Ukrainian Catholic Church celebrates 100 years

St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church at Gronlid

On Sunday, May 18, St. Mary's Ukrainian Orthodox Church near Gronlid celebrated its 100th anniversary. The tiny white church with the shiny silver dome was bursting at the seams for the first time in years, as people gathered to celebrate the life of the parish that has served its Ukrainian community since 1914.

Rev. Fr. Patrick Powlinsky shared the honour of being the celebrant for the Divine Liturgy with the Very Rev. Fr. Taras Udod of Saskatoon. For Udod, it was a return to the place where he was ordained to the priesthood in 1991. It is also the parish of his wife Sonia, and her family who come from Gronlid.

These days, says parish member Darlene Romaniuk, the congregation is normally about 20-strong, so to have over 100 family members and relatives coming from Alberta, Manitoba, B.C., and around the province especially to join them for the occasion made it an extra-special day.

The celebration included a blessing of the graves after the liturgy by both Powlinsky and Udod, lunch in the hall provided by St. Mary's parish members, speeches and some traditional Ukrainian dancing by members of the Nipawin Veselii Dancers.

A solemn moment during the liturgy

The theme that played a central role throughout the day was the link between today's parish and its forefathers. Udod stressed this in his sermon when he said, "Today, communicating with someone across the world is not how it was 100 years ago," and he used the example of technology and cell phones to illustrate how easy it is for us today to relocate, compared with the many hardships our ancestors lived through when they decided to emigrate from their homeland.

"We have the opportunity to celebrate thanks to God today because this was handed down to us from our parents, which was handed down from their parents," he said.

As well, Fr. Powlinsky wrote similar words in the church's leaflet, but also said:

"We are celebrating our centennial on the same ground as our forefathers 100 years ago. Through their generosity and sacrifice, we have this beautiful church building."

One wish that both Fathers Powlinsky and Udod had for the church was that generations to come would continue to find spiritual guidance there.