St. Michael's Day - November 8th, 2023

On November 8th, we held our annual celebration in commemoration of St. Michael, our patron saint, and in honor of the living and departed veterans in the parish and the community. The Liturgy was celebrated by Father Aleksey Paranyuk, parish rector, Father Timothy Hojnicki, Dean of the Frackville Deanery, and Father Vjekoslav Jovicic, from Holy Ascension Orthodox Church in Frackville. Father John Onofrey, from St. Herman of Alaska, directed the choir, and Father James Jadick joined the choir for the service. Matushka Anna Hughes also joined us for the celebration.

Following the Liturgy, Father Aleksey blessed the Veterans who were present. Later, in the church hall, we remembered Father Daniel Ressetar who always enjoyed coming to the event. After sharing a free free breakfast that was provide by the church, we sang patriotic hymns together.

Father Vjekoslav, who is wearing white vestments, stands in front of the open Royal Doors, facing parishoners. He is holding a censor and using it to bless the congretation.

Father Timothy, wearing bronze-colored vestments, is speaking to the congregation and has his hands raised upwards. The view is from the back of the church, looking up the center aisle, and pews are visible on both sides of the frame.

Father Aleksey, Father Timothy, and Father Vjekoslav standing in front of the Royal Doors and presenting the Holy Gifts to the congregation. Father Aleksey is wearing gold-colored vestments, Father Timothy is wearing bronze-colored vestments, and Father Vjekoslav wearing white vestments. Two altar boys are also visible in the lower left portion of the frame.

Father Aleksey stands before an icon table, holding a book and reading prayers. There is an altar boy on either side of him, and his back is facing the parishoners, many of which are visible in the background.

A view of the choir loft. Three women and three men are in view, standing or sitting in front of music stands as they sing.

A view from the other side of the choir loft. The entire choir, consisting of five women and three men, are seen either standing or sitting in front of music stands as they sing.

A view of the church hall where clergy and parishoners are standing, each holding a sheet of paper, and praying before the meal. There's food sitting on two tables that are perpendicular to one another. One table runs horizontally across the bottom of the frame and has a blue tablecloth, and the other runs across the right edge of the frame and has a red tablecloth.

A wide view of the hall, showing three tables running from the front of the frame towards the back. The two outter tables have red tablecloths, and the center tablecloth is blue. Parishoners are standing on either side along the length of the tables.

Another wide view of the hall, showing tables running from the front of the frame towards the back. The tables have red and blue tablecloths, altering by row, and parishoners stand on either side along the length of the tables. This photo combines parts of the previous two photos, as the room is a bit large to fit everything into one image.

A view of the center table, which is covered by a blue tablecloth. There are clergy seated at the foreground end of the table and parishoners at the back half. They are all eating and/or talking.

A view from the kitchen, where three woman are serving food through two open windows that open out to the main hall. There are aluminum pans of food on the counter between the women and the windows, and parts of two people are visible through the window.

A view of the right-most table, which is covered by a red tablecloth. Parishoners are seated on both sides of the table, and they are all eating and/or talking.

View of the center table, which is covered by a blue tablecloth and now mostly empty. The photo was taken from an angle that has the table running from the lower left corner to roughly the middle of the right edge of the frame. There are two women sitting on the far side of the table and talking to each other. Three men are visible in the background and are seated at the red table behind them.

A view of the left-most table, which is covered by a red tablecloth. Parishoners are seated on both sides of the table, and they are all eating and/or talking.

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