Monthly Archives

January 2016

Serbian-style Mardi Gras party at St. Sava – Saturday, Feb. 6

By | Folklore Groups, General Information/News | No Comments
vinko-chicken-kolo

Album featuring the famous “Chicken Kolo” – Jester Hat and Beads added special for Mardi Gras 2016.

Have you ever done The Chicken Kolo under a light show? Have you ever been to a Serbian-style Mardi Gras party? Now is your chance!

Please join us Saturday, February 6 at 6:00 p.m. at the St. Sava Pavilion, 9191 Mississippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana to experience Mardi Gras! Wear your favorite mask or come as you are, it does not matter!

DJ Vinko is already wearing his jester hat and beads and cannot wait to spin your favorite kolos, while mixing in some zydeco music. He recently purchased a brand light system so don’t miss out on this opportunity to be the first to do the Chicken Kolo under lights!

Entry fee for high school age and over is $10. Your entrance fee will come with your choice of a mask or strand of beads.

Cajun style food and beverages such as gumbo, red beans and rice and chicken creole will be available for purchase.

Stop by the bakery to try some bread pudding as well as traditional Serbian baked goods.

Please join us in this unique and memorable experience! View the Facebook Event, share with your friends, and let us know you’ll join us for this special night – https://www.facebook.com/events/895451320532753/

Agenda now available for Annual Membership Meeting at St. Sava – Sunday, Jan. 17

By | General Information/News | No Comments

The Executive Board of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church has shared the agenda for the Annual Membership Meeting taking place Sunday, January 17, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the South Wing Social Center of St. Sava located at 9191 Misssissippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

This annual meeting will take place in accordance with the by-laws of the Church-School Parish, Part III, Article 16 (A, b, and c), the Annual Membership Assembly of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Parish membership.

All current members are encouraged to attend to gain important insights about church operations and to vote for the new Executive Board that will provide leadership throughout 2016.

A luncheon will be prepared by the parents and leaders of the Children’s Choir at St. Sava that will include goulash, sauerkraut and sausage, homemade cakes, and other special items.

Annual Membership Assembly 2016 Agenda

The Executive Board proposes the following agenda:

  1. Opening of Assembly with prayer
  2. Establishment of the Quorum
  3. Election of the Assembly President
  4. Confirmation of the proposed agenda
  5. Acceptance of the minutes of the 2015 Annual Assembly
  6. Discussion and acceptance of the Executive Board reports:
    • Parish Priest
    • Financial Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Church School Report
    • Executive Board President
  7. Report of the Auditing Committee
  8. Report of the Audit Board
  9. Questions and proposals for the good of the Parish
  10. Election of delegates for the Diocesan Church Peoples Assembly
  11. Dismissal of the old Board and election of the new Board
  12. Closing of the Assembly with prayer

Dues will be collected at this Annual Meeting.

Minutes of the 2015 Annual Meeting, in two languages, will be attached to each member’s 2015 Report. In order to save time and spare our members of the need to have the 2015 minutes read in two languages, members will have ample time before the meeting to read the minutes in the language of his or her choice. This rule was unanimously passed at the 1989 General Assembly.

A copy of the above agenda information is included in a downloadable document in both English and Serbian.

Stojan “Stanley” Galich – Memory Eternal ✝ Vjecnaja Pamjat

By | General Information/News, Obituaries & Memorials | No Comments

The Clergy, Executive Board, and Members of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church express condolences to the family of Stojan “Stanley” Galich. Memory eternal.

Stojan Stanley Galich Age 87 (January 9, 1929 – January 10, 2016), passed away at His Home on January 10, 2016.

He was born on Jan. 9, 1929 in Drvar, Bosna (former Yugoslavia) to Parents-Marko & Mara Galic. In 1942 at a rather young age, He joined His Father & several relatives in the Serbian Chetniks Resistance Movement in Bosna upon the tragic outbreak of WWII.

At the end of Wartime, He went on to play professional Soccer in Italy, Germany and Chicago, IL. For Decades, “Stanley” was an active Member of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church–where He Lovingly served as a dedicated Vestryman–“Parish Tutor.” He retired after many years of service as a general foreman of Laborers Local #81.

In addition to His Parents, He was preceded in death by His Granddaughter Amy Marie Inman, 3 Brothers, 3 Sisters.

Stanley is survived be His Beloved Wife of 58 years, Lillian Galich; Children- Mary “Mara” Littrell, Milan “Mike” (Allison) Galich and Dragica “Debbie” (Kenny) Ludwig; Grandchildren: Julie (Greg) Barker, Steven (Amanda) Littrell, Ashley (Dustin) Harris, Christy (Juan) Galich-Gonzalez, Brandy Galich and River Ludwig; Also, 5 dear Great Grandchildren; Niece Gordana (Slobodan) Lakich; Nephew Dragan Galich; Brother-in-law Dragan (Maca) Dragic; Sisters-in law, Borka (Arfin) Grimsgard, Dorothy (Larry) Mokry, Sasha (Smilka) Parker and many other Kumovi and dear friends.

