The article at left was printed on 7 July 1930 in the Somerset Daily American, and discusses the patriotic flag raising ceremonies conducted at the former Holy Assumption Orthodox Church, Jerome, Pa. In our present social and political climate, this article takes on new meaning. Jerome was one of the last bituminous mining communities to unionize. It was a holding of the Hillman Coal Company (still in existence and now know for their contributions to the Hillman Cancer Center). Hillman Coal resisted unionization until it was no longer feasible. Violence and intimidation were tactics employed by outside agitators to accomplish the goal of unionization. The Russian Orthodox community was understandably nervous: the clergy had first-hand memories of the Russian Revolution, and the atheistic communists who drove them from their churches, murdered the faithful, and laid waste to their villages. Embracing the pervasive secular culture was not going to be the answer. Don’t believe me? A second article from the Daily American printed on 13 September 1934 was titled “Communists force Priest from Church,” and again referenced the situation in Jerome. This time, radicalized elements of the community attempted to force their secularized philosophy upon the governance of the church. Having merged with the Boswell congregation, Holy Assumption was considered de-facto closed by 1952. The labor movement destroyed the bituminous mining industry, and the church in Jerome was one casualty of this secularized philosophy. The historical record is clear, and should serve as a warning for the present moment: acts of patriotism can never take the place of faith, and if there is no faith, there is no church. Self-interest is not the goal of the church. The question is not “What is the church going to do for me?,” but rather, “What is it that I can do through the church to become closer to God?”We support our civil authorities, but first and foremost, we do the work of the church for the glory of God and our salvation, and for no other reason.