November 2016

You are invited to join the dozens of people that have been showing up each week to celebrate the cultural and healthy exercise benefits associated with traditional Serbian Folklore Dance at St. Sava Church, 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana.

The Adult Folklore Dance Sessions meet each Monday evening at 7:00 p.m. in the Pavilion or South Wing Social Center at the church learning new dances, getting a dose of exercise, and simply having fun.

The open group formed earlier this year at St. Sava seeking to gather people interested in learning traditional Serbian Kolo dances and to just have fun. The group welcomes those with no previous dancing experience from the greater Northwest Indiana community along with people who learned the traditional dances growing up in youth folklore groups and want to keep dancing with friends in an adult environment.

Everyone is welcome to attend – men and women, members of St. Sava, members of other churches throughout Northwest Indiana and Chicagoland, and anyone in the community who simply wants to learn about the culture and the fun, circle dance called the Kolo (no more sitting on the sidelines during Serb Fest – you will be dancing like a pro by the time the fest rolls around if you practice – www.serbfest.org).

The dance sessions each Monday evening start at 7:00 p.m. and end by 9:00 p.m. Each session begins with some general dance instruction and review for dances that are commonly performed at various Serbian festivals and celebrations. The second half of the session focuses on more structured types of folklore dances. All of the instruction is provided by Miloš Drljević Djakovac, the dance instructor for St. Sava’s youth folklore group named Srbadija.

The focus of the dance sessions is to have fun, so don’t worry if you don’t have traditional Serbian “opanke” dance shoes in your closet. Wear your tennis shoes and comfortable clothes because dancing the kolo can be a serious workout!

Magda Serdar, organizer of the dance sessions, explained her reasons for wanting to help form such a group. “I just love folklore. You are never too old to dance. A lot of people have talked about forming such a group and there are so many people who have danced in the past when younger, now is the time to do it,” Serdar said.

Dance sessions begin at 7:00 p.m. Monday evenings at St. Sava and take place in either the South Wing Social Center or the Pavilion, depending on group size and room availability. A small fee of $5 per week will be collected and used to support the church, children’s folklore, and children’s choir.

For more questions or more information, please call Magda Serdar at (440) 954-2039.

The following are remarks shared by His Grace Bishop Longin of the New Gracanica and Midwest America Monastery during the luncheon immediately following the Groundbreaking Ceremony for the new Orthodox Cemetery that will be developing at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church where phase one of the project is estimated to be nearing completion in the Spring of 2017.

Dear Fr. Marko, Reverend Clergy, Madame President, and Brothers and Sisters,

It is always nice and pleasing to come here and visit you, serve in your beautiful church, and pray for those who have departed and for you here still living who support your parish. It is very important that we keep the tradition of caring for the graves of those loved ones buried in a cemetery. Starting this cemetery not only for your own needs, but for the whole Orthodox community here is a great challenge. But that reveals something deep in you. That you are all ready to make the church grow.

Everyone who will come here to the cemetery in the future will learn a lot about our history, about our faith, and about the personal efforts of the people who established this parish church and cemetery, and maintained it. Jesus said, “I am not the God of the dead but of the living.” And all your fathers and mothers are not dead, but alive in God’s eyes. Our love for them does not allow them to remain dead but keeps them alive.

Thank you for being good Christians and Serbian Orthodox. I pray that Holy Orthodoxy continues to be a priority and inspiration for our children and all of us. Thank you and God bless you!

This is a gramata for Mike Ajder, who worked very hard as president of this church. One of his dreams was to build a cemetery here, not only for our people but for all Orthodox. This gramatta is a sign of our gratitude for Mike’s untiring efforts. Thank you Mike!

We invite you Saturday, November 12, 2016 to the Holy Liturgy and Groundbreaking Ceremony of the newest Orthodox Cemetery in the midwest as we prepare grounds available to all people of Orthodox Faith at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church at 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

His Grace Bishop Longin from the Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America will serve Holy Liturgy along with Visiting Clergy beginning at 10:00 a.m. with the groundbreaking on the Cemetery site adjacent to the church taking place at approximately 11:45 a.m. A luncheon in the Pavilion at St. Sava will immediately follow.

For more than 100 years St. Sava Church has been a part of the Orthodox community helping to serve the spiritual and cultural needs of Northwest Indiana. Our Church in Merrillville was consecrated 25 years ago and our newly constructed pavilion has been providing state-of-the-art hall rental facilities since it was completed in 2014. With deep roots in the Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland region, our spirit for building to serve the Lord is strong and the construction of this Orthodox Cemetery continues in this spirit.

The Cemetery will serve all people of Orthodox Faith regardless of specific ethnic affiliation. Parishes with ethnic designations such as Serbian, Greek, Russian, and other ethnicities may employ languages other than English in worship to a greater or lesser degree but the Orthodox Faith is one and the same.

It is with this sense of unity and sameness in Orthodox Faith that we prepare the grounds at St. Sava for the servants of the Lord who have fallen asleep. There are few physical spaces in the midwest where such places of rest exist within walking distance of an Orthodox Sanctuary, along with the resources to assist with pre-planning various aspects of burial arrangements fitting the Orthodox Traditions.

