. «Самі

себе, і один-одного, і все життя наше» віддаймо Йому – Воскреслому, Живому Христу, Богу

нашому протягом всього нашого перебування в світі цьому!

Прийміть від мене, разом з моєю родиною, щире поздоровлення та усердні молитви за всіх

вас. Радіємо Торжеством із торжеств з усіма вами – членами нашої кафедральної громади,

прихожанами нашого святого храму, та всіма друзями – і вітаємо вас словами преп. Серафима

Саровського, «Радість моя – Христос Воскрес!» Радіймо і веселімось в «цей день, що сотворив

його Господь!» (118 Псалом)

ХРИСТОС ВОСКРЕС!

ВОІСТИНУ ВОСКРЕС!

PAGE 3 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

PASCHAL GREETINGS FROM FR. CORNELL

O Death, where is thy sting? O Hades, where is thy victory?

Christ is risen, and thou art cast down. Christ is risen, and the demons have fallen.

Christ is risen, and the angels rejoice. Christ is risen, and life lives.

Christ is risen, and not one of the dead remains in the grave.

(St. John Chrysostom, “Paschal Catechetical Homily”)

Few words, written by humans, are as powerful and empowering for the faithful as those of St. John

Chrysostom. The shadow cast by the barren Cross is enveloped by the radiance from the empty Tomb!

Both transform from being symbols of suffering and death into beacons of life and joy. Christ razes the

gates of Hades, He conquers death, we – live! Those of us who choose to follow and be in communion

with the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ, feel no sting, suffer no defeat, fear no demon, we no longer succumb

to death!

In Christ, we are promised freedom from all bondage, we pass over from death into life, from fear

to victory, and we are saved! This is our one and only goal in this life on earth – to struggle, by

our prayers, sacrifice, service and compassion to others, to be counted worthy of eternal life, to be

“established in the mansions of the saints, given rest in the bosom of Abraham, dwelling with all the

righteous.” As we gather to pray on the morning of Easter Sunday, as we raise up our voices together,

singing, “Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and upon those in the tombs

bestowing life!” let us make firm our faith in the Risen Lord and actively seek Him out and strive to

be the “reason-endowed sheep of His flock” we pledged to be at our Baptism, and let us continue to

be determined to “commit ourselves and each other and all our lives” to Him – the Risen and Living

Christ, our God!

Please accept warmest greetings and sincerest prayers from me and my family. We rejoice in the Feast-

of-Feasts together with each and every one of you – our cathedral community members, attendees,

visitors and friends – and say joyfully, in the words of St. Seraphim of Sarov, “My joy – Christ is risen!”

Let us all rejoice and be glad in this “day that the Lord has made!,” (Psalm 118)

CHRIST IS RISEN!

TRULY, HE IS RISEN!

PAGE 4 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

“BASKET CASES…”

Христос Воскрес! Воістину Воскрес! On this Glorious and Bright Feast of the Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, we extend greetings to His Eminence YURIJ, Archbishop of Winnipeg and the Central Eparchy, Metropolitan of Canada, Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada; His Grace Bishop ILARION, Bishop of Edmonton and the Western Epar-chy; Rt. Rev. Protopresbyter Victor Lakusta, Chancellor U.O.C.C. Consistory; Rt. Rev. Mitred Archpriest Steph-an Semotiuk and Dobrodiyka Diane, and Rev. Fr. Cornell Zubritsky and Dobrodiyka Merrie and their families; all our Cathedral members and our adherents. May the RISEN CHRIST and joy of HOLY PASCHA bring you all re-newed spiritual blessings, peace, and hope!

Christ Is Risen! Indeed He Is Risen!

Parish Council Eugene L. Topolnisky, President

There are two questions I get asked consistently around this time of year: 1) “What time is ‘basket blessing’ this year?” and, 2) “What are we supposed to put in our baskets?”

To the first question, I have a stock answer (which often causes perplexity or annoyance with the other party): “It’s right after Divine Liturgy,” I reply, “and you have two choices – 12:00 midnight or 8:00 a.m. We look forward to seeing you!” The question, or rather the attitude that accompanies it, saddens me, though. It is normally asked by those who are not regular participants/communicants in the life of the Church and they usually haven’t paid any attention to the Holy & Great Fast which prepares us for participation in the Radiant Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Why this attitude exists and how to minister to these good folks is a topic for another discus-sion... It is, without doubt, one we need to confront – all of us! Their focus, obviously, is on “blessing the paska” and not on celebrating Pascha... BUT WAIT! The rest of us may not be that far from this last statement either!

