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General Information/News

Jan 20
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Akathist at St. Sava Church: St. John the Baptist – Thursday, Jan. 21

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Join us this Thursday, Jan. 21 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. John the Baptist.

St. John the Baptist

This week’s Akathist is dedicated to St. John the Baptist. St. John’s greatest role during his life was enacted on the day of the Theophany, and because of this the Church has, from the earliest times, dedicated the day following that feast to his memory.

St. John is commemorated several times during the year, but his greatest feast is on January 20/7 (January 20 according to Gregorian Calendar and January 7 according to Julian Calendar). Among the Gospel-figures surrounding the Saviour, the person of John the Baptist holds a very special place, by the manner of his birth in this world and of his earthly life, by his role of baptizer of men to repentance and his baptism of the Messiah, and lastly, by the tragic manner of his departure from this world.

He was of such moral purity that he indeed deserved the name “angel” as he was named in the scriptures, rather than  being thought of as just a mortal man. St. John differs from all the other prophets in that he had the joy of showing forth to the world the One Whom he had foretold, Our Lord Jesus Christ.

Where is St. John the Baptist in St. Sava Church

The icon of St. John the Baptist is an icon that you can more closely examine for yourself inside the St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church in Merrillville, Indiana. The icon of St. John can be found immediately to the right of the South Doors, also called the Deacon Doors, of the iconostasis that separates the nave from the sanctuary inside the Church.

Jan 18
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Great Blessing of Water – Holy Theophany at St. Sava – Tuesday, Jan. 19

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Join us for Divine Liturgy beginning at 9:00 a.m. and Great Blessing of Water celebrating Holy Theophany at St. Sava Church, Merrillville, Indiana.

This observance commemorates Christ’s baptism by John the Forerunner in the River Jordan, and the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry. The Feast of Theophany is the culmination of the Christmas Season. In mystic commemoration of this event, the Great Blessing of Water is performed on this day, and the holy water so blessed is used by the local priest to bless the homes of the faithful.

This image depicts the baptismal font used in St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Merrillville, Indiana. Etched on one side is the scene commemorating Christ’s baptism by John the Forerunner in the River Jordan, and the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry.

This image depicts the baptismal font used in St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church, Merrillville, Indiana. Etched on one side is the scene commemorating Christ’s baptism by John the Forerunner in the River Jordan, and the beginning of Christ’s earthly ministry.

The feast is called Theophany because at the baptism of Christ the Holy Trinity appeared clearly to mankind for the first time—the Father’s voice is heard from Heaven, the Son of God is incarnate and standing physically in the Jordan, and the Holy Spirit descends on Him in the form of a dove.

The services of Theophany are arranged similarly to those of the Nativity (Historically the Christmas services were established later).

On the morning of the feast, the Divine Liturgy of St. Basil the Great is served. The Liturgy of the feast begins with psalms of glorification and praise instead of the three normal Antiphons. And the baptismal line from Galatians 3:27 replaces the Thrice-Holy.

For as many as been baptized into Christ have put on Christ: Alleluia.

The Gospel readings of the services tell of the Lord’s baptism by John in the Jordan River. The epistle reading of the Divine Liturgy tells of the consequences of the Lord’s appearing which is the divine epiphany.

Since the main feature of the feast is the blessing of water. It is prescribed to follow both the Divine Liturgy of the eve of the feast and the Divine Liturgy of the day itself. But most local parishes do it only once when most of the parishioners can be present. The blessing verifies that mankind, and all of creation, were created to be filled with the sanctifying presence of God.

In connection with the feast, it is traditional for the priest to visit all the homes of the faithful for their annual house blessing using the water that has been blessed at the Theophany services.

Jan 16
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Children’s Choir Prepares Luncheon; St. Sava Annual Membership Meeting – Sunday, Jan. 17

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Parents and leadership of the Children’s Choir at St. Sava are preparing a special luncheon in the South Wing Social Center that takes place immediately before the Annual Membership Meeting at St. Sava Church in Merrillville, Indiana Sunday, January 17.

The luncheon, beginning at approximately Noon, will consist of goulash, sauerkraut and sausage, homemade cakes and other specialties.

The Executive Board of St. Sava Serbian Orthodox Church has shared the agenda for the Annual Membership Meeting taking place immediately following the luncheon at 1:00 p.m.

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.

Jan 15
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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/

Jan 14
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Agenda now available for Annual Membership Meeting at St. Sava – Sunday, Jan. 17

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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.

Jan 12
0

Stojan “Stanley” Galich – Memory Eternal ✝ Vjecnaja Pamjat

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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

Jan 12
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Akathist at St. Sava Church: St. Basil the Great – Thursday, Jan. 14

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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.

 

Jan 11
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Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil the Great – Thursday, Jan. 14

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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.

 

 

Jan 08
0

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

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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.