Overland Park, Kansas parish traces its “roots” in centennial lecture
OVERLAND PARK, KS [MW Diocese Communications] — Holy Trinity Church here, which will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2017, will host a free public lecture tracing its “roots” at 6:00 p.m. at the church, located at 11901 Pflumm Road, Overland Park, KS, on Saturday, February 11, 2017.
The faithful of Kansas City’s Holy Trinity Church shortly after its establishment in 1917.
Titled “The Russian Church on the Hill: Holy Trinity Orthodox Church’s Immigrant Roots 1917-2017,” the lecture will highlight the early days of Orthodox Christianity in the Kansas City area and trace its development since the parish’s establishment 100 years ago. Founded by immigrants in Kansas City’s Strawberry Hill neighborhood — commonly known as “Russian Hill” in the early 20th century — the parish has grown from a small ethnic community to one whose members represent a remarkably diverse mix of ethnic backgrounds, including recent converts to the faith as well as multi-generational families.
Speakers include Victoria Sherry, who directed the Heartland Orthodox Museum, Topeka, KS from 2001 to 2004 and author of a number of works recounting the state’s Russian, Serbian, Greek and Lebanese communities, who will speak on “The History of Orthodoxy in Kansas City.” Vera Konova Brown, Ph.D., a Russian heritage scholar and iconographer who is directing two grant-funded projects on the history of Holy Trinity Church, will outline the early history of the community, while Victoria Jones, a long-time member of Holy Trinity Church, teacher and religious educator, will speak about the transformation of the parish since the 1970s.
The event is sponsored in part by a Kansas Humanities Council Heritage Grant and a Kansas Historical Society KDAHR Grant. According to Archpriest Timothy Sawchak, Holy Trinity’s Rector, it is the first event in the parish’s year-long centennial celebration.
Additional information is available on Holy Trinity Church’s Facebook Page.
