Sts. Cyril & Methodius Church
Memories
(If you would like to contribute some of your memories, send them via e-mail to Jim Sullivan at: jvsullivan@ipass.net)  

Taking the Easter baskets of food to Cyril & Methodius church for the blessing . . . old ladies in babushkas would drag in huge hamper sized baskets . . .and the church had to have multiple shifts of  "blessing the baskets"  to handle the crowds . . . . . the aroma of all the meats mixing in the air and the incense . . . . the dark golden colored eggs made with brown eggs boiled with onion skins (I have the recipe for coloring the eggs . . .  and for kapusta too.) . . . . the mass consecration bells at Sts. Cyril & Methodius church sounded like door chimes (the chimes are still there but not in use - they still use the hand bells! as of Jan. '06) . . . half the mass was said in Slovak half in English  . . . the passing mainline NY, NH & Hartford trains would shake the church building because the tracks were so close to the walls . . . walking to visit seven churches on Holy Thursday evening, including Sts. Cyril & Methodius . . . . . the Slovak priest would come around to bless houses and write a blessing in Slovak over the top of the inside kitchen door frame, in chalk. He would get a donation for this blessing. Walking up the large steps - the mournful dirge of the church bell rung at family funerals. (Did you know the Sts C & M basement was used by St. John's Byzantine Catholic church when they had the big split? The faction they stayed under the pope used the basement for "divine liturgy" - they now have the church over in Trumbull.)

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