Those of us who identify ourselves as Ukrainian Orthodox Christians are blessed with a cornucopia of beautiful and meaningful customs and traditions which enhance the expression of our faith. I certainly value very deeply a Paschal celebration with my family that includes paska, babka, pysanky, beets with horseradish, krashanky, etc., etc. I un-derstand, however, that this is my Ukrainian-Canadian “wrapping paper” which is lovingly and carefully applied to the “gift” that is the Orthodox Christian faith. Now, gifts can be presented unwrapped; wrapping, however, gives them a unique, personal touch, it shows the sincerity and care of the one doing the presenting and certainly causes a bit more excitement and anticipation on the part of the receiver. To many of our non-Ukrainian friends and those have walked into the Orthodox faith through the door of her Ukrainian expression – these customs are interesting and beautiful. For them and for us, however, they should enhance the experience in the Faith and not distract from it. The wrapping paper should never upstage the gift itself, in other words!

By now, you’re probably asking yourself, “Where is Fr. Cornell going with this?” Well, I am most definitely NOT trying to discourage practising our wonderful customs – our family wouldn’t do without them! I want to first share a story (told to me by another Ukrainian Orthodox priest), to further illustrate my point in this article: A non-Ukrainian family – new converts to Orthodoxy – were completing their first Great Lent and preparing to celebrate Pascha. They turned to their priest to ask for guidance about “making the Easter basket,” because they’d never done so before. He gave them some articles and pictures of traditional Ukrainian Easter baskets and also told them, “Basically, we bring for blessing those foods from which we’ve been abstaining these last six weeks and would like to ‘break-the-fast’ with in celebration of the Feast.” The result? Well, following their participation in their first Paschal Matins procession and receiving Holy Communion during the midnight Divine Liturgy, the children joyfully un-wrapped their “Happy Meal” boxes for blessing! The father – displayed some lovely, medium-rare Filet Mignon; the

PAGE 5 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

mother – a chunk of her favourite Black Forest ham (both accompanied by their favourite deli cheeses, organic vege-tables and Paska – purchased at the parish “Soyuz” bake sale), all lovingly arranged in their wicker vessels (mom’s was lined with an embroidered rushnyk purchased from the parish kiosk). Quite a fusion! Purists scoffed...

BUT, the family got the basic message about why it is we bless these foods on Pascha – the message we all hear in the Paschal blessing prayers: the first (read at the end of the Paschal Divine Liturgy), for the Artos, the bread shared by the Holy Apostles at agape meals following Christ’s Ascension, representing the constant presence of “the Lamb,” that is, the Lord, Himself among His faithful. For many of us the paska and/or babka, carry this same symbolism in our bas-kets. In the second prayer, for the blessing of meats, we hear mention of Abraham, Able and the Prodigal Son – blessed with sanctified lamb and a fatted calf in honour of their offerings and return to the Father – something we worked on throughout our lenten struggle. The meats in our baskets are blessed so that we may, “delight in those things that are sanctified and blessed... for the nourishment of us all.” The last prayer, for the cheese and eggs, asks God to “preserve us in (His) goodness, that, as we partake of (the cheese and eggs), we may be filled with (His) gifts, ungrudgingly bestowed, and with (His) ineffable goodness.” In summary – these prayers underline that our abstinence from these things was not for punishment but for an opportunity to renew and strengthen, through our prayer and fasting, our relationship – our communion – with the Lord, Who’s Glorious Resurrection we celebrate on this Great Day; Who blesses and sanctifies all these things for our delight and enjoyment, because He loves us, and re-wards us for our efforts!

Now, if we suffer anxiety because we couldn’t get that fresh horseradish this year, or Easter is “ruined” because we realize (on our way, straight into the hall to find a “good spot” before everyone else who’s still praying in church gets there!) that we forgot to put the green onion or favourite pysanka in the basket, then, quite frankly, we miss the entire point of preparing, bringing and blessing the basket at all. We forget that, first and foremost, we must glori-fy, give thanks to, and rejoice in the Resurrected Christ, Who by “trampling down death by death... bestows life” upon us all! If the basket becomes “the gift” and the Feast of Feasts “the wrapping paper,” we aren’t much different from the “basket-blessing phone callers,” and we have much to learn from the “Happy Meal family.” We bring the basket with meats, cheese, and eggs as a part of celebrating Pascha and not vice-versa!

