We Share the Celebration of Our Lord’s Birth on Christmas Day
And Offer this Free Concert to Announce the Good News to All
Join Us during this Festal Period
A Ukrainian Church Choir
We welcome the established Choir of Sts. Cyril and Methodius Ukrainian Catholic Church of Olyphant, Pa. as they harmonize centuries old carols traditionally sung acapella style. They perform in the first half of the concert. Directed by Patrick Marcinko, III.
A Parish Music Group
Our Parish Music Group from St. Michael, Pittston and St. Nicholas, Swoyersville Byzantine Catholic Churches sings in the style of our Carpatho-Rusyn ancestors. A simple style also sung acapella. They perform in the second half of the program. Directed by Brian Bankovich.
Celebrate Culture & Friendship
Join the singers and other attendees at a complimentary social with refreshments after the concert in our church hall (lower level). Relax and make some new friends too! An opportunity to share your cultural background and ask questions too.
Shared Traditions
Many of our ancestors came to America in the early 1900s from a vast and valued region around the Carpathian Mountains. This was an area of constantly changing geopolitical borders determined by everyone but the people who lived there. Today on a map, their ancestral villages might be in Eastern Slovakia, or in the Transcarpathian area of Western Ukraine, or even in the Lemko region across the border from Slovakia. These poor, yet talented people developed songs to celebrate the feast days of their churches. And while dialects may differ (Rusyn, Slovak, Ukrainian) the melodies are similar, shared across national boundaries.
Music is what unites all who have ancestral roots in these regions. These unique carols are a way to feel connected to previous generations. And it is both ours to treasure and ensure these are not lost in the encroachment of other influences today. Yet, traditional carols are not limited to those who wish to reminisce. We are making this concert available for all to enjoy, regardless of cultural background, as we learn about each other and embrace the diversity in our community and among our neighbors.
So whether we identify as Ukrainian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Polish, Slovak, Hungarian, Italian, Irish, Hispanic, or any other ethnic group, we benefit in learning from each other and enjoying the richness of each others’ arts, languages, foods, histories and traditions. Just as the Good News was spread to all people!
of Myra Church, Swoyersville, Pennsylvania
Christmas is About Jesus
Christmas is about Jesus – God’s love for us. It is as simple as that. It is also complex. It is the culmination of centuries of people waiting and yearning for the promises of a Savior. Of sacrifice, honor, loyalty, faith, and even stumbles along the way. Of the trust, openness to God’s call, and obedience shown by Mary and Joseph, and all who came before them. Yet all the work, fuss, and hurrying we engage in as we approach Christmas Day seems so far removed from “why” we do it at times. Christmas should bring us joy, but also peace in our relationship to each other but also to God. And this is why we are still singing our carols the day after others stop celebrating. This is why we experience joy past the time others take their decorations down. Why do we do this? Because as Christians and as Catholics, Christmas Day is just the beginning!
St. Michael's Byzantine Catholic Church 