For almost 30 years, it has been running a summer camp throughout the month of July. The first two weeks are for those who speak little to no Lithuanian, but are of Lithuanian heritage. The second two weeks are for those who speak the language fluently. I attended the camp for 11 years. In all of those years, I can certainly guarantee you I learned both about my culture and faith. Just to start, I learned about how the Nazis went into Lithuania and took over the entire country. Many of the Lithuanians had to maintain some sense of normalcy by hiding books with them, wherever they could, while fleeing. Without the church and the camp, I would have only learned the language through Lithuanian school. I would not have had the real life connection the camp has given me. For 11 years, I couldn’t imagine my life without the camp. It helped make me who I am today.

But cultural parishes do more than serve their community. For example, my parish has held dinners and rummage sales for many years and many of the profits have gone to help the less fortunate in Lithuania as well as the Catholic community there. The funds have also helped bring over Lithuanian children to participate in the camp. Because of what the parish has done abroad, I’ve learned the greater impact we can have on the world.

However, the bigger crisis for these parishes is how to survive. Recently, my pastor asked parishioners to double the amount of donations because what is collected now doesn’t cover the costs of running the parish. I certainly do not know whether the parish will survive long-term. Its absence would create a gigantic hole in the already small Lithuanian community.

Cultural parishes are certainly important to whatever community they serve. They are also imperative to keeping the culture alive and passing it on to the next generation. What we have to keep in mind is they are sometimes the centre of these communities and without cultural parishes, the communities would surely crumble.

In order to survive, these parishes must develop strategies to bring people back. At my church, they are encouraging young families to attend barbecues and other events in order to socialize and hope to renew their faith. Hopefully, this time, the solution will work.

(Dziengo, 20, is a media studies and journalism student at the University of Guelph-Humber in Toronto. Find out more about her at the YSN blog, youthspeaknews.org)