Funeral Services will take place Thursday, Jan. 14, 2016, Directly at 11:00 a.m. at St. Sava Church (9191 Mississippi St., Merrillville) with V. Rev. Marko Matic, officiating. Interment, Calumet Park Cemetery.

Visitation will be Wednesday, Jan. 13, 2016 from 3:00 to 7:00 p.m. at Burns Funeral Home, 10101 Broadway, Crown Point, IN. A Pomen Service will be offered at 7:00 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, Memorials will be greatly accepted by St. Sava Church, 9191 Mississippi Street, Merrillville, IN 46410 or to V.N.A. Hospice, 2404 Valparaiso Street, Valparaiso, IN 46383.

For further information, please phone Savich & Semplinski Directors of Burns F.H. at (219) 769-0044 or www.burnsfuneral.com.

See more at: http://www.burnsfuneral.com/obituaries/Stojan-Galich/#!/Obituary

Akathist at St. Sava Church: St. Basil the Great – Thursday, Jan. 14

By | General Information/News, Religious Observances | No Comments

Join us this Thursday, Jan. 14 at 6:00 p.m. at St. Sava Church in Merrillville, Indiana for our weekly Akathist prayers (Click here to learn more about the Akathist prayer services at St. Sava Church).

This week we offer praises for St. Basil the Great (January 14 according to Gregorian Calendar and January 1 according to Julian Calendar).

St. Basil the Great

This week’s Akatist is dedicated to St. Basil the Great. St. Basil was born about 330 AD. He spent fifteen years studying philosophy, rhetoric, astronomy and other contemporary secular discipline.

Among his fellow-students were Gregory the Theologian and Julian, later the Apostate emperor.
He was a Bishop Caesarea in Cappadocia for nearly ten years, an died at the age of fifty.

He was a great champion of Orthodoxy, a great torch of moral purity and zeal for the Faith, a great theological mind, a great builder and pillar of the Church of God. Many of his writings survived such as theological, apologetic, on asceticism and on Canons (Church Law).

There is also Liturgy that bears his name. This Liturgy is celebrated ten times in the year: on January 1/14, on the Eve of Christmas and Theophany, on every Sunday in the great Fast with the exception of Palm Sunday, and on the Thursday and Saturday in Great Week.

St. Basil departed this life on January 1/14, 379.

 

Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great – Thursday, Jan. 14

By | General Information/News, Religious Observances | No Comments

Join us at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church for the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great – Thursday, Jan. 14 beginning at 9:00 a.m.

The Divine Liturgy of St. Basil is used ten specific times per year and differs from the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom which has become the standard liturgy used in the Orthodox Church.

One of these special times each year where the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil is used falls on the feast day of St. Basil which takes place on the first of January on the traditional Julian Calendar used by the Serbian Orthodox Church (January 1 of the Julian Calendar falls on January 14 of the Gregorian Calendar).

An icon of Saint Basil the Great (AD 330-379) can be found at St. Sava Church in Merrillville, Indiana, in the recess of the altar east wall, south side. Like Saint John Chrysostom, Saint Basil was an early church Father. He established Nicean Orthodoxy over Arianism in the Byzantine east. His liturgical works are celebrated in the easter and western churches.

More about St. Basil the Great

According to book, “The PROLOGUE OF OHRID” by Saint Nikolai Velimirović:

Basil was born during the reign of Emperor Constantine. While still unbaptized, he spent fifteen years in Athens, where he studied philosophy, rhetoric, astronomy and all other secular sciences of that time. His colleagues there were Gregory the Theologian and Julian, later the apostate emperor. In his mature years he was baptized in the Jordan River along with Ebulios his former teacher. He was Bishop of Caesarea in Cappadocia for almost ten years and completed his earthly life fifty years after his birth. He was a great defender of Orthodoxy, a great light of moral purity, a religious zealot, a great theological mind, a great builder and pillar of the Church of God.

Basil fully deserved the title “Great.” In liturgical services he is referred to as the “bee of the Church of Christ, which brings honey to the faithful and with its stinger pricks the heretics.” Numerous works of this Father of the Church are preserved; they include theological, apologetical, ascetical and canonical writings, as well as the Holy and Divine Liturgy named after him.

This Divine Liturgy is celebrated ten times during the year: on the First of January, his feast day; on the eve of the Nativity of our Lord; on the eve of the Theophany of our Lord; all Sundays of Great Lent except Palm Sunday; on Great and Holy Thursday; and on Great and Holy Saturday. St. Basil reposed peacefully on January 1, 379 A.D., and entered into the Kingdom of Christ.

