St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church on the Grounds of Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic Church
By Rev. Yaroslav Kostyk
“Thus says the Lord: the Heavens are my throne, the earth is my footstool. What kind of house can you build for Me; what is to be My resting place?” (Isaiah 66:1). What could be more pleasing in our life than the conviction that we are doing something, not for ourselves, but for God and His glory? About the House of God, words from Holy Scripture come to mind when the Lord says “They will build a house for Me and I will abide there.”
When people talk about building a church, all too often they neglect to consider the reason we are erecting this house: a church is a special place where God lives. We know there are beautiful churches, not because man is looking for ways to magnify himself but because man is looking for God and wants to give back to God the talents He has given us. Building or renovating the House of God is evidence of a living faith. As Paul the Apostle to All Nations says, “He who is just lives by faith” (Galatians 3:11). If the process of building stops, it means man has lost faith, the meaning of his life. Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ is for Ukrainians always and everywhere the rock on which our Ukrainian Catholic nation stands.
Behold the joy
that has come to members of St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church on the
grounds of
In 2004, we
observe the 20th anniversary of the founding of the mission parish
of St. Andrew. Uniquely, our parish
exists to meet not only the spiritual needs of the 48 families living in
Just as every
parish’s history has interesting lessons to teach to anyone who takes the time
to acquaint himself with it, the history of our past 20 years will be recorded
by the Eparchy of Stamford as a preparation for the building of our church. Let
us remind you that, as of 1971, the Diocesan cemetery was started here in
Hamptonburgh and the central cross is a historical monument, the importance of
which is universally acknowledged. In 1983, His Excellency Bishop Losten felt
the necessity of meeting the spiritual needs of the faithful living in
Rev. Russo celebrated the first liturgy in the chapel in what would become the priest’s house
on Easter Sunday, 1983, according to the
Gregorian calendar. The chapel was
consecrated to the honor of
In 1994, during the tenure of Msgr. John Squiller, the mission parish of 48 families was raised to the status of full parish by Bishop Losten in acknowledgement of the hard work of the parishioners in support of the Eparchy of Stamford. The parishioners understood that their new status meant that more would be expected of them for the spiritual and material betterment of the parish.
For the past 10 years that we have been a full parish, Bishop Losten has been supportive of our desire to build a church. As our pastor is also the director of the cemetery, we are able to save money on the priest’s expenses and devote it to the building of a church instead.
When the cemetery chapel was no longer able to meet the needs of our growing parish because it was too small, St. Mary’s Roman Catholic parish in nearby Washingtonville generously made their chapel available to our use for Sunday Liturgy. For Holy Days, our parish is invited to come to the chapel in the priest’s house.
Since 1994, the question of building a church has come under serious consideration. To encourage our aspirations, His Excellency Bishop Losten personally donated $10,000 to our building fund.
During
the tenure of Father Zbigniew Brzezicki ,which began in 1997, our parishioners
continued fundraising for the building of our church. The culmination of our efforts came in the
autumn of 2002. Accepting the will of Bishop Losten and the Administrative
Council our Building Committee consulted five architects and chose Mr. Taras
Dobusz, AIA, of
As
with each House of God, the church at the Holy Spirit Ukrainian Catholic
Cemetery will be the mirror of our spirituality. This church will be a tribute
to all of those Ukrainians who worked hard all their lives for their loved
ones, for God’s church, and for
from
The soon-to-be built St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic Church will continue its mission to meet the spiritual needs of the faithful and will bear silent witness to our Eastern Ukrainian Catholic traditions.
Many of you, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, have had the opportunity to see how our parish lives in the present time. We welcome you not only on the second Sunday in June when we have the Pilgrimage and our Ladies Guild volunteers work to meet your needs during your visit to the cemetery, but our parish doors are always open for anyone who comes for Divine Liturgy, Panakhyda, or for a reception after a funeral. You can always take home tasty varenyky or delicious real Ukrainian borshcht
Our Ladies
Guild workers are trying harder than ever to raise money for the building of
our church. In 2003 alone, our Ladies Guild volunteers have donated more than
$10,000 towards the building of our church. Perhaps it seems like a lot, but
our church will cost 100 times as much!
We are aware that the Ladies Guild and everyone who reads this article
and is not indifferent to the future of our parish will respond with their
help. All names of benefactors will be
recorded on the Tree of Life, not only in our St. Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic
Church at
We hope for
your help. Our Ukrainian Catholic church with its golden dome rising above the
hill overlooking the
Let’s build the church! The Lord will reward us a hundredfold! Our
descendants will thank us for preserving our church, culture and the Ukrainian
community in
OUR DONATION FOR THE
ON THE GROUNDS OF
Saint Andrew’s Ukrainian Catholic
Church
141 Sarah Wells Trail
FIRST AND LAST NAME _____________________________________
ADDRESS _____________________________________
_____________________________________
Telephone number
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Donations are tax-deductible.
Please, make checks payable to: Saint Andrew’s Church Building Fund