Nathalie Dale lives in a modest house just outside of Ann Arbor.
She is retired and lives without pretense, but a dusty journal article written in French resting in her living room bookcase reveals her true heritage.
Dale's family was part of the Russian aristocracy. Her grandfather, a historian by trade, was a member of the court of Czar Nicholas II, the last czar of Russia. Along with her father, who was a volunteer in the White Army fighting the communists, Dale's grandfather fled the Bolshevik revolution in 1919.
Nathalie Dale listens to the service at St. Vladimir Orthodox Church in Ann Arbor.Dale was born in Athens and was baptized in an Orthodox church that traces its history back a thousand years. Her family lived there happily until the end of World War II. Another war, another attempted communist takeover, forced the family out of Greece. Dale remembers troops shooting at the train and bombs falling during the 22-day train ride to Austria.
The family settled in the British-controlled sector of Austria in a village with other Russian refugees. One of the main forms of recreation available to Dale, then a teenager, were twice-weekly dances. It was there she met her future husband, a young British soldier named John Dale.
In 1949, the couple moved to America and settled near Dexter. John Dale became a banker and Nathalie attended the University of Michigan, eventually earning a master's degree in music.
When St. Vladimir Orthodox Church opened in 1981, Nathalie Dale became one of the original parishioners. She has attended nearly every Sunday service since.
Questions and answers with Nathalie Dale:
What is your religion?
Russian Orthodox.
Were your parents of this faith?
Yes, they were.
What is the one idea from your faith that is the most powerful or important to you?
I think my faith ... speaks very much to the heart. It has a certain warmth to it and I feel during the service, if you open up your heart, there's a mystery ... that speaks to you and sort of lifts you up from the ordinary world.
How is your faith important in your daily life?
Certain prayers really are part of me, and when I say them I'm really transported. I feel the strength coming from this.
How is your faith important in the wider world?
In Russia right now, there's a big resurgence of the faith, and I think that's wonderful because it was practically eliminated during communist times. Thousands of priests had been killed, also thousands of churches had been destroyed. It's a very old faith, and they haven't changed it. It is, I think, just about the way it was almost a thousand years ago.
Describe one experience where your faith has helped you through a tough time.
I don't know about one experience; I think there were many experiences. If I really concentrate and pray, it really makes a big difference. It strengthens me. It changes my outlook.
| Voices of Faith: Nathalie Dale |
| Voices of Faith: Nathalie Dale |
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