Our Ukrainian customs and traditions are wonderful and beautiful; they should be taught and passed on! We prac-tise and honour them, however, in the context of our Orthodox Christian Faith. That is, they serve to express our faith in a unique way; they are not the faith in and of themselves. No one keeps “the wrapping paper” and ignores “the gift.” If the “kista” gets more attention in our homes than the Gospel, should we be surprised if our family, friends, neighbours, our children wonder about what it is “the Orthodox Church has to offer” them in their struggle to have Christ in their daily lives?

So – see a “non-traditional” basket next to yours this year? Wish the family standing behind it a wonderful Paschal

breakfast and, most importantly – greet them with «Христос Воскрес!» or “Christ is Risen!” and invite them to come back soon! That’s the first step in Christian fellowship! That’s the Orthodox faith expressed with Ukrainian warmth and welcome! That’s the Gospel in action!

I hope your lenten journey ends with many blessings and your Paschal celebrations are most joyous!

In Christ, our Lord,

Fr. Cornell

PAGE 6 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

PAGE 7 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

Communication is the activity of conveying information. Derived from the Latin word “communis”, meaning to share, this is done by the spoken word, by the written word, and by body language with facial expressions and movements. Communication happens only when the message that is sent out is received and that message is interpreted and under-stood. If the message is not understood, there is mis-communication. “A common mistake people make is to focus on the delivery of information rather than how it is received. Communication has to be two-way. You only communicate when the message you send out has been received and sent back to you, so you know that it has been properly under-stood.”

(Source: IN-TUITION; In-company learning solutions. www.practical-management-skills.com/basic-communicatiom-skills.html)

Within our Parish we are attempting to improve on disseminating information at St. John’s. The following methods are currently being used:

Electronic Media Website: www.uocc-stjohn.ca Our website has to be constantly updated to always have current information. This has not been done. We do need a person who would be willing to do this important task. Facebook: www.facebook.com/UOCSJB

Thanks to Father Cornell we do have this site kept current, but he can always use some help. Email: info@uocc-stjohn.ca

We have the above email address for our Parish. We are now compiling a masterlist of our parishioners, adherents and visitors who have emails, in order for us to be able to send out electronically The Cathedral Connection, The Cathe-dral Bulletin, and any announcements. This will help keep our mailing costs down. For those who do not have a com-puter, they will still receive the information by regular mail.

Hard Copy / Phone Calls / Personal Contact We will continue to have printed copies of The Cathedral connection, The Cathedral Bulletin, and other announce-ments available for pick up at St. John’s and for mailing; and use personal contact and phone calls.

Communication has to be two-way. There is a loss of communication when a person moves to another residence or has a change in the phone number or email address and does not let the office know of the change. We have had instances when a senior has been moved to another facility and the family members have not notified us. We try to maintain current contact information, but we do need people to cooperate and let us know of any changes.

Communication has to be two-way. The Cathedral Bulletin has the following item in every issue: CLERGY VISITATION: If you are aware of anyone ill, at home or in the hospital, or who simply would appreciate a visit from any of our clergy, please inform the Administrative Office (780-425-9692), OR either of our Cathedral Priests. We need to keep in touch with all of our members & a vital part of this specific ministry is YOUR HELP – please keep us informed. Thank You! Are you calling our Priests?

Communication has to be two-way. What are your ideas and suggestions on improving communication within our Parish? Please let us know.

Eugene L. Topolnisky, Parish President

Communicating within our parish

PAGE 8 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

UKRAINIAN WOMENS ASSOCIATION OF CANADA ST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL BRANCH

⟵ Soyuz members and friends are busily baking pasky

and babky for the annual Easter Bake Sale April 26.

↑ Christine Zwozdesky shows off the hats she makes.

The first speaker in the Soyuz/TUS series coached us on how to change our image and attract new volun-teers and inspire old ones. Fifty or so people attend-ed the dinner at St. John’s Institute March 25.

Thanks for attending the general meeting Sunday, April 7 at 12:30 p.m. Delegates to the SUS Conven-tion were chosen.

Pyrohy Supper, Pysanka Bingo, Sweets Sale will take place Friday, April 26 between 4 and 9 p.m. See you there!

↑Julia Elaschuk is standing tall.

↑Kay Hobden and Rose Faryna

display their knitting and crocheting.

Did you miss the “What’s Your Passion?” Event on February 10? It was a wonderful afternoon.

