St. Mary Church in Bradenville, PA welcomed the seminarians on Saturday, February 14, for a Valentine’s Day, covered dish dinner. The evening began with Divine Liturgy at 5:00 p.m. at which Deacon Daniel Forsythe assisted Fr. Joe Borodach at the altar and Lector William Rupp chanted the Epistle. The singing and celebration at the Divine Liturgy inspired the entire congregation.
“It is my hope, that this invitation will be one of many throughout the Archeparchy, to introduce these fine young men to our church families.” stated Coreen Poklembo, cantor and life long member of St. Mary Church. “Because of my recent appointment to the faculty at the Seminary, I have come to know the seminarians and I wanted my own church family to know them, too. Being 45 miles east of
Pictured above: (left to right) Deacon Daniel Forsythe, Jaroslav Girovsky (Slovakia), Steven Galuschik, Diodoro Mendoza, Musil Shihadeh, Brian Lasky, William Rupp and Fr. Joseph Borodach
Pittsburgh, Bradenville can seem far removed from the city. Many of the congregation had never been to the Seminary, so I thought that I would invite the Seminary to them.”
The evening was filled with fellowship and food. Each family who attended brought a favorite dish and the Ladies Guild offered their homemade pirohi and gigantic hamburgers to share. Delicious desserts from Will’s chocolate chip cookies to Rose Smith’s heart shaped chocolate cake satisfied everyone at the end of the meal.
“The seminarians and parishioners of St. Mary Church got to know one another which is what the evening was all about,” related Poklembo. “The evening ended with our youngest members singing to the seminarians, “God Grant You Many Years,” a fitting ending to a blessed evening.”
