St. Michael's Ukrainian Church

    The initial building was a simple wooden structure erected in 1912. This small wooden church was replaced by a modern brick building in 1948. For the next 40 years the new church served as the spiritual and cultural center of the Parish. By the 1980s, the church building needed some major repairs, and the parishioners decided to repair and renovate the entire building as a project in honor of the Millennium of Christianity in Ukraine (988-1988).

    Among the changes were a new entrance door, an enlarged narthex with a shrine, refurbished pews, new stained-glass windows, a hand carved iconastas with icons, new altars and tabernacle, new embroidered altar clothes, and new carpeting. In the following years, the parishioners decided to improve the other parish buildings as well. They completely refurbished the rectory, remodeled the kitchen in the church basement, installed air-conditioning and renovated the basement and storage areas of the church hall, and bought and fenced-in the church parking lot next to the hall. Accompanying the physical changes was a renewed spiritual awakening. The church choir was revived, new cultural classes, such as Ukrainian language, and embroidery and pysanky decorating courses were offered. Both adult and children’s catechism classes were held.

    The church still stands and remains very active in the community today. Its bells can still be heard throughout the neighborhoods proudly calling the faithful to Mass.

-Judy Sikorski