Meacham church of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ constructed 1952; R.M. 342.

MEACHAM — The church of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ is the third church of the parish.

Ukrainian settlers constructed the first church in 1911 one mile west of the village. The wood constructed church was in the form of a cross and had one small dome. In 1918 the non-Catholic Ukrainians purchased the shares of the Catholic members who in turn acquired another church. This second church was purchased from the Roman Catholic community in 1922 for the sum of $700 and altered to meet the requirements of the Ukrainian Rite. In 1952 the church was dismantled and on its site the present church was constructed. The parish was honoured with several episcopal visitations; Bishop Nicetas Budka served Moleben in the first church in 1914, Archbishop Basil Ladyka visited the parish in 1933, and Bishop Andrew Roborecki made several visits to the parish and blessed the present church on August 23, 1953.

The present church is in southerly Meacham. It is a wood constructed rectangular structure with a cupola at the front apex of the gable roof and two similar cupolas above the front towers. The exterior walls have imitation brick siding and contain rectangular, arched at the top, windows. In the interior the church contains a sanctuary with the main altar, a nave with two side altars dedicated to the Holy Mother of God and Christ Who Loves Mankind, and an east choir loft extending above the nave. The two sacristies adjoining the sanctuary also have north exits to the outside. Entry into the church is through a small attached east porch with a separate gable roof. The north front tower contains a stairway leading to the choir loft; the base of the south tower contains a storage room and a stairway leading to the church basement which serves as a parish hall with kitchen facilities. Seating capacity of the church is for approx. 100 persons. Lighting is by electricity and central heating by oil. The floors of the church are hardwood; the central aisle and altar area are carpeted. All walls including the angulated ceiling are finished with donnacona and were artistically decorated in 1956 by the artist Theodore Baran.

Construction of the church was accomplished through the generous contributions and voluntary labour of the parishioners under the foremanship of Nick Zary and the directorship of the church executive and the construction committee. The parish executive at that time consisted of: William Servetnyk, Michael Noga, Nykola Drabinasty, Michael Korol, John Cho-botuk, Nykola Yurchuk, John Slywchuk, Joseph Pid-lisny while the construction committee included: Nykola Drabinasty, Dmytro Bukurak and Michael Zurivinsky. During the construction the ladies of the parish, united under the Ladies Church Auxiliary, also made a substantial financial contribution to the construction fund. The pastor at this time was Rev. Peter Kryworuchka.

Ukrainian settlers arrived in 1907 from the Horo-denka and Husiatyn counties and the city of Halych. The first pastor to visit the parish was Rev. Emilian Andruchowicz. In 1922 the parish registered 20 members, in 1941, 24 members with 63 children (Prop. Knyha); in 1961 there were 90 souls (Directory) and in 1975, 20 families were accounted for. A substantial number of younger families have left the community for greater job opportunities in other provinces, while many of the older parishioners have moved to Saskatoon. In 1976 the parish was under the directorship of Rev. P. Kryworuchka, pastor, Joseph Korol, Volodymyr Yurchuk, Dmytro Trischuk and Frank Kielbiski.

The Ukrainian Catholic parish of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ at Meacham belongs to the church district of Saskatoon.

Updated December 2020

The Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Ascension of Our Lord, Meacham, falls under the Deanery of Saskatoon, under the pastoral charge of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Holy Eucharist-Cudworth, which is included in the Cudworth District, with Very Reverend Janko Kolosnjaji as Administrator, and served by Reverend Mykola Romanets.