St. Nicholas Orthodox Church in Homewood will open its doors — and its parishioners will open their arms to visitors — when the church hosts its 50th annual spaghetti dinner Saturday.
“The church is really like one big family, and everyone who comes here becomes part of our family,” said Associate Pastor Wayne Gawlik, better known as Father Joseph. “It’s hard to believe this is already our 50th anniversary dinner.”
The church, 17935 Springfield Ave., has about 50 families who are part of the parish, and more than 200 patrons are expected to attend the dinner.
The meal is prepared by parish members, but two cooks have been in the kitchen since the very first spaghetti dinner in 1965: Frank Hommer, of Homewood, and Bill Sliepka, of Indiana.
“They are both excellent in the kitchen and work very well together,” Gawlik said. “In 50 years, our recipe has not changed.”
The event is from 2 to 8 p.m. For $7 per adult and $5 per child, attendees can enjoy garlic bread, salad, spaghetti and a wide array of desserts.
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“Every year, our parish members make the wonderful desserts for the event and there are always so many pastries to choose from,” Gawlik said.
He has worked alongside the church’s 82-year-old pastor, the Rev. Boris Zabrodsky, for 30 years and loves the tight-knit community.
“St. Nicholas is a family parish. We have people that have moved out to Lansing, Manteno, Plainfield and even Indiana that still come to our services and events,” he said. “Some people have been coming to our parish for many years. We are hoping that because the dinner is a family event, new participants will attend the spaghetti dinner and continue to come to liturgy on Sundays.”
The church officially opened in 1953 as a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Harvey. In 1976, it moved to Homewood and became Pan Orthodox, Gawlik said. Zabrodsky has been its pastor for 55 years.
Kelly White is a freelance reporter.