About Us
Welcome to St. Nikola Serbian Orthodox Church!
Welcome to St. Nikola Serbian Orthodox Church in Brookfield, IL. Our parish is served by the Very Reverend Dennis Pavichevich with Holy Liturgy held every Sunday starting at 10:00 AM. St. Nikola also has an active church board, folk dance group, Circle of Serbian Sisters, Sunday School, church choir and Friday evening youth and adult religious classes. Father Dennis is fluent in both Serbian and English and welcomes the opportunity to personally meet with every individual interested in the Serbian Orthodox faith. The smaller size of our parish encourages our parishioners to have a close bond with one another as well as with our local neighbors, schools and village members. All are welcome and encouraged to join us not only for Sunday services but also our annual summer Serbian Fest and all events!
Our Groups
The Church Circle of Serbian Sisters of the St. Nikola Serbian Orthodox Church of Brookfield, Illinois, has as its goal to work together with the Church-School congregation, toward the spreading of religious and education consciousness among our parishioners, and to develop a widespread action to support the Serbian Orthodox Church and School, and to support emotionally and/or financially to those in need.
The Circle of Serbian Sisters (Serbian: Kolo Srpskih Sestara) is a women's charitable society established in Belgrade in 1903. As with all Circles, our Kolo is based on the original idea of the Kolo Srpskih Sestara organized in 1903 in Serbia* - to help those in need of food, clothing, and comfort. The St. Nikola KSS has remained steadfast in their role as a supporting organization of the church and the Serbian Orthodox people.
"Following the prayer, the priest explained to the women present why he had invited them. He spoke concerning the building of the church, school and hall; and that now it is necessary that every woman and every mother help with her work and contribute so that the church, school and hall be made and beautified as nicely as possible, by which they would leave for themselves a lasting memorial ... and they would be called: Circle of Serbian Sisters."
Since our move from Chicago and the renovating of our new house of God in Brookfield, our Church Kolo continued in its commitment to support and beautify this glorious gift; our Church and focusing on giving back to God that with which we have been graced.
Over the years, our activities have included such God-pleasing endeavors as fashion shows, lunch, coffee and refreshments after church service, summer camp donations, providing flowers for the church interior during both Christmas and Easter, decorating Christs' tomb and coloring the eggs on Great Friday, purchases of new items for the hall kitchen such as a new stove in 2018, active participation in the Federation of Circles of Serbian Sisters, and the making of many other charitable and humanitarian contributions.
All of our efforts have culminated in enabling the St. Nikola Kolo Sisters to make large financial and material contributions to our Church. In addition, these efforts provided spiritual growth to this very dedicated and committed group of women in service to their Church.
Current 2018 KSS Board:
President: Lydia Dukic
1st Vice-President: Olivera Miletic
2nd Vice-President: Stana Ryan
Treasurer: Javorka Spalevic
Secretary: Jasmina Radunovic
For more information about the Moravac dance group please contact Zora Timotijevic or Zorica Ratkovic at moravac.svnikola@yahoo.com.
The goal of the St. Nikola Church School program is to teach our children the spiritual values of the Orthodox Christian faith. Under the direction of Father Dennis Pavichevich, our parish priest, and Father Tom Kazich, the Director of Religious Education from the Serbian Orthodox Diocese of New Gracanica-Midwestern America, our Sunday School Coordinator, Mary Warmus, has developed integrated lesson plans to expose children to our faith in a fun but disciplined way. We reference the Bible, the Divine Liturgy, the Feast Days of the Church, St. Sava’s Mission, iconography, and the importance of Holy Communion, fasting, praying and learning hymns.
We pray that our children and their families live a Christ-centered and Eucharistic life. We hope that our children grow in God’s service and that our Orthodox faith sustains them as they grow into adults. We want our children to recognize the beauty of our faith. We want them to learn to respect themselves and others. We want them to know that they are not only an integral part of our Church community but also the secular community in which they live. We want them to be proud of their Serbian Orthodox heritage and encourage them to participate in the Church's Moravac folklore dance group.
We have showcased our Church and our customs in events that include decorating a Christmas Tree in the Serbian Orthodox tradition at the Brookfield Zoo and marching in the LaGrange Pet Parade with our "The Bee-Attitudes float" (Jesus Christ gave us the eight Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, recorded in the Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12). We captured the crowd’s attention with our messages of "Bee-Good", "Bee-Friendly" and "Bee-Your Best" on signs embellished with colorful flowers and bumble bees. We also had fun bowling with our friends from St. John the Baptist Church in Bellwood, IL.
Church school is scheduled after Divine Liturgy on Sundays. We encourage all children ages three through High School to participate. Father Dennis also hosts a special Friday night religious education class for the older kids participating in folklore (Groups 3 and 4) as well as all teens ages 12-18. We are grateful that we have a beautiful class room, loving and helpful parents and a great group of kids! We hope to see you at both Divine Liturgy and Sunday school as well.
Spiritual growth for church members is essential; therefore we offer a variety of religious educational opportunities for adults.
When adults grow spiritually they can more fully educate their children and lead others in their faith. Our church's teaching mission aims to help the faithful grow in Christian maturity and enriching the whole of life with the Gospel.
In our baptism, we are called to be Christian disciples in the world and be active members of the Church. Our Religious Education helps adults to be as salt of the earth and light for the world (Mt 5:13-16), by engaging in the study of Scripture and the teaching of the Church's tradition.
To begin your own process of growing stronger in the Orthodox Faith, please check the church bulletin or St. Nikola Facebook page for upcoming classes. If you have questions of your faith and are looking for answers, please contact our church via email and we can have a personal consultation.
St. Nikola Church identifies with various needs of others and our practice of giving is based on Jesus’ saying in Matthew 25:35-36, 40:
“For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me …. Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.”
Each year our parishioners volunteer to purchase Christmas gifts for DCFS children; we have helped several local Serbian individuals get situated in the neighborhood by providing furniture and miscellaneous necessities.
How can you help? You can donate to St. Nikola’s benevolent fund. 100% of all donations go to support various church ministries and no amount is too small. For more information, contact our church via email.