NEWS AND VIEWS: Will you please help Whippany? (03/19/06)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Will you please help Whippany?

by the Very Rev. Protopresbyter Roman Mirchuk

Never heard of Whippany? Well, it's a beautiful suburban community, nestled in the heart of Morris County, in the northwest corner of the "Garden State," New Jersey.

And why does Whippany need help? It's not the town that needs help - it's the local Ukrainian community, and especially the local Ukrainian Catholic Church that needs your help.

You say you've got your own local Ukrainian community and your own local Ukrainian church that also need your help? But Whippany is special. It's an up and coming parish and community - one of the few that are actually thriving, expanding and growing.

Founded in 1921 by 23 immigrant families, Whippany was long considered "the country," or the "poor country cousin" by the surrounding urban, more sophisticated and larger Ukrainian parishes and communities. But in the last decade it has grown by leaps and bounds as more and more younger Ukrainian Americans abandon the older centers and communities, and "head west" to Whippany and the surrounding small towns.

"God's little acre" - the tiny "island" of land surrounded by highways and busy roads - on which St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, hall and rectory are situated - has served until now as the hub of Ukrainian religious and community life in the area. This is home for some 200 member families, while an additional 250 make use of parish facilities for all sorts of Ukrainian activities, from concerts and other programs to meetings of Plast and Ukrainian dance lessons.

So, why do they need your help? The facilities are too old, too small; there is standing room only on Sundays for services; it is difficult to find a parking spot; the hall and the few rooms are inadequate for the number of children using them for their activities; and the local School of Ukrainian studies, with 180 students, is forced to rent space in a local Catholic high school.

So, building of a new community hub has begun as of May 2005. Standing now are most of the rectory, and the basement, foundations and frame of a new cultural center. What is remarkable about this project is that the parish has temporarily postponed the construction of its church in order to provide the community with a place - the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey - where it can hold its numerous activities.

Well, you say, this sounds like a local Catholic project. Why appeal to the entire Ukrainian American community? Precisely because it is a community rather than a parish matter, affecting all Ukrainian Americans, Catholic as well as Orthodox and Protestant. The Ukrainian American community of northern New Jersey has no place for its activities, and the new cultural center will provide exactly that. It will be open and available to all Ukrainian Americans, regardless of creed and organizational affiliation.

The Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey has its own board of directors, independent of the parish, and a charter document that protects the rights of all organizations and members.

Sounds too good to be true, you say. What's the catch? There is none. Well, not exactly. The catch is that in order for construction to continue, the building campaign needs to collect at least $1 million in the next several months. The parish has taken upon itself a $4 million mortgage, postponed the construction of its own church and put its own property up for sale - all for the benefit of the Ukrainian American community. Now it's time for the community to help the parish - and itself - by contributing the necessary funds.

While other communities are slowly dying or disappearing, that of Morris County is experiencing remarkable growth. This is where the future of the Ukrainian American community in New Jersey lies.

"Hey, I'm thrilled about the center - that I'll have a place to hang out with my friends, play volleyball and basketball, have comfortable room for SUM [Ukrainian American Youth Association] meetings," said Adam Klymko, 16.

"I can see that there isn't enough money to build everything," philosophized Andriy Baran, 16. "But I think if everybody dug deep into their pockets, there would be enough money for both the center and the church. If everybody did that, the church could be built very soon. After all, we're all better off than our immigrant parents or grandparents who, short on cash, still found the money and the means to build countless churches, schools, national homes, community centers, banks, resort centers and camps."

Mykola Kucyna, also 16, chimed in: "Why don't you ask the general Ukrainian community in the United States to help? I'm sure there are a lot of good people out there who would be willing to help. Everyone keeps talking about keeping our youth Ukrainian - this is a wonderful opportunity to do just that: help our youth."

* * *

Donations, large or small, may be sent to the Ukrainian American Cultural Center of New Jersey, or to the Building Fund of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, at 7 S. Jefferson Road, Whippany, NJ 07981.

The Very Rev. Protopresbyter Roman Mirchuk is pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church of Whippany, N.J.

| Home Page |