TimesLeader.com

October 8
Spirit of Orthodoxy to perform

On Sunday, October 19, a concert will be presented by the Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir at 6 p.m. at St. Michael’s Orthodox Church in Jermyn, followed by a buffet reception at St. Michael’s Center 403 Delaware St. in Jermyn. This group, directed by Aleksei V. Shipovalnikov, is in its 11th year of spreading the spirit and messages of Orthodoxy through the music of the Orthodox Church. The choir consists of singers and choir directors from various Orthodox jurisdictions in the NJ-NY-PA area. They have performed throughout NY, NJ, PA, MA, and RI. The cost of the concert/reception is $10. For details or to purchase tickets, call Diana at 646-8261.

Spirit of Orthodoxy Choir will perform on Sunday, October 19 at 6 p.m. at St. Michael’s Orthodox Church in Jermyn, followed by a buffet reception at St. Michael’s Center 403 Delaware St. in Jermyn.

The choir was invited to sing during St. Herman’s Pilgrimage in Alaska in August of 2003. The choir also sang in NYC at St. Malachy’s Church (the Actors’ Chapel) and at the Orthodox Cathedral of the Holy Protection, where concert proceeds benefited IOCC’s Asia Disaster (Tsunami) Response. On Sept. 11, 2005, the choir presented Orthodox Liturgical “Music of Remembrance and Hope” at Sts. Peter and Paul Orthodox Church in Jersey City. This was the closest Orthodox Church to the site of the 2001 World Trade Center tragedy. In October of that year, the choir sang at the services for the Sitka Icon in the Cathedral of the Holy Protection, NYC. Mostly singing in churches, this year they extended their venue and performed at the State Theatre in New Brunswick, NJ, with featured Baritone soloist Anton Belov. They were also invited back to perform a concert on their own there next year. This is one of many planned events at St. Michael’s to mark its 100th Anniversary.

The celebration began on June 15, 2008 with the blessing of a newly constructed archway to their cemetery. Bishop Tikhon of St. Tikhon’s Monastery was there to assist with the blessing. There has been a series of breakfasts each month to help the Centennial Committee raise needed funds. This began in July of this year. St. Michael’s Centennial Committee sponsored an Indoor/OutdoorFlea Market on Saturday, September 20 and will be running a trip in November to the Millennium Theatre in Lancaster County to see “The Miracle of Christmas.” In December, there will be a “yolka” (Christmas play) that will be done by the children of the church. A group of people will go caroling to nursing homes and visiting home-bound parishioners. The 2009 calendar is not yet planned, other than for the Hierarchal Divine Liturgy followed by a grand banquet on November 7, 2009 to mark the end of Centennial celebration activities.

For more information about any of the planned events or activities, visit www.stmichaeljermyn.org and click on the “Centennial News” button.