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St. Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral |
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Cathédrale orthodoxe ukrainienne Sainte-Sophie |
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| Montréal (Québec)) |
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Becoming a Member of St. Sophie Parish
If you are interested in becoming a member of St. Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral Parish, here is something you might want to know.
When we choose to become members of a parish, we are making a commitment to provide ourselves with the means to experience and support the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition of Christian worship. In addition to availing ourselves of the religious services, we support the parish with money to ensure the continuation of these services. We elect a Parish Executive to run the day-to-day affairs of the parish.
To provide for this, the Parish Executive sets an annual membership fee (dues) which we pay to remain members in good standing. This annual fee, however, does not cover the entire cost of running the parish. And so as a parish, we rely on the generosity of our members to make additional donations. Fundraising is a regular activity in our parish providing everyone with opportunity to donate their talents, their skills, their time and their money.
Membership fees are paid annually within the calendar year (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31). Paying fees entitles the member to vote at the following annual general meeting of the parish and provides other benefits but paying fees is primarily the pledge which as a member we make to support the physical church. Fees may be paid either in a single payment or at regular intervals e.g. quarterly, monthly, weekly. Membership fees and other donations are eligible for income tax purposes as long as they are recordable i.e. not anonymous.
When we become a member of St. Sophie Parish, we also become a member of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada. A portion of our annual membership fee is forwarded both to the UOCC Consistory in Winnipeg and to the Eastern Eparchy in Toronto. The parish is obliged to do this on behalf of every member in order for the parish to maintain its affiliation with the Mother Church and the benefits derived from that affiliation.
Knowing this, if you are interested in becoming a member of St. Sophie Parish, here’s what you can do:
1. Obtain a membership application form from the parish priest, the parish office or by clicking here.
2. Complete the form by printing in English. All our records (mailing lists and lists of donations) are kept on computer, in English. For this reason, it is important that we have the spelling of your name as it appears on your official documents (e.g. your income tax form). We need those details in order to do our work and you can trust us to keep your information confidential.
3. Present the application form to the parish priest.
When he receives your application form, the parish priest will present you (and your family, if such is the case) as candidates for membership in the parish to a meeting of the Parish Executive which then votes to accept your application.
Once that is done, you are assigned a parish number which we ask you to use whenever you make a donation to the church, or have to identify yourself for some official purpose. The correct spelling of your name and your membership number is our safeguard to ensure that your dues and donations are credited properly.
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St. Sophie Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral - Українська Паравславна Катедра Святої Софії