 

 

What is the Annual Membership Meeting about at St. Sava Church?

By | General Information/News | No Comments

Assemblies are an important part of what helps to guide the functioning of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation for efficient and successful realization of its aims and purposes. The Annual Membership Assembly is outlined in the official by-laws of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation.

It is the duty of the current Executive Board of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation to invite and announce the current members to the Annual Membership Assembly and prepare the Agenda for the meeting. An outline of the proposed agenda is listed below, along with a downloadable version where the proposed agenda is listed in both English and Serbian languages. Details about activities from the past year will be shared through Executive Board reports at the meeting.

Also at the Annual Membership Assembly, a new Executive Board will be voted upon to lead the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church-School Congregation through 2016. The right to participate in discussion and vote at the Assembly is allowed for members in good standing.

When is the next St. Sava Annual Membership Assembly?

In accordance with the by-laws of the Church-School Parish, Part III, Article 16 (A, b, and c), the Annual Membership Assembly of the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Parish membership will take place Sunday, January 17, 2016 at 1:00 p.m. at the South Wing Social Center of St. Sava located at 9191 Misssissippi Street in Merrillville, Indiana.

Annual Membership Assembly 2016 Agenda

The Executive Board proposes the following agenda:

  1. Opening of Assembly with prayer
  2. Establishment of the Quorum
  3. Election of the Assembly President
  4. Confirmation of the proposed agenda
  5. Acceptance of the minutes of the 2015 Annual Assembly
  6. Discussion and acceptance of the Executive Board reports:
    • Parish Priest
    • Financial Secretary
    • Treasurer
    • Church School Report
    • Executive Board President
  7. Report of the Auditing Committee
  8. Report of the Audit Board
  9. Questions and proposals for the good of the Parish
  10. Election of delegates for the Diocesan Church Peoples Assembly
  11. Dismissal of the old Board and election of the new Board
  12. Closing of the Assembly with prayer

Dues will be collected at this Annual Meeting.

Minutes of the 2015 Annual Meeting, in two languages, will be attached to each member’s 2015 Report. In order to save time and spare our members of the need to have the 2015 minutes read in two languages, members will have ample time before the meeting to read the minutes in the language of his or her choice. This rule was unanimously passed at the 1989 General Assembly.

A copy of the above agenda information is included in a downloadable document in both English and Serbian.

Ted Erceg Shares Memories of “Aunt” Daisy Wuletich

By | General Information/News, Historical Society, Obituaries & Memorials | No Comments
Desanka "Daisy" Wuletich

Desanka “Daisy” Wuletich

The following was shared by Ted Erceg, a former 6-term Executive Board President at St. Sava Church, after the Pomen Service for Desanka “Daisy” Wuletich which took place Monday, January 4, 2016.

One of the most difficult tasks is to deliver these messages about someone you loved and knew all your life but when it’s time for them to pass, there is never enough to say what you want. That is my relationship with Daisy Wuletich.

Many years ago when her father Jefto (maybe you called him John) was President of St. Sava Church. Jefto appointed my father Mike to be a church Tutor. It was said by Daisy’s friends that she inherited many of her qualities from her parents, habits that instilled business acumen, orderliness and temperament. Daisy spent her whole life at St. Sava serving on any number of committees, but she is known to many of us as our favorite Sunday School teacher – she indeed knew her Bible studies and lived accordingly.

She was proficient enough in the Serbian language to translate for hundreds of refugees who came to us after WWII. Daisy spoke with them, and for them, and taught their children how to begin their lives in America on a solid Christian footing.

Years later Daisy kept many a church president informed on topics of church etiquette and social grace, which for many of us Serbs in Gary was difficult. Daisy also maintained a down-to-earth presence in everyday church activities. And she had a way of saying it nicely. I recall a church president who came to the office when our new church in Merrillville was under construction. He asked her to continue as Secretary because of her office skills. She hesitated at first asking how things would be different or difficult than before. She was told it would be different and difficult and she accepted the challenge immediately, known she would not do a mediocre job. She was marvelous at everything asked of her.

Daisy kept our clergy and Board apprised of our challenges, seeing us through many difficult situations, and she did it with a soft, feminine touch. For those who were fortunate enough to know Daisy, she was the very definition of a role model.

Daisy knew far more than she showed. She understood our Holy Holidays and she know how to celebrate them – Slavas, Weddings, Baptisms, the things she did she did with knowledge and with grace. That was the essence of your, and our, “Aunt” Daisy Wuletich.

Vjecnaja Pamjat, Desanka.

Ted Erceg 1/4/16

Funeral services will take place at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, 9191 Mississippi St, Merrillville, IN 46410; interment will follow at the Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St. Sava Church.

