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Sixth Annual Blessing of Lake Michigan
The oldest Eastern Catholic Church in all of Chicagoland and Indiana will mark its 125th anniversary with the blessing of Lake Michigan on Jan. 7, 2024, at 1 p.m. The event is free and open to everyone of all faiths and backgrounds. A social will follow in the clipper room for guests.
The blessing, to be held at the Hammond Marina, 701 Casino Center Drive, in Hammond, will commemorate the Eastern Catholic feast of the Baptism of Jesus in the River Jordan. Catholics believe that by his being baptized in a river, Jesus Christ sanctified all of creation. Therefore, according to Eastern Catholic tradition, a natural body of water is to be blessed on the feast day as well.
Father Andrew Summerson, who serves St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, will bless the lake during a sung prayer service. The public is invited to attend. Refreshments will follow.
“Water is the source of all life on earth,” said Father Summerson. “We recognize the value of life and of all creation and, in blessing water, we bless our own life and life itself. We praise God for his magnificent creation and we bless it for his glory.”
“The blessing of Lake Michigan is significant,” he continued. “Our prayer is that, with this blessing of this large and important body of water, the blessings of God will flow through this great land and throughout the world,” he said.
St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, located at 2011 Clark St., in Whiting, was founded 125 years ago by Eastern European immigrants, including Slovaks, Hungarians and Ukrainians, most of whom worked in the steel mills and oil refineries that generated the wealth and industry the region enjoys today.
A large number of these immigrants were Eastern Catholic, and they founded their first church, St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, in Whiting in 1898 and incorporated the church in 1899.
For information, call (219) 659-0277 or email [email protected]
