Immigrant descendants restore Russian church

It was a hot humid Sunday afternoon in late August. A breeze soughed in the branches of a Norway pine that hugged close to the gold painted onion dome of the St. Peter & St. Paul Russian Orthodox Church in Bramble, MN, some 13 miles north of Togo on highway 65 just into Koochiching County. Cars parked along the highway on grassy shoulders just off cracked pavement. In the little church yard people gathered, a few of them in colorful Russian dress.

The tiny church of only a few hundred square feet could scarcely accommodate the forty or so people who crowded inside with their lawn chairs to be seated, let alone provide a stage for six women from Russia who were present to sing Russian folk songs for the audience. But everyone squeezed in tight and performance space was made along one wall. A few guests huddled behind the altar. Icons adorned the room and various saints seemed to look out with approval at the crowd assembled in the chapel, presumably the first such gathering in many years.

A master of ceremonies was introduced. In his brief introduction he talked about the history of the church, built in 1918 by immigrants from Ukraine. Descendants of those settlers have undertaken to preserve the little church in honor of their ancestors. The Lukachik family in particular has invested a great deal of labor in repairing and painting the church but much remains to be done. The event of the day was a fundraiser to help with additional work.

The concert was occasioned by the marriage of Vaughan, from Rantoul, Illinois, and Nadia from Russia. Five of her friends had come from overseas to visit and had undertaken to help raise funds to save the little church.

As they performed, the emcee announced each song and gave a synopsis, then the ladies sang a capella. Their voices were strong, clear and beautiful. Rich harmonies rang out inside little chapel as the congregants sat enthralled. The folk songs of Russia and the Ukraine must have stirred the soul of many a ghost in that little chapel as surely as they stirred the hearts of the living. The beautiful dresses of the women who sang echoed the bright colors of the saints on the icons. For a little over an hour, life pulsed once again in the little church.

For those who attended, this little concert was likely the highlight event of the summer. The beautiful music combined with the rustic setting to create a sense of being transported in time, if not place. Add a twinkle in the performer’s eyes along with the playfulness to bring members of the audience onto the floor to dance, and joy spread across the faces and drifted out the windows across a countryside that had attracted Russian settlement because it looked so much like home.

Afterwards, the entire group gathered on the lawn. Some of the Russian ladies posed on a Harley Davidson, ridden to the church by one of the attendees. The owner commented that his bike had never seen so much color. Later, the ladies posed alongside the church for photos while others discussed with pride the work that had already been done on the church. The coffee can for donations was well attended, with some writing checks and others making more than one trip to drop additional money.

So many congregations have dwindled in the northwoods. Many churches still struggle to hold on. Others, like the Russian Orthodox Church in Bramble, have long since closed their doors. But for one afternoon in August, one little chapel lived again through the efforts of dedicated families, talented singers from abroad, and generous guests who were willing to contribute to preserve a piece of our immigrant past.

Steve Harsin blogs from the Side Lake, MN area, www.thoughts.com/bearville.