More information about Daisy Wuletich is available at – https://www.saintsava.net/desanka-daisy-wuletich-memory-eternal-%E2%9C%9D-vjecnaja-pamjat/

Desanka “Daisy” Wuletich – Memory Eternal ✝ Vjecnaja Pamjat

By | General Information/News, Obituaries & Memorials | No Comments
Desanka "Daisy" Wuletich

Desanka “Daisy” Wuletich

The Clergy, Executive Board, and Members of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church express condolences to the family of Desanka “Daisy” Wuletich. Memory eternal.

Desanka “Daisy” Wuletich (May 8, 1918 – December 31, 2015) of Merrillville, born on May 8, 1918 in Gary, IN to John and Cveta Gerun Wuletich and known to her extended family as “Aunt Daisy,” passed peacefully away on December 31, 2015.

Throughout her life, Aunt Daisy held dear her faith and devotion to St. Sava Orthodox Church where, following her work at the Cloverleaf Dairy Company, she served as Church Secretary and where, over the course of her life, she sang in the Choir, taught Sunday School, was a member of the Serbian Sisters Kolo and carried on the work of her father, John Wuletich, who was instrumental in founding St. Sava’s in 1913.

As with her faith, Aunt Daisy’s love of and devotion to family was absolute. Likewise, her appetite for knowledge, which blossomed at Indiana University where she was one of the first women to study astronomy, was an enduring passion in her life.

Aunt Daisy’s devotion to community was just as strong; she was a member of the Srbijka Club and the Serbian Republican Club, and she offered her services as a translator for Serbian refugees in the 1950s.

Daisy was preceded in death by her parents; by her siblings Bronko, Rudy, Violet “Fid” and Sam; and by her nephews, Tommy, Randy and Doug. She is survived by her brother-in-law, Michael C. Masters; her nieces and nephews: Jim Wuletich (Terry); Ann Krimmel; Teri LaJone (Jay); Sandy Funk (Jack); Ross “Gary” Wuletich (Brenda); John Masters (Jennifer); and Barbara Riley. In addition, are many grandnieces and grandnephews and great-grandnieces, all of whom will remember with love a woman of extraordinary curiosity, intellect, generosity, spirit and grace.

Friends are invited to meet with Daisy’s family between 4:00 and 8:00 p.m. on Monday, January 4, 2016 at Burns Funeral Home, 10101 Broadway, Crown Point. The Pomen will take place at 7:00 p.m.

Funeral services will take place at 10:00 a.m., Tuesday, January 5, 2016 at St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, 9191 Mississippi St, Merrillville, IN 46410; interment will follow at the Calumet Park Cemetery, Merrillville.

In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to St. Sava Church.

See more at: http://www.burnsfuneral.com/obituaries/Desanka-Wuletich/#!/Obituary

St. Sava’s Aleks Novakovich featured in local newspaper basketball profile story

By | Athletics, General Information/News | No Comments

Hobart High School junior boys basketball center Aleks Novakovich, son of Zeljko and Snezana Novakovich, was recently featured in a The Times newspaper sports section basketball profile story. Novoakovich has also played on teams in basketball tournaments, such as the 76th Annual SNF Basketball Tournament in 2015, representing St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church of Merrillville, Indiana.

Read the beginning of the story below or click here to read the entire article at The Times website.

From the Times Newspaper:

STEVE HANLON: This Brickie says ‘Srećna Nova godina’

While most of America woke up late Friday and said “Happy New Year,” there are others who said something else. Hobart junior boys basketball center Aleks Novakovich said that, along with “Srećna Nova godina,” which is the same greeting in his native Serbian tongue.

The Region has a long history of great Serbian high school basketball players hanging nets all over the 2-1-9. Novakovich is not at the top of the list right now. But don’t blink, because the 6-foot-8 center is moving up the name tree.

“Most Serbs are tall and good shooters,” Novakovich said Wednesday night after his Brickies lost to Griffith at the Highland Holiday Hoopfest. “There have been a lot of great Serbs who’ve played in the NBA, and I know who they are all.”

Vlade Divac, Predrag Stojaković and Vladimir Radmanović are some of the best of the best from the Eastern European hoops hotbed.

“Basketball is very big in our culture,” said Novakovich, who was born in the United States.

His parents — Zeljko and Snezana Novakovich — lived in Croatia. But the war-torn nation of the 1990s had them looking for freedom and peace.

So in 1996 the family moved here, like thousands before them. Region basketball’s history book would be missing a large chapter if not for this Nike migration.

“Aleks likes it here, we stay here,” said Zeljko, his father. “Aleks is a member of the Serbian National Federation, or what some call the ‘Serbian Olympics.’ He’s met a lot of former players and learned from them. It’s a language, a culture. It’s really good to meet other kids from around the country.”

Zeljko said Aleks has grown almost a foot in a year and a half. Hobart coach Mike Black has seen an even bigger growth on the court. All of Novakovich’s numbers are up. He’s averaging 9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2 assists a game.