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Hello St. George parish! My name is Bryann Olenick. It has been an honour to attend St. George since February 2023. Since beginning my Orthodox journey, I have been received in the church (April 2th, 2024) and married to the love of my life Brendan (July 27th, 2024).
Growing up in Regina, I had been involved in local evangelical churches all my life. Being raised in a Christian home, I was taught the importance of faith and active church life. As I matured, I grew to love the faith and actively sought any opportunity I could to grow in this area of my life. While my practice of the faith wasn't always perfect, my enthusiasm to learn and grow was there.
After high school I attended Briercrest Bible College. I initially attended the college with the hopes of becoming a high school history teacher. In my second year of studies, however, I switched programs to major in history. My love of learning truly developed in these years; I was (and still am) fascinated by history, literature, art, and philosophy. It was in these classes where I first learned about Orthodoxy. While I was intrigued by Orthodoxy at the time, it was too foreign to the Christianity I was used to, so I was not ready to delve into it further.
After graduating from college with a Bachelor of Arts in Humanities, I had no idea where the Lord would lead me. By right circumstances (and perhaps divine intervention) I landed a part-time job at the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. I was hired as the full time curator there in 2019.
As the Covid pandemic hit and churches were sadly not able to gather in the usual manner, I began seeking Christian resources online. There, I discovered more people were converting to Orthqdoxy.:;_ While I looked into the Orthodox faith online,-many • of the concepts were very different to the faith I'd been raised in, and it was difficult for me to grasp the Orthodox mindset. I had ev~n thought of visiting St. George at this time, but I was a bit intimidated to go alone to an environment that was so unfamiliar to me. (I now know you all would have kindly welcomed me if I had come).
Brendan and I met in January of 2022 when J attended a bible study he happened to lead. By October 2022 we were dating. As we had both individually had questions about the church context we found ourselves in, we were able to explore these questions together as our relationship blossomed. This time of searching not only brought us closer together, but also led us to Orthodoxy and St. George. Growing deeper in Orthodox understanding continues to be our favourite pastime. During our first Divine Liturgy I had no idea what was going on, but I loved it nonetheless! My first liturgical experience reminded me of the verse "taste and see that the Lord is good"; I saw the Lord was indeed present and good in Liturgy.
I thank you all for your loving support as we've entered the Church. The transition from Protestantism to Orthodoxy hasn't necessarily been easy, but your prayer and encouragement has made it all the better! I look forward to getting to know my church family for many years to come!
