Upon entering the quaint town of Ituna, Saskatchewan, the striking Sacred Heart Ukrainian Catholic Church is bound to attract your attention.
Constructed in the 1960s, it was designed during an era when the local congregation welcomed hundreds of worshippers.
“During Easter or Christmas, the church was so crowded that they had to set out extra chairs, and some parishioners would even stand outside,” reminisced 85-year-old Nettie Lutz, a lifelong churchgoer.
However, over 20 years ago, as the number of attendees began to decline and the average age increased, the church started requiring repairs that demanded significant financial resources. This is when the influence of the perogy became crucial.
Since then, Lutz and other community members have united to create, roll, and fry thousands of these beloved Ukrainian dumplings, while also organizing fundraising efforts to support the local Roman Catholic church.
People are willing to travel for hours to acquire bags of perogies produced in this town of just over 700 residents.
The group estimates that volunteers have crafted nearly a million perogies since their initiative began, with the actual number possibly being even higher.
Continuing the church’s operations through perogy sales reflects a profound respect and affection for Ukrainian heritage among individuals like Lutz and fellow parishioner Taras Korchinski.
Taras Korchinski is among the volunteers who have been making perogies to sell to maintain Ituna’s two local churches. (Jeffery Tram/CBC)
“It’s essential to preserve your culture; otherwise, it will vanish and be lost forever,” Korchinski stated, noting that even though he no longer resides in Ukraine, he still feels a connection and empathizes with the struggles Ukrainians are facing since the Russian invasion in 2022.
As Korchinski nears 80, both he and Lutz understand that they cannot continue the perogy-making efforts indefinitely, raising concerns about the future of their cherished church.
Volunteers are at the backbone of small communities. In the town of Ituna, Sask., those volunteers have spent years raising money with perogies. People there say they’ve made 70,000 perogies this year alone.
“In a decade, most of our parishioners will likely be in nursing homes or passed away. Such is life,” Korchinski acknowledged. Nonetheless, he expressed that the efforts of the volunteers and the church will always remain a significant part of Ituna’s narrative.
“History is history. It doesn’t change.”
- Listen to CBC’s radio program The 306 in Ituna here.
As Lutz surveys the 30 volunteers assembled for a perogy-making session, rolling out dough, filling it, and pinching the dumplings by hand, she may be uncertain about the future of her church, but she is sure that she is part of something extraordinary.
“The best perogies in the world, made by the best people.”