Leona Faryna Bridges, President

PAGE 9 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

Easter Bake Sale UWAC ST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL

ST. JOHN’S CULTURAL CENTRE

10611 – 110 AVENUE

Friday, April 26, 2013

4 to 9 p.m.

Pasky and Babky

Pyrohy Supper ST. JOHN’S CATHEDRAL

Pysanka Bingo SENIOR CYMK

Sweets Sale JUNIOR CYMK

PAGE 10 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

90th Anniversary

The Ukrainian Orthodox Parish of St. John the Baptist

Celebrates its 90th Anniversary on

Sunday, October 27, 2013 with a commemorative banquet at 12:30 p m following the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy.

Have You Noticed?

The new chandeliers in the Cathedral The new stove in the Cultural Centre kitchen The protective railing in the kitchen hallway The magnetic dry erase board on the kitchen hallway for posting upcoming events and volunteer

names working at these events The new stove in the solarium The new silk flowers in the Cultural Centre The new shelving back stage for housing Cultural Centre materials The shining waxed floors in the Cultural Centre foyer and seminar room

Things to Come! Replacement of the roof on the Cathedral Replacement of the carpet in the Cathedral Replacement of the chimes in the Cathedral Waxing of the floors in the Auditorium and Solarium. Refinishing of railing in the Cultural Centre entrance.

These are your donation dollars at work. Thank you for everyone who has donated to our Parish!

PAGE 11 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

Cathedral Roof

Our major project for the year of 2013 will be replacement of the Cathedral roof. Dona-tions are appreciated for the roof project.

We are hoping to com-plete this project in the spring.

LEFT: Current state of the Cathedral Roof.

PAGE 12 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

Cultural Centre CATERING NEWS

We’ve had a busy 4 months in the new year so far. I would like to thank all of those who have vol-unteered to make these functions such a huge success. We have a new bulletin board to display news and all upcoming events and have repainted the hall to the kitchen and are working on paint-ing the kitchen as well. (Please thank our caretaker, Petro for all the work he has done!)

St. John’s kitchen is always humming with activity. Our pyrohy making days are fun and we have new volunteers which we welcome. We encourage anyone with free time on Tuesdays from 9:00am to noon to join us. We provide coffee and snacks and a hot lunch. We hope to see you there!

The upcoming activities in our hall are many. We are encouraging our parish families to help volun-teer with these events.

We have approximately 15 weddings this summer, so we are encouraging our church families to help us by volunteering at the events.

Thank you for the phoning committee that have done a great job for providing workers. Thank you to Eugene Topolnisky and his table setters. The kitchen atmosphere is always full of laughter and fellowship. Please contact the church office at 780-425-9692 or info@uocc-stjohn.ca and leave a message for Dylan if you are able to help us out and volunteer at the upcoming events.

Maxine Zakordonski, Chef Dylan Wyonzek, Administrator

CATERING EVENTS

MAY 9th, Thursday 12th, Sunday 15th, Wednesday 16, Thursday 18, Saturday 24, Friday 25, Saturday 31, Friday

JUNE 3, Monday 5, Wednesday 6, Thursday 8, Saturday

JUNE CONT’D 9, Sunday 13, Thursday 14, Friday 15, Sunday 19, Wednesday 20, Thursday 22, Saturday 28, Friday 30, Sunday JULY 4, Thursday 6, Saturday 13, Saturday 18, Thursday 20, Saturday 27, Saturday

Kitchen hallway with painted walls and new bulletin board.

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The Alberta Benevolent Cantor’s Association held their annual general meeting on Sunday, March 3, 2013 at St. Elias’s UOCC. The association had an active year in 2012. An appreciation social was held at St. John’s Cultural Centre where His Grace Bishop Ilarion was the keynote speaker. He spoke on the importance of cantors in our Or-thodox Divine Liturgies and religious services. A successful evening of carols was heard on January 20, 2013 at St. Michael’s UOCC. It was organized by Yvonne Panchuk and her committee. The donations from the concret were made to the Orphanage Project in Ukraine and to the Food Bank. Other donations of our organization were made to the Order of St. Andrew’s Acolyte Program, St. John’s Church School, Ukrainian Bilingual Program, National Ukrainian Women’s Association Icon Book Project, Camp Bar-V-Nok and other charities.

The slate of officers was elected and is presented as follows:

Past President: Mack Skoreyko President: Marshall Kachmar Vice-President: Shirley Wozimirsky Secretary: Tammy Ewanec Treasurer: Richard (Rick) Fyk

A director and an alternate are appointed by the five parishes in Edmonton. Supporting Chaplains are Rev. Fr. Georg Podtepa and Rt. Rev. Nicholas Rauliuk.

