VILNA, Alta. — The Vilna Ukrainian Catholic Church is getting a fresh coat of paint for its 75th birthday.
The 19 parishioners, with only five living near this Alberta village, have pooled their money and are seeking donations to help pay the $17,000 painting bill that they hope will keep the church from falling into disrepair.
Parishioner Alec Barabash, 73, said the anniversary of the church was a good excuse to paint the faded exterior.
“The 75th is coming up so we figured we better do something about it,” said Barabash.
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Several years ago, the parishioners hired a contractor to re-side the church. The contractor tacked wide boards over the narrow cedar siding.
The wide boards disqualified the church from being designated as a heritage building and access to grants to help pay for the repairs.
Unknown to the parishioners, the boards were only primed and quickly began to weather. By the time the parishioners noticed, the contractor had disappeared.
Painter Toby Neuendorf of Wetaskiwin, Alta., said the siding is in re-markable shape for never having been painted.
The boards must be scraped, re-paired, primed and painted, including the metal domed roof, a common architectural feature of Ukrainian churches.
“With only five parishioners, keeping up the church is a whole financial burden,” said Neuendorf.
Built in 1939, the church was originally the Vilna Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church and later became the Vilna Ukrainian Catholic Church. It’s one of three active and two closed churches in Vilna, population 290.
Barabash said there are five services held each year at the church. There hasn’t been a wedding for some time, but there is the occasional baptism, he said.
A service to mark the anniversary will be held in the church Oct. 25 with a service at 10 a.m. and a banquet at nearby Stry Catholic Hall.
Neuendorf has spent several weeks in the area painting the Vilna church, the Ukrainian Catholic Church and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in nearby Spedden, Alta.
“These parishioners must be so dedicated,” said Neuendorf.
Fred Matwychuk of Spedden said they are also trying to fix up their church. Some windows and trim have not been painted since it was built.
The original church was built in 1941 and burned in 1958, likely from candles burning in the church. Construction of the existing church began in 1958 and was completed in 1962.
“We’re sprucing it up so it looks a little better,” said Matwychuk.
Services are held about 10 times a year, he said.
