St Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church

Original Church 

     In 1919, the first Serbian Orthodox church was founded on the southeast side.  One day parishioners of what would soon be the church decided to get together and name the church.  Among the names were St. Nicholas, St. Archangel Michael, St. Elijah, and St. George.  Finding it difficult to decide on a name they brought it to motion upon Bozo Lalich and approved the 
name St. Archangel Michael Serbian Orthodox Church. Later, in March of 1924, parishioners realized that the church was very small.  On March 2,  1924, they held a meeting to pick a committee to find a location for the new church. 
       On September 18, 1926, construction work began on the new church.  As construction proceeded at a fast rate, the parishioners were forced to make payments to the contractor for services and materials used.  The first payment was made on November 15, 1926. 
      The years 1939-1948  were called  "The Renaissance Years"  because during these years there was a revival of the parish.  In 1940, the people of the church decided to investigate the possibility of purchasing the vacant lot next to the church to expand, but the next year the Second World War occurred and the expansion was put on hold. 
      In February of 1950, the choir lofts were built; church washrooms and kitchen were remodeled.  The parishioners became aware that they should start looking for more property to start construction on the hall.  In November of 1961, the parishioners celebrated the 35th anniversary of their new building.  The proceedings and donations that were saved that night were totaled at $5,428.79.  This helped them pay off all the debts that they had with the construction and remodeling. 
      On July 2, 1998, the move which had been planned 12 years before, took place.  For the 400 families which attended the church, meant selling the church site and moving out of the Russian country style church after 79 years Serbian worship.  Many of the parishioners that taught Sunday school were very happy with the move because they lacked space and books.  Many of the others were really upset because it wasn't going to be close to home and wouldn't be the same.  They continued to hold services until July 2, 1998, when they finally decided it was time to move.  The church building still stands and is now an Ethiopian Orthodox church. 

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