This year there were students in the beginner, intermediate, and advanced intermediate classes. The instructors for 2012 were Fr. Yurij Suchevan (liturgical practices and hymns focusing on Vespers and Hours), Zoriana Orlova (voice technique and teaching new hymns from music), Carla Kozak, cantor trainer (sight singing music, theory, hymn practice from music), Yvonne Panchuk, cantor trainer (beginner level and beginner Ustav), and Iris Blower, cantor trainer (singing hymns.)

In 2012 the focus was on writing Vesper music in Ukrainian and English and Pascal Matins in Ukrainian to coincide with the new prayer book. After the music is written, it is put into a computer program for legible score produc-tion. Two thirds of the Vesper music has been completed and Pascal Matins music has just started. Both are written in Galician melodies. Over the past year some music has been written to help with singing the Great Compline for the Canon of St. Andrew of Crete.

Tentative plans for 2013 is to focus on liturgical hymns with Vespers and “Vesperal” liturgies, Great and Holy Week Services and an introduction to the Odes of Matins. Skill focus will progress from sight singing music to proficiency in reading Ukrainian.

Thank you to Fr. Georg Podtepa and Fr. Cornell Zubritsky for their support and advice when we needed assistance and guidance. Fr. Georg Podtepa prepares the Ustav (tropar, prokimen, kontak, Epistle reading, Communion verse, Matins, Gospel reading) in Ukrainian and English and which is available weekly on the Alberta Benevolent Cantors Association website www.albertacantors.ca

The Alberta Benevolent Cantor Association invites parish members to join and become valuable supporters of the organization. The membership fee is $5.00 per annum. Please feel free to contact Marshall Kachmar at 780-425-9692. The ABCA needs volunteers to help with its casino on Thursday, September 12th, and Friday September 13th, at the Century Casino. Please contact Marshall Kachmar, President of ABCA at 780-425-9692 to sign up.

CONT’D

Alberta Benevolent CANTOR’S ASSOCIATION

SUCCESS IN 2012

PAGE 14 THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION

Alberta Benevolent CANTOR’S ASSOCIATION

SUCCESS IN 2012

Senior CYMK has been busy throughout the past few months. We participated by carolling and performing a skit at Malanka in January. We have also been busy with religious discussions with Fr. Cornell, sports activities, making Valentine hearts for parish members, and other social ac-tivities. We are also looking forward to hosting the annual Pysanka Bingo!

We always welcome individuals wanting to be involved with our local. Please contact Katelyn at katelynk@shaw.ca for more information!

Respectfully submitted,

Katelyn Kuchta

Sr. CYMK President 2012-2013

St. John’s Senior CYMK

2013 Executive

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Junior CYMK at St. John’s has been a very active group of youth in the past while. With a membership of 13, the group has strived to include various elements including leadership, faith, culture, social and religion. The fol-lowing summarizes our activity over the past several months:

JANUARY

Friday, January 11- members assisted Sr. CYMK by participating in the Malanka skit at St. John’s Parish as well as the carolling with proceeds going to the parish. (about $800 was collected).

Saturday, January 26- we attended a University of Alberta Volleyball game which was a very entertaining evening.

FEBRUARY

Saturday, February 2- Jr. CYMK visited the residence of His Grace Bishop Ilarion, which included carolling for him, a pizza dinner, a tour of his home and a most interesting “question and answer” session with him. An added special touch was that we were given the opportunity to use the Western Eparchy boardroom in the basement to have our monthly meeting!! We thank His Grace for hosting us on this evening and for the pizza as well. We also would like to thank Father Cornell for facilitating this evening for us.

Sunday, February 10- several of our members provided babysitting services during the St. John’s Ladies Asso-ciation annual Promin Tea. Jr. CYMK was happy to help the ladies out in this way.

MARCH

Sunday, March 10- We held our monthly meeting after church. After our meeting, we began an embroidery project with Pani MaryAnn Baziuk which are colourful covers to use at the Easter basket blessing. We gratefully thank Pani MaryAnn for sharing her talents and making the time to help our Jr CYMKivsti with this project. They will serve as beautiful memories in years to come.

