| Monday, August 13th, 2007 | | LETTER TO OUR FRIENDS |
Dear Friends,
We write to you with a heavy heart. We are approaching a sad day for The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the project to build a retirement community for Ukrainians that we’ve named Trypillian Village.
Despite years of planning and preparation, the efforts and support of many parishioners and professionals, and considerable financial backing and a solid business plan for its success, our project is in serious danger of being cancelled by the Archdiocese.
We need your help!
As you know, the goal of the project was three-fold. Our intention was to utilize 90 acres of currently church-owned property:
- To relocate our church from a rapidly deteriorating inner city environment to a safe and secure brand new church that would be constructed on our land in an easily accessible suburban location outside of Reading
- To build a retirement community where you would have the opportunity to celebrate your Ukrainian heritage, honor your traditions and glorify the faith of our fathers with others who enjoy the same things you do
- To construct, develop and promote a Ukrainian Heritage Center to preserve and protect our culture while attracting Ukrainian people both locally and throughout the country to our community
This new community would offer a neighborhood atmosphere where you could attend church, experience the Ukrainian Heritage Center or relax and have fun at the Community Activity Center...all within walking distance of each other.
We have prepared and planned. We have received assurances from banks, appraisers, realtors, local government and the local community that our proposed project is viable. With the financial backing and the professional and public support we have noted above, they have assured us that it has every chance to become a resounding success.
Additionally, we have had more than 50 potential residents who have expressed interest in moving to Trypillian Village and becoming members of our parish. That represents nearly fifty percent occupancy of the 101 units we propose to build… with very little aggressive marketing or promotion to date.
We had hoped that the new church and this new community, anchored in our Ukrainian heritage, culture and abiding faith, would be a valuable contribution to the archdiocese, to Ukrainian Catholics not only throughout Berks County, but across the entire United States, and to the people and the community at large.
We continue to believe that this is true. We are admittedly discouraged at this time, but we have not lost faith.
We implore you to make your feelings known in supporting our cause. Our proposed community has every opportunity to be successful now, in the future, and for generations to come. We believe the very existence of our parish is at stake.
Just as our forebears, who made a leap of faith when founding our parish, provided the hard work, diligence and support to succeed in this new world, we ask you to do the same by coming to the aid of The Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Trypillian Village and the Ukrainian Heritage Center.
We ask you to add your voice to our own. Please call Msgr. Peter Waslo at the chancery today at 215-627-0143. Tell him that you support Trypillian Village and want to see this dream come to life. Ask your friends and relatives to call as well. Your call will make a difference!
Respectfully Yours,
Your Friends at Trypillian Village
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| Thursday, February 8th, 2007 | | NEW TOWNHOMES WILL SAVE ENERGY...AND MONEY |
The 101 new townhomes at Trypillian Village have recently been approved as Energy Star Certified.
This government-backed designation means that prospective buyers can qualify for Energy Efficient Mortgages and homeowners will enjoy significantly lower annual energy costs.
Buyers also get the additional peace-of-mind that comes from owning a home that is energy efficient and meets strict Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines.
As a result, Trypillian Village residents will benefit from lower ownership costs. Compared with standard homes, Energy Star qualified homes use substantially less energy for heating, cooling, and water heating-delivering $200 to $400 in annual savings. Over a number of years, this adds up to thousands of dollars saved on utility bills.
Homeowners will also enjoy better home "performance," because properly installed energy-efficient improvements deliver better protection against cold, heat, drafts, moisture, pollution, and noise. And energy-efficient homes help ensure consistent temperatures between and across rooms, improved indoor air quality, and greater durability.
Residents can also take pride that they're doing their part in protecting the environment. Studies show that a home can be a greater source of pollution than a car. In fact, 16 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions are generated from the energy used in houses nationwide. In most cases, the energy used in homes often comes from the burning of fossil fuels at power plants, which contributes to smog, acid rain, and global warming. Simply put, the less energy used in our homes, the less air pollution generated.
More details about Energy Star efficiency and Energy Efficient Mortgages can be found in the Links section of our website. |
For more information: http://trypillianvillage.com/homes/energystarcertified.html |
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| Wednesday, January 3rd, 2007 | | TOWNHOME FLOORPLANS AND ELEVATIONS RELEASED |
Set to begin construction in March, these spacious new, two-story, two bedroom homes feature up to 1,871 sq ft of living space and an emphasis on luxury living, including a convenient personal elevator!
These townhomes offer a comfortable modern lifestyle with all the conveniences and amenities, from 2-1/2 baths to a Master Suite featuring a walk-in closet, to a versatile second floor loft space, plus a garage with interior access.
The exteriors are styled in village tradition, highlighted by half-timbered, fieldstone, stucco and clapboard detailing and architectural windows.
A variety of spacious floor plans are now available to meet your specific needs with optional features such as a family room fireplace, a country kitchen and a variety of upgrades.
Go to the "Our Homes" section to see the architectural renderings of our beautiful luxurious townhomes and the variety of floor plans now available. More details, specifications, options and pricing will be available soon. |
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| Tuesday, October 17th, 2006 | | THE NBVM PARISH CELEBRATES CENTENNIAL |
September 8 marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church, Reading PA.
The Centennial is especially significant since it coincides with current parish plans to erect a brand new church structure and an adjacent retirement community that's being specially developed for persons of Ukrainian heritage on a site acquired by earlier parishioners.
The new church and the community are yet further examples of the dedication and vision demonstrated by parishioners throughout the church’s 100-year history, according to current pastor Fr. Uriy Markewych.
The roots of the parish reach back to the turn of the Twentieth Century when nine Ukrainian immigrants came to Reading, PA to earn money for their families back in Ukraine. During their stay in the US, they wanted to attend church services in their own Greek Catholic Rite. A small committee was created to start their own parish observing the language, religious practices and traditions of Ukraine.
The first church was actually a row house on 632 Laurel Street in Reading, purchased for $1800 and converted into a chapel for services. Among the first parishioners were 16 families and a few single men. Officially, the founding date of the Church was April 20, 1906. But because the chapel was dedicated to the Feast of Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the date of September 8 became the accepted “birthday” of this parish community.
It was in 1953, to accommodate a growing parish and revitalize the spirit of the church, that the parishioners began building a new church structure that still stands and is in current use today. It was completed in 1955. In tribute to the legacy of the parish, significant historical features of that church, including a mosaic, stained glass windows and church bells, will be incorporated into the new church.
A key to today’s project was the decision and the foresight by Fr. Wolodymyr Koval and the parishioners in 1964 to purchase more than 100 wooded, suburban acres for use as a cemetery and picnic grounds. It is this site that will be the home to the new church and Trypillian Village retirement community.
This 2006 Centennial year, then, marks a continuum of the vision expressed by the early founders to create an enduring legacy of religion, language and tradition for those of Ukrainian heritage.
Thanks to the foresight of the forefathers of the parish, today’s parishioners are able to utilize the property in Reading's nearby suburban Flying Hills to build their new church, a Ukrainian Heritage Center, a Community Center and a 100 unit Ukrainian retirement village that will continue to serve generations to come.
The parish will move from downtown Reading to their new home in 2007. |
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| Saturday, July 1st, 2006 | | TRYPILLIAN VILLAGE WEBSITE GOES LIVE |
This virtual gathering place for all parishoners, past, current and future opened today. We hope to keep everyone up-to-date on all the latest developments of this exciting project as we move closer and closer to beginning our life in our new Church, Heritage Center, and Village. Please sign up for e-mail updates on the home page by clicking on the link below and entering your e-mail address in the "Get Updates By E-mail" box. |
For more information: http://www.trypillianvillage.com |
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