St Stefan Church in Rooty Hill Once Again Delights Guests: Festival of Youth, Talent, and Fellowship

The festival organised by the Church-School Community of Saint Stefan in Rooty Hill is gradually establishing itself as an important gathering place for the Serbian community. For the third year in a row, last Saturday, Serbs and friends of Serbs gathered in the churchyard of Saint Stephen to celebrate our Faith, togetherness, youth, and talent.

The festival was officially opened by the parish priest, Father Aleksandar Ivanović, who blessed the newly built children's playground. This children's playground in the churchyard represents a pledge for the future and a promise that the church is ready to care for Serbs born on this soil as the third and fourth generations. A large number of children who attended the festival spent most of their time precisely on this playground, as well as on the other facilities that had been set up around the church for the occasion.

A sunny and warm day, combined with a rich program, attracted a large number of visitors. For almost two full hours, folk dance groups performed in front of the church, where the youngest participants, along with those slightly older, demonstrated how Serbian culture and tradition are nurtured and preserved. The folk ensembles that took part came from the churches in Rooty Hill, Wollongong, Blacktown, and the Serbian Centre in Bonnyrigg. In addition to the folk dance performances, the audience was also presented with the Church Children's Choir from Saint George Church in Cabramatta. Under the baton of protinica Jelena Ćećez, the choir performed the songs “Christ is Risen” (Hristos Vaskrse), “Festive Morning” (Praznično jutro), and “Tear of Kosovo” (Suza Kosova). Another fantastic performance that impressed the audience was given by Nikolina Stegnjaić, who sang “Rejoice, O Serbian People” (Veseli se srpski rode). Nikola Jokić, a product of Dragana Vujadinović’s accordion school, showcased his skill on the accordion, while Vukašin Jovanović recited the Testament of Stefan Nemanja regarding the church, song, and music.

As the great župan said — and the audience warmly greeted and supported — we must ensure that “a foreign song never plays in front of our house, nor a foreign kolo (dance) be danced.” It was precisely this desire and need to preserve Serbian tradition, kolo, and music, and to remind ourselves how many talented and creative children we have, that guided the organizers — the parishioners of Saint Stephen Church in Rooty Hill — to include this Festival in their calendar, as well as in the calendar of our broader community, alongside the already traditional and highly successful gathering celebrating Serbian-Greek friendship, which awaits us in September.

These first three years, during which lessons were learned from both mistakes and successes, but with persistence maintained, have shown that the Festival is growing into a serious event with clear ideas and vision. What we all already knew is that Serbs are true hosts who always treat their guests to excellent traditional food and a diverse range of content and offerings — something that was once again confirmed at this year’s festival. However, the guests were also able to see what we sometimes forget: that when we want to, and when there is good will, we know how to unite, help one another, donate our free time, energy, knowledge, and skills, and create a gathering that — as Father Aleksandar mentioned several times — the Church of Saint Stephen can be proud of.

People gather to do a job, but they come together to give that work meaning. We hope that in the years ahead, Serbs on this distant continent will come together more often and more joyfully. Rooty Hill already promises a new gathering in September, together with our Orthodox Greek brothers.

See you there.

Dr. Milena Ilišević