In the years before the parish of the Dormition of the Mother of God in Sutherland acquired its first church, Divine Liturgies were celebrated in the local Roman Catholic Church. When the Roman Catholic community decided to build a larger church in 1958, the Ukrainian community brought the old Roman Catholic church and altered it for their use.
This church served the community well for thirteen years, until it was dismantled to make way for the present church building.
The first Ukrainian Catholic liturgies in the community of Sutherland took place intermittently in the local Roman Catholic church. In 1958, the Ukrainian Catholic community there purchased the old Holy Family Roman Catholic church and moved it to the present site of the church of the Dormition. This building served the community until 1971, when it was dismantled so that construction on the present church building could begin. The present church has been loving decorated and cared for over the past half century.
Dormition of the Mother of God parish has experienced significant growth over the years and is now the seat of a rural district consisting of Vonda, Prud’homme, Lanwici, Bodnari, Smuts, Borshchiv, and Havryliuk.
The information provided here is taken in part from the work of Anna Maria Kowcz-Baran, Ukrainian Catholic Churches of Saskatchewan, published in 1977. This monumental historical survey can be found for sale at the Musée Ukraina Museum for $20.00.