Saturday, March 23- we had another activity day, our second of the year. To start off, we spent the after-noon at the University of Alberta’s Science Fundamentals “Fun Day” where our members got to experience and try various unique science experiments as well as touring the Observatory Centre. It was a very fun afternoon. We then went back to the church to continue working on our basket cover embroidery pro-jects. At 6:00 members and their families attended the Vespers service in church. After the service Father Cornell talked to the CYMKivsti about the meaning and history of the Vesper service, while enjoying din-ner together. It was a full and very interesting day for all who attended.

Sunday, March 24- Several of our members participated in the icon procession at the Sunday of Orthodoxy Grand Vespers service at St. Anthony’s Parish. It was a very beautiful service indeed and nice to visit a sis-ter parish.

APRIL

Sunday, April 7- after church our Jr members continued working on their embroidery projects.

Saturday, April 13- our member visited St. Andrews Parish to participate in the Paska and Pysanky making workshop sponsored by the parish. This one day workshop was the perfect opportunity to mingle with other St. Andrews youth and we thank St. Andrews for providing our children with the opportunity to make paska and pysanky for their Easter baskets.

Sunday, April 21- we will hold our monthly meeting and also worked on our embroidery project. An addi-tional project to be done on this day will be the making of beeswax candles for their Easter baskets.

ST. JOHN’S JUNIOR CYMK REPORT JANUARY-APRIL 2013

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Monday, April 22- our Jr CYMK members and their families will be attending the annual bowling fun event sponsored by Edmonton TYC. We thank Edmonton TYC for continuing this bowling tradition, as it is al-ways a good time every year and brings together our parish members.

Friday, April 26- our members will be running a snack table during the annual Pysanka Bingo (organized by Sr. CYMK). Proceeds from the bake sale will be donated to the Western Eparchy Youth Orphanage Pro-ject. Parishioners will also have a chance to view the beautiful basket covers our cymkivsti made.

Saturday, April 27- Jr CYMK families will be participating in the Lazarus Saturday service, partaking in Holy Confession and Holy Communion and followed by a pancake breakfast. After the breakfast, our members will be going out to collect their own pussywillows to bless the next day on Palm Sunday. This will be a unique and new experience for many of our members and will make the pussywillow blessing the next day extra special!!

MAY

Sunday, May 12- Team Junior CYMK was born!!...for the first year, we are entering a team in the Forzani Mother’s Day Walk in support of the Stollery Children’s Hospital. Each member is collecting pledges be-fore the event as well soliciting donations from parish members. We thank everyone in advance who sup-ported this project. It will be a great experience and fun day as our Jr CYMK members reach out to help the children at the Stollery.

Our theme for the month of May is “Helping and Caring for our Environment” and with this, we will be participating in the annual Capital City Clean-up Campaign. In addition, CYMKivsti plan to do some planting of flowers and plants in designated locations.

Christ is Risen!! Indeed He has Risen!!

Marco Kruhlak

President- Junior CYMK 2012-13

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Concerning the 60%

FR . STEVEN C. SALARIS Last year, I attended a clergy gathering where we had several "workshops" discussing the importance of Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF), ministry to college students, and what I call "The 60%." This term derives from a recent study revealing that 60% of college students never return to church after college. This sad data applies to Orthodox Christians, too. When discussing this with others, my scientific brain (I'm a former biology professor) wanted data to back up the claim. I wanted to identify the reasons why our youth leave. Bad idea! I felt like a McCain supporter at an Obama rally! No one wanted to discuss the issues. It was easier to lament about the symptoms than to address the cause(s) head on. There was also a lot of finger-pointing at those workshops; however, when you point a finger at someone, three fingers point back at you!

So why do 60% of our college youth leave Orthodoxy? This is a difficult question to answer. It requires some serious scientific investigation. In the discussion that follows, I have implemented the scientific method of which I am so famil-iar. After spending time making observations and asking some tough questions, I have come up with several hypothe-ses. Some will apply specifically to our Orthodox Church, others will apply to Christian churches in general. Most of the hypotheses are corollaries to the warning God gave in Exodus, "I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments" (20:5b-6). (We would do well preaching about that verse more!). Another hypothesis is related to how we educate our youth. Here are my hypotheses.

Hypothesis 1: Linguistic and cultural ghettos that masquerade as "Churches" are contrib-uting to "The 60%" Orthodoxy has been in America for over 200 years. Yet too often our parishes live with the notion that the Church's primary function is to be an ethnic preservation society. Far too many people go to church not to encounter Christ, the Son of the living God, but to talk in or listen to foreign languages and eat ethnic foods. Why do we attempt to spiritually raise our children in an atmosphere of dead liturgical languages and the equally dead cultures from which they came? Gee, Toto, we're not in Byzantium (or Tsarist Russia) anymore!

