How did you start working for the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia?
How did I end up here? In 2002, Father Semenych from our parish in West Easton approached me and asked if I was interested in participating in World Youth Day in Toronto. I said I was over the age limit. He replied that he thought it would be okay. Ironically, one of the other kids from our parish who went was under the age limit, so between the two of us, we kind of averaged out—and we went.
That was the first time I met Archbishop Stefan Soroka. I was then working in the finance department, and during the trip, the Archbishop mentioned that he had a position open and suggested, “Why don’t you come down?” At my last job, my position was very specialized—I did credit and collections. I said, “I’m not sure,” because I lived in Easton, didn’t like to drive long distances, and preferred to get from point A to point B as quickly as possible. Yet I came, we talked, and Archbishop Stefan offered me the job. I accepted, thinking it would be temporary. And here I am, 22 years later (laughs).
What made you stay?
I liked it here. I like the people, and I like working for our Church.
What was the most challenging aspect of your job, and what was the most rewarding?
For me, one challenge was the language. My limited Ukrainian came from the 1950s, when my father immigrated, so modern Ukrainian is different.
It was also overwhelming at first because when I started, someone showed me how to run payroll and get into QuickBooks—which I had never used before—and that was basically it. There was no formal training. When I walked into my office, there were 25 or 27 boxes of different financial documents that I needed to sort.
Not long after I started—within a couple of months—Archbishop Soroka brought in Tryphena Thelmon as a temporary assistant. She ended up staying for over 10 years, until she sadly passed away. It turned out to be a great partnership. She was highly respected by the clergy, and together we tackled the huge task of sorting through all those boxes to figure out what was going on and to begin building a system from the ground up.
Those were my challenges. As for the reward, I think it was being close to the Church and being able to attend events at the cathedral.
In those 22 years, what changes have you seen in the Archeparchy?
I’ve seen the parishes in the coal region getting smaller. Their collections no longer cover expenses. If the parishes aren’t running additional fundraisers, they can’t cover costs. It’s been hard to watch these parishes shrink because people left. In the coal region, a lot of this was due to job opportunities—people left to go to college and didn’t come back.
What would be your advice for creating healthy systems in parishes?
The Church used to be such an important part of society and the core of family life and it is not anymore. In my opinion, we need stronger programs for children. I think a lot of times, American kids leave because they don’t feel we have any programs directed at them.
What have you learned about yourself, about God, and about the Church during your 22 years working for the Archeparchy?
I’ve learned many things. Professionally, I’ve learned that there should be a balance between the religious aspects and the temporalities of the Church—sometimes the Church functions like any other organization or business. Personally, I’ve learned that God gives you strength you didn’t think you had.
