Amador County – St. Sava Mission Foundation is planning a Golden Jubilee Celebration in July to mark the 50th anniversary of the St. Sava Mission in Jackson.

The Foundation will have its annual meeting that weekend, July 7, and plans the celebration Friday through Sunday, July 6-8. The Foundation is publishing a commemorative book to celebrate the history of the Mission and all that it has meant to its members. The hardbound book will include photographs of the 50 years of Summer Camp, extracts from student scholarship essays about the Serbian culture and community, and greetings and dedications from the community and Mission friends and supporters.

The 50th Anniversary Golden Jubilee Committee of St. Sava Mission Foundation sought greetings, dedications, remembrances, or reminiscences in stories and photos for the book showing and telling of special memories at their Mission.

The Golden Jubilee plans a $100 round-trip luxury motor coach to pick up riders at 6 a.m. at St. George’s Church in San Diego; 8 a.m. at Most Holy Thotokos Church in Irvine; 9:30 a.m. at St. Steven’s Cathedral in Los Angeles; and 2 p.m. at St. Peter’s Church in Fresno. The coach will arrive in Jackson at 6 p.m. Friday, July 6, and return to San Diego by 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 8. Golden Jubilee also lists lodging packages in dormitories at the Mission.

The Foundation web archives told about the beginning of the Mission, saying in 1962, people of Serbian heritage in the western United States “set out to build a shining center of our culture, community and faith in Jackson,” which is “the site of the first Serbian Orthodox Christian church in North America.”

“Their goal was to build facilities for a children’s camp, a senior citizen’s home, education and other cultural and community needs.” Their vehicle was the independent incorporation of their group as the Foundation.

The archive said “St. Sava Mission Foundation continues to faithfully preserve its stewardship of this great and vital legacy. With the children’s camp long-built and successful, today our goals remain a Senior Citizen Assisted-Living Home for our people; a Serbian Heritage Museum, Library & Cultural Center; historical building preservation; student scholarships; sports facilities; and a Serb youth exchange program.” These are community and cultural goals that the Foundation was originally created to achieve in 1962.

The Foundation’s purpose is “to preserve and promote the educational, charitable, cultural and other institutions of people of Serbian heritage,” and “to promote and maintain activities commensurate and consistent with the ideals and teachings of our Serbian heritage.”

Story by Jim Reece This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.