Parishioners and guests of our Parish of St. Luke solemnly celebrated our parish Feast Day of the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke on October 30 and 31, in Leander, TX.
The formal celebration began with the Saturday evening vesper service served by Fr. Dragoljub with assistance of subdeacon Bogdan. His Grace Bishop Longin and subdeacon Stefan experienced unanticipated flight delays and, however, arrived in time to meet with parishioners who attended the vesper service. A light dinner was served for all present.
On Sunday morning, the Day of Celebration, the Holy Hierarchical Liturgy was served by His Grace Bishop Longin, with the assistance of parish priest, Fr. Dragoljub and subdeacons, Bogdan, Jovan and Stefan. Our chapel was filled to overflowing and our choir sang, as per usual, with vigor and exuberance.
The Sermon for this Occasion was delivered by His Grace Bishop Longin, who preached about love and about the Holy Apostle and Evangelist Luke.
After the liturgy, the congregation advanced in procession next door to the area where our future parish church will be built. This was followed by the rite of Consecration and placing of the Holy Cross. At this time His Grace offered Anaphora to the faithful.
After a short break, the ceremony of cutting and blessing of the Slavski Kolač was performed in the presence of many parishioners, especially the children of our parish. Father Dragoljub expressed his gratitude to the hosts/ kumovi of the celebration, Milenko and Katica Zekić.
Our untiring Sisters served a festive and extraordinary banquet including appetizers, sarma, roast pork, lamb and rolled veal together with various side dishes and numerous pastries.
During the program, the American and Serbian anthems were beautifully performed by Katarina Raić and Adriana Browne Popovich, who then sang two songs from old Serbian melodies and received thunderous applause.
The parishioners and guests present were greeted and thanked by Fr. Dragoljub, the vice presidents of the board, Branko Milanović and Milosav Cekić, and the godfather (Kum) of the celebration, Milenko Zekić. Each of the speakers highlighted the achievements of our small parish in a very short period. All expressed their desire for continued growth of our energetic parish.
For exceptional merit in helping to repay the church loan, His Grace Bishop Longin, at the recommendation of Fr. Dragoljub, awarded the Order of St. Mardarije to parishioner Milenko Zekić.
In conclusion, the symbolic burning of the mortgage note, signed during the purchase of the property in 2010, was performed. Our property, thanks be to God and the goodwill of all our parishioners and friends, has now been fully repaid. We can truly say “that we are on our own”.
Fr. Dragoljub Popovich
