2017

The Commemorative Book Committee at St. Sava Church would like to extend sincere appreciation for your patience in anticipation of the completion of St. Sava’s 100th Anniversary Commemorative Book.  The 347 page hard cover book will be a valued keepsake that has captured the memories and accomplishments of our first 100 years.

Books are available for pick-up through contact with Dorothy Paunovich and members of the Historical Society at St. Sava Church will help deliver books to the elderly.

Anyone who purchased a full page Ad or half page Ad will receive a free book (one book per family). Additional books are available for purchase for $40 each, plus $10 shipping per address. To order, contact Dorothy Paunovich at 510-289-9862 or send e-mail to dorothyshops@gmail.com for details.

You may also arrange to pick-up your Commemorative Book by calling the Church Office at 219-736-9191.

Father Bogdan Zjalic and Father Marko Matic will lead a series of discussions relating to the Orthodox Faith beginning Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 6:30 p.m. at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana.

The discussion series will take place monthly with four sessions currently on the calendar and provides an opportunity for everyone to gain new perspectives in the Orthodox Faith, including people currently participating in the Orthodox Faith and people from the community who are curious to learn more about the Orthodox Faith.

The sessions are free and open to everyone. The sessions will take place in the South Wing Social Center at the south end of the main Church building near the parking lot entrance.

This special discussion series is being launched as result of a successful event earlier in January 2017 where Father Bogdan Zjalic presented the topic, “Human Relationship with Jesus Christ” with more than a dozen people attending to listen to the presentation and ask questions.

This special discussion series is also one of several new initiatives that have taken place in recent months at St Sava Church in Merrillville that provide opportunities for members of St. Sava, members of other Orthodox Churches, and community members to engage in the spiritual and cultural learning opportunities.

Such opportunities have included learning about the history of the Cyrillic Alphabet, participating in a class to learn how to read and write the Cyrillic alphabet, and a Serbian Language class currently in session that is teaching participants the basics of conversational Serbian Language.

For more information about this discussion series, please send e-mail to ivana.stankovic@saintsava.net.

Upcoming Orthodox Faith Discussion Sessions

• Wednesday, February 8 – 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, March 8 – 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, April 5 – 6:30 p.m.
• Wednesday, May 10 – 6:30 p.m.

Membership at St. Sava Church in Merrillville, Indiana voted to move forward in the year ahead with a familiar face as president and an active team of volunteer parishioners that will compose the Executive Board 2017.

The vote for board members took place at the Annual Membership Assembly Sunday, Jan. 22 and the Executive Board members took the oath of office Sunday, Jan. 29.

Danica Pejnovic will continue as President of the Executive Board for the second year in a row. In her President’s report summarizing activities she expressed appreciation for the honor of serving as president over the past year. Pejnovic added, “Thank you to all the members and volunteers who are the ‘key’ to the success of our church.”

St. Sava Church Executive Board 2017

• Danica Pejnovic – President 
• Steve Baroevich – 1st Vice President 
• President Lela Jensen – 2nd Vice President
• Miodrag Djordjevic – 3rd Vice President 
• Ursula Brboric – Treasurer 
• Simo Roknic – Financial Secretary 
• Ana Jovanovic – Secretary 

Members of the Board

• George Skrivan
• David Gerbick
• JoLynn Rudman
• Goran Kovac
• Mike Jaksich
• Olga Velasquez
• Ray Radjenovic (Building Committee)
• Vlad Stevanovic (Building Committee)
• Zeljko Novakovic (Building Committee)
• Arnfinn Grimsgard (Building Committee)
• Vinko Mancic (Fundraiser Committee)
• Stevo Kljajich
• Milorad Trkulja

Sunday School Board

• Jelena Pejnovic – President
• Nevena Djurdjevic – 1st Vice President 
• Ljubica Popovic – 2nd Vice President 
• Doris Manojlovic – Treasurer 
• Sandy Shinovich – Secretary 

Audit Board

• Mike Ajder
• Melanija Zlajic
• Milena Ivanovic

The Serbian Orthodox Church venerates Saint Sava every year on January 27. This year the congregation at Saint Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Merrillville, Indiana will celebrate Saint Sava Day with a special day of programming organized by the Sunday School taking place Sunday, January 29, 2017. Everyone is invited to this program that will include a blessing of the Kolac, luncheon, traditional folklore dancing by the “Srbadija” youth folklore group, poems, and singing by the children of the Sunday School.

About the life of Saint Sava

Saint Sava, Archbishop of Serbia, was born with the name Rastko in 1169, the son of Serbian National leader Stevan Nemanja. As a young man Saint Sava yearned for the spirited life, which led him to flee to the Holy Mountain where he became a monk, and with rare zeal followed the ascetic practices.

Nemanja followed his son’s example and himself went to the Holy Mountain, where he lived and ended his days as the monk Simeon. Sava obtained independence for the Serbian Church, granted by the emperor and the Patriarch of Constantinople, and became its first archbishop.

Together with his father, Sava built the monsatery of Hilandar followed by the building of many other monasteries, churches, and schools throughout the land of Serbia.

He traveled to the Holy land of Jerusalem on two occasions, on pilgrimage to the Holy sites there. He made peace among his two brothers, who were in conflict over their rights. Sava also made peace between the Serbs and their neighbors. In creating the Serbian Church, he created the Serbian state and Serbian culture along with it.

He brought peace to all the Balkan peoples, working for the good of all, for which he was venerated and loved by all on the Balkan peninsula. He gave a Christian soul to the people of Serbia, which survived the fall of the Serbian state.

He died in Trnovo during the reign of King Asen, after being taken ill following the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Theophany in 1236. King Vladislav took his body to Mileseva, where one Turkish Sinan Pasha removed it, burning it at Vrachar in Belgrade on May 10, 1595.

Saint Sava is the Patron Saint of Churches around the world, including Saint Sava Church in Merrillville, Indiana where an icon of Saint Sava can be found in the mosaic directly above the front door of the church and on an icon on the iconostasis of the Altar.

Read more detail about the life of Saint Sava online at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Sava

Basic Serbian language class continues at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church Thursday, Jan. 26 at 7:00 p.m. in the Conference Room located in the North Wing of the Church building complex, 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, Indiana. Classes will last for approximately 1 hour and take place every week on Thursday nights.

The class will focus on conversational language basics that can be used in a variety of everyday situations. Basic phrases and grammatical rules will be taught. No previous experience with Serbian language is necessary. Knowledge of the Cyrillic alphabet is not necessary for this basic introductory course either. However, people with some Serbian language or experience with the Cyrillic alphabet wishing to refine their skills are welcome to attend the class as well.

The class is being offered free of charge and everyone in the greater Northwest Indiana community seeking to learn the Serbian language is welcome to attend.

The instructor for the class will be Ivana Stankovich. Ivana is a Voice, Speech, and Language Pathologist and also a member at St. Sava Church who leads the Children’s Choir.

This “Serbian language” class is being offered as a result of the recent “Serbian Cyrillic” class that was offered in late 2016 where Ivana taught students ranging in age from 10 years old to 60 years old to learn the basics sounds and shapes of the letters that compose the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet.

For more information about this class send e-mail to ivana.stankovic@saintsava.net.