Be honest, we worship in dead liturgical languages that laity, chanters, priests, and bishops do not understand. Our insistence on using these languages is like keeping a body alive on a ventilator long after brain death has occurred. Nonetheless, we continue to offer incense to the idol of "spiritual language" while not gaining a substantive under-standing from what we hear. Sure, sending our children to Arabic/Greek/Russian school might make grandma happy, but they will still be unable to understand the liturgical languages they hear in Church.

Even when we do use English, many Orthodox Churches speak in what I call "liturgical ebonics" - an old variant of Shakespearian English that uses "Thee, Thy, Thou, Thine" pronouns and archaic verb tenses. Imagine the relief our youth feel attending a non-Orthodox church service that uses proper modern English. Dost thou not get it that this silly talk edifieth not our children! Sts. Cyril and Methodius understood using the language of the people! The evange-lists to the Alaskan Native American people understood it. Why don't we?

Hypothesis 2: Enmity in our churches is contributing to "The 60%" "Enmity" is a word that means "positive, active, and mutual hatred or ill will." Churches are full of it! - including the Orthodox. It would be great if we hated evil, sin, and the devil; instead we hate each other. Jesus tells us that we are to love one another as he has loved us. Too often we fail. When we fail we are hypocrites. How can Johnny learn about Christian love when mom has not spoken to "that person" in the parish for fifteen years? Yes, mom says, Jesus teaches that we have to love our neighbor as ourselves and that we must forgive seventy times seven, but how dare "that person" change grandmother's baklava recipe at the Church festival! Years ago, I stood in a food line at a Greek

festival and watched two men of that parish cursing and yelling at each other while nearly coming to fisticuffs. Great wit-ness for the Gospel, huh? Add to this parish splits, gossip, back-biting, the way personality disordered parishioners treat the priest, vituperative general assembly meetings, etc., is it any wonder that our youth flee once they are free?

Hypothesis 3: Lack of stewardship is contributing to "The 60%" We don't regard the Church as the pearl of great price or a treasure buried in a field. Instead we treat the Church like a street beggar. In many of our parishes, clergy and stewardship committees hold out their hands hoping (and begging) that parish families will pay their "minimum dues." Why must I hear of parishes with hundreds of families that by mid-year don't have enough money to pay the electric bill or the priest's salary? Why must I hear about priests and their families who are expected to live in substandard housing, send their children to substandard schools, drive junk cars, and depend on food stamps? This is scandalous! Even worse, this is oftentimes expected by parishioners who are quite generous to themselves. Why do churches depend on endless fundraisers and festivals for income? The answer to these questions is simple: Too many parishioners do not value the Church. Once the message that the Church is valueless is internalized by our youth (don't be fooled, it is internalized), they will eventually turn their back on the Church. Our children will seek something of more enduring value as determined by family and society. Isn't that frightening?! We must pass on to our children, by our example, the principle that the Church is worth the stewardship of our time and talents above all else.

Hypothesis 4: Failed models of Christian education are contributing to "The 60%" With all due respect to those that have worked so hard in Christian education, it is time we admit that our Protestant-derived models of Christian education have failed. Like us, the Catholics and Protestants also have their own 60%. If the current model for Christian education doesn't work for them, it will not work for us. Christian youth come out of years of Sunday school and still don't know the basics of their own faith. I know of students educated in Catholic schools that think the Holy Trinity is Jesus, Mary, and Joseph! I know Orthodox Christians who think that the Holy Trinity is God, Jesus, and Mary. An organic living knowledge and internalization of the Orthodox Christian faith cannot happen in 45 minutes on a Sunday by cutting and coloring paper doll clergy and iconostases. There was no Sunday School in the early Church and yet families - parents and children - were martyred together bearing witness to the Christian faith (read the life of the early second-century martyrs Sophia and her three children…if you dare). Perhaps a radical re-thinking and new approach to Christian education needs to be developed by those who specialize in the field.

