Photographs | Churches
The organization of a parish was first discussed by area residents in November 1947. Congregational life was then formally initiated on May 23, 1948 at a general meeting that was also attended by Reverend A. Chrustawka, Mrs. A. Pidruchny, and lawyer John Decore, subsequently elected as a Liberal member to the House of Commons for Vegreville constituency. By September of that year a lot was acquired for a church on the west side of the town centre, but it was registered in the name of one of the parishioners until after the congregation received its official incorporation on November 27, 1948. The eighteen members of the congregation optimistically hoped to start building their place of worship the following year. In the meantime, services were held in private homes, as fundraising proceeded toward financing a sanctuary. Construction finally began in earnest in 1952. The members themselves worked on the structure, led by P. Harasym and the aged I. Velychko. The first service was held in the partially completed sanctuary on the feast day of St. John the Baptist in 1953, with Rev. M. Flak officiating. Many guests came from the neighbouring communities of Myrnam, Morecambe, Musidora, Two Hills and Vegreville, and there were tears of joy in the eyes of the hard-working St. John's members.
In 1954 the congregation reported having fourteen members, five sympathizers, and hosted eleven liturgies. The next year, it claimed eighteen members and eight sympathizers, but only celebrated seven Divine Liturgies, due to a shortage of priests. After a reorganization of rural districts in 1956, Innisfree was assigned to be part of Vegreville, and promised to have its monthly services restored.
Work on the sanctuary was not fully completed until in 1962. At that time, the congregation had seventeen members, and enjoyed monthly liturgies. Although the circumstances of the parish remained fairly stable for several years, by 1966 the congregation was reporting difficulties maintaining its membership. The situation continued to deteriorate, so that by 1969 there were only nine paid members in the parish. Although two years, the figure had increased to fourteen, the long-term prospects for the parish were hardly encouraging given the steady decline of rural communities. Nevertheless, the faithful continued to struggle to keep their parish alive despite enormous challenges. However, by the late 1980s it was impossible for the congregation to pay its annual levy to the Consistory due to the small number of members trying to keep up with mounting costs of maintaining the church.
GPS Co-ordinates: 53.381473, -111.531492
Affiliation: Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada
