The Sisterhood of the Holy Virgin
Mary Cathedral takes care of the
decoration of the Church, the vestments and the furnishing of the
parish buildings and gardens, and finances charitable works by
collecting funds and sponsoring luncheons and other enterprises. It
helps provide funds each year for the support of one student at St.
Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary.
The consecration of our church took
place on July 22, 1928. Prior to that time, our parish had been
meeting for services at the Episcopal Church, where the first
Liturgy was served in February, 1923, by Father Razoumov. After the
services there, most of the active parishioners would go to the home of
Matushka Razoumov for a cup of tea. Gradually, a ladies group was
formed to look after all things having to do with cleaning and
beautifying the church, purchasing icons and vestments. In 1928, the
president of the Church Committee, A.A.Tolubeyev, proposed that a
ladies society be officially organized. The project group, made up of
those who had been active in the church for a long time, worked out a
statute, which was soon adopted by the full committee of the society.
The main goals of the Society were the tidiness of the church, sewing
and mending vestments, caring for the church garden, and philanthropic
works. The work of the Society steadily developed and grew every year.
As a means of raising funds, the
Society depended on the "cup of tea",
charitable bazaars, lectures, and balls. When the parish hall became
available, regular lunches were organized after the Sunday Liturgy. In
church, plate collections were taken up for the benefit of the Women's
Society - for support of the above-mentioned goals. As the Society and
its means grew, its requirements expanded, and its goals were
broadened. At the time of the Second World War, the Society had grown
enough so that, besides its care for the church and Russians, it was
possible to take part in patriotic work - helping the American GI, the
USO and the American Red Cross. At the end of the war many parcels of
food and clothing were sent to new refugees and emigrants.