Hypothesis 5: The lack of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is contributing to "The 60%" The Church is like a fig tree with lots of leaves. The leaves are things we get passionate and obsessive about - icons, facial hair (on men), chanting, vestments, ethnic nationalism, calendars, choirs, rants about ecumenists and liberal deconstruc-tionists, spirituality, pseudo-spirituality, and all the rest of the fodder that one can find on "Orthodox" blog sites. How-ever, if the tree doesn't bear fruit then it is doomed to whither. I am going to be bold and identify the "first fruits" of the Church as a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Some people might think that sounds a bit "Protestant," but in fact it is entirely Orthodox. Our relationship with Jesus Christ is so deep, intimate, and personal, that He feeds us with this very own Body and Blood in the Eucharist (beginning for many of us when we are babies). That "first fruit," that intense personal relationship with Christ, should then yield the fruits of repentance and spiritual growth in the lives of every Or-thodox Christian. If we are unable to bear these "first fruits," our youth and our Churches will wither.

What is next? In the scientific method, after making observations, asking questions, and developing a hypothesis comes experimentation where the hypothesis is rigorously tested. In this short article, I have only gone as far as formulating some hypotheses concerning "the 60%." To go any further will require specialists in the Church to do the experiments and analyze the data. When all this is done, the conclusions will either support or reject the hypotheses. If, however, the appropriate studies do support the hypotheses how will the Church respond - with action or apathy? The Lord says, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Repentance starts with self-examination - I am calling for the Church to do just that here and now. If it is determined that something is wrong, then true repentance requires a change. If we re-

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April 26—Pyrohy Supper & Easter Bake Sale

April 27—Lazarus Saturday & Pancake Breakfast

May 12—Easter Dinner

May 24– Pyrohy Supper

May 24– Fellowship in Faith Encounters

June 5—UWAC Membership Dinner

June 28– Pyrohy Supper

UPCOMING EVENTS

spond with apathy, then the 60% phenomenon will continue and our sins will continue to be visited upon our chil-dren generation after generation until the Church is no more. If we respond with proper action and change based on love, prayer, grace, self-sacrifice, and joy, then Christ and His Church - the very kingdom of heaven - will be a seed planted in the good soil of our children's hearts and souls that will grow and bear fruit one thousand-fold until "the 60%" is no more.

Fr. Steven C. Salaris, M.Div., Ph.D. is the pastor of All Saints of North America Antiochian Orthodox Christian Mission in Mary-land Heights, Missouri.

POSTED : 01-MAR-2009

Copyright © 2001-2013 OrthodoxyToday.org. All rights reserved. Any reproduction of this article is subject to the poli-cy of the individual copyright holder. Follow copyright link for details.

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FINANCIAL UPDATE

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MEMBERSHIP PLEDGES

Member Pledge

Western Eparchy

UOCC Consistory St. John

Member Pledge

Year Single Levy Levy Parish Family

2013 $200 $15 $81 $104 $400

2014 $200 $15 $85 $100 $400

2015 $200 $15 $89 $96 $400

Membership pledges will remain at $200 for single member. Family membership will remain at $400 until 2015.

The parish pays a levy to the Western Eparchy and UOCC Consistory for each mem-ber. As of 2013 the parish pays $96 per individual as a levy. This means that out of an individual membership pledge of $200 the parish receives $104 with the other $96 paid as a levy. That can be doubled when it comes to the family membership of $400.

ST JOHN UKRAINIAN

ORTHODOX CATHEDRAL

Phone: 780.425.9692 Fax: 780.425.3991

Email: info@uocc-stjohn.ca Website: www.uocc-stjohn.ca

10611-110 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta

T5H 1H7

Monday to Friday 9:30am to 4:30pm

THE CATHEDRAL CONNECTION PAGE 22

SINGERS NEEDED! The Cathedral Choir invites YOU to

JOIN! ALL VOICES ARE WELCOME!

Rehearsals: Thursdays at 7:30 pm

For more information: Lesia Chumer 780 418 1025

ПОТРІБНО ХОРИСТІВ! Просимо Вас ВСТУПИТИ

ДО КАТЕДРАЛЬНОГО ХОРУ! Приймаємо ВСІХ

ГОЛОСІВ! Проби хору кожного четверга о 7:30 год.

веч. По дальші інформації: Леся Чумер, дириґент –

(780) 418-1025 АБО Олеся .

In memoriam

The St. John’s Cathedral Parish Family would like to remember the following indi-viduals who have reposed to the Lord over the past months.

Evelyn Lakusta Vera Prokop Eugene Martinuk Nick Prociuk Mary Melnychuk Alexandra Rubchenko Luba Strembitsky Olga Sawchuk Walter Lysak William Granik Mary Plawiuk Rose Faryna

We pray that the Lord God will establish their souls where the righteous repose.

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