St.Nicholas  Serbian Orthodox Church

Srpska Pravoslavna Crkva Sv.Nikola

In 1953, it was a recognized fact by our first generation parents that it was necessary to educate our children in a language that they understood.  Serbian language schools in our parishes were fast disappearing, and new demands were being made on our children for their time—football, basketball, band, Boy Scouts,  . Having recognized the need, it then became neccessary to find the time to have the Church School and to develop the material to be taught.  A Saturday morning from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon was the first attempt.  Proto Petar Haydukovich, who was limited in the participation by virtue of his language handicap (English), was cooperative, and with the help of George Filepas and Sam Bojanic, tried to make the best of what was available.  This effort lasted about two months until the attendance dwindled from approximately 25-30 children to 5-10.  Saturday morning Church School was discontinued. 
            In 1954, the next attempt was to formally organize a church school program to be held on Sunday morning for one hour during the Divine Liturgy.  The church school concept was still in its infancy and teaching materials used were translations by the staff or rewritten for understanding by the children.  These lesson plans dealt basically with the history of the church, church services and traditions, holidays and saint days as they occurred during the year, prayers, the Ten Commandments, the Creed and Sacraments.  This was supplemented with Bible study lessons. 
            The goal was to teach our children to understand what they see and hear in church and to be able to appreciate and defend their faith.  We were not preparing seminarians, just good Orthodox church members and law abiding citizens. 
            As with any new program, the question of financing this new endeavor appeared.  On August 2, 1956, with the organization of the Mothers’ Club, this need was fulfilled as it is outlined by their constitution and purpose. 
            The initial requirement for church school teachers was simply that they wanted to participate in the religious education of our children.  Fortunately, we have been blessed with many dedicated teachers who have been willing to give of their time and effort to perpetuate our church school program and the Orthodox Faith. 
            The Church School has participated in various community projects as well as church-related projects, bringing all children to a new level, reaching out to God and each other in a new way.  In addition to a unity of all classes religiously, it also proves to them that it takes all classes – regardless of age – to make any project successful and fulfilling.  The “Giving Tree” planted on our church grounds by the children is and will be a visible sign of this fulfillment for many years. 
            Our current enrollment is 85 students.  The average attendance each week is between 50-55.  We are concerned about students who do not attend Church School regularly.  Even though it is a small percentage, there exists a need to search for the best possible approach insofar as the parents are concerned. We need the cooperation of the parents.  They need to inspire their children – not only by word – but by their own example – by their own church attendance.  This will impress upon the children the importance of God and of our Orthodox Faith. 
The current faithful and dedicated church school teachers are:Christine Christ, Maria Bowers, Jevgenia Radanovic
Paula  Werner, Luke Jacobs, Andrea Gunther, Marcia Breinich, William-Bill Yovanovich, Lenny Tepsich, 
 Substitutes : Arlene Barber, Nikki Lewis, Nina Radanovic, Nancy Yetter, Daria Milletics
Nicholas Govelovich-Superintendent