With this Groundbreaking Ceremony we take new steps to serve all people of Orthodox Faith, the living from all the various Orthodox ethnic traditions and those falling asleep with the Lord.

We humbly request Clergy, Church Executive Board leadership members, and faithful members of all Orthodox Churches to join us in this Groundbreaking Ceremony as we create this sacred space on the grounds of our Orthodox House of worship at St. Sava Church Saturday, November 12, 2016.

We encourage everyone, including community members, local officials, and news media to join us for this special occasion, inviting you to the Holy Liturgy at 10:00 a.m., the groundbreaking at approximately 11:45 a.m., and the luncheon immediately following.

Please contact us with questions or to RSVP at 219-736-9191.

We invite you Saturday, November 12, 2016 to the Holy Liturgy and Groundbreaking Ceremony of the newest Orthodox Cemetery in the midwest as we prepare grounds available to all people of Orthodox Faith at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church at 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

His Grace Bishop Longin from the Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America will serve Holy Liturgy along with Visiting Clergy beginning at 10:00 a.m. with the groundbreaking on the Cemetery site adjacent to the church taking place at approximately 11:45 a.m. A luncheon in the Pavilion at St. Sava will immediately follow.

For more than 100 years St. Sava Church has been a part of the Orthodox community helping to serve the spiritual and cultural needs of Northwest Indiana. Our Church in Merrillville was consecrated 25 years ago and our newly constructed pavilion has been providing state-of-the-art hall rental facilities since it was completed in 2014. With deep roots in the Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland region, our spirit for building to serve the Lord is strong and the construction of this Orthodox Cemetery continues in this spirit.

The Cemetery will serve all people of Orthodox Faith regardless of specific ethnic affiliation. Parishes with ethnic designations such as Serbian, Greek, Russian, and other ethnicities may employ languages other than English in worship to a greater or lesser degree but the Orthodox Faith is one and the same.

It is with this sense of unity and sameness in Orthodox Faith that we prepare the grounds at St. Sava for the servants of the Lord who have fallen asleep. There are few physical spaces in the midwest where such places of rest exist within walking distance of an Orthodox Sanctuary, along with the resources to assist with pre-planning various aspects of burial arrangements fitting the Orthodox Traditions.

With this Groundbreaking Ceremony we take new steps to serve all people of Orthodox Faith, the living from all the various Orthodox ethnic traditions and those falling asleep with the Lord.

We humbly request Clergy, Church Executive Board leadership members, and faithful members of all Orthodox Churches to join us in this Groundbreaking Ceremony as we create this sacred space on the grounds of our Orthodox House of worship at St. Sava Church Saturday, November 12, 2016.

We encourage everyone, including community members, local officials, and news media to join us for this special occasion, inviting you to the Holy Liturgy at 10:00 a.m., the groundbreaking at approximately 11:45 a.m., and the luncheon immediately following.

Please contact us with questions or to RSVP at 219-736-9191.

We invite you Saturday, November 12, 2016 to the Holy Liturgy and Groundbreaking Ceremony of the newest Orthodox Cemetery in the midwest as we prepare grounds available to all people of Orthodox Faith at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church at 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

His Grace Bishop Longin from the Diocese of New Gracanica and Midwestern America will serve Holy Liturgy along with Visiting Clergy beginning at 10:00 a.m. with the groundbreaking on the Cemetery site adjacent to the church taking place at approximately 11:45 a.m. A luncheon in the Pavilion at St. Sava will immediately follow.

For more than 100 years St. Sava Church has been a part of the Orthodox community helping to serve the spiritual and cultural needs of Northwest Indiana. Our Church in Merrillville was consecrated 25 years ago and our newly constructed pavilion has been providing state-of-the-art hall rental facilities since it was completed in 2014. With deep roots in the Northwest Indiana and the Chicagoland region, our spirit for building to serve the Lord is strong and the construction of this Orthodox Cemetery continues in this spirit.

The Cemetery will serve all people of Orthodox Faith regardless of specific ethnic affiliation. Parishes with ethnic designations such as Serbian, Greek, Russian, and other ethnicities may employ languages other than English in worship to a greater or lesser degree but the Orthodox Faith is one and the same.

It is with this sense of unity and sameness in Orthodox Faith that we prepare the grounds at St. Sava for the servants of the Lord who have fallen asleep. There are few physical spaces in the midwest where such places of rest exist within walking distance of an Orthodox Sanctuary, along with the resources to assist with pre-planning various aspects of burial arrangements fitting the Orthodox Traditions.

With this Groundbreaking Ceremony we take new steps to serve all people of Orthodox Faith, the living from all the various Orthodox ethnic traditions and those falling asleep with the Lord.

We humbly request Clergy, Church Executive Board leadership members, and faithful members of all Orthodox Churches to join us in this Groundbreaking Ceremony as we create this sacred space on the grounds of our Orthodox House of worship at St. Sava Church Saturday, November 12, 2016.

We encourage everyone, including community members, local officials, and news media to join us for this special occasion, inviting you to the Holy Liturgy at 10:00 a.m., the groundbreaking at approximately 11:45 a.m., and the luncheon immediately following.

Please contact us with questions or to RSVP at 219-736-9191.