Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Winnipeg Media

UPCOMING EVENTS

The 52nd Annual Pilgrimage at Cooks Creek will take place August 18-20. For the schedule of liturgical events, see the July 16th edition of Progress Ukrainian Catholic News, call (204) 444-2478, or visit www.immaculate.ca. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is: “The 50th Anniversary of the Winnipeg Metropolia (1956-2006) – Celebrating our Family,” and will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Winnipeg Metropolia, which on November 3, 1956, brought together as one family the entire Ukrainian Catholic Church in Canada under the leadership of a metropolitan, then, Metropolitan Archbishop Maxim Hermaniuk. In reality, a “metropolia” is an ecclesiastical province, that is, a family of eparchies, which in Canada now includes the eparchies of New Westminster, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Toronto. An eparchy is a family of parishes, while a parish is a family of families.

Keeping with this theme of family, at the Divine Liturgy on Sunday, August 20, His Grace, Metropolitan Lawrence, will honour in a special way couples who have been married 50 years or more, and priests and deacons and religious who have been ordained or in religious life for 50 years or more. The jubilarian couples, clergy and religious are asked to complete and return the attached registration form to the Chancery by August 1. To make the event even more festive, the jubilarians are invited to bring a banner bearing their family name to the Sunday Divine Liturgy, gathering unto themselves their children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, etc. The banners will also be helpful to identify the jubilarians at the end of the Divine Liturgy, when Metropolitan Lawrence will call upon them to come forward and receive a special congratulatory certificate.

Likewise, parishes are also invited to bring a banner bearing their parish name to the Sunday Divine Liturgy, so that Metropolitan Lawrence can recognize their contribution as a “family of families”, which makeup in particular the one local Church of the Archeparchy of Winnipeg.

This year’s pilgrimage will also celebrate youth. A Special Youth Program has been planned for Saturday, August 19, with Altar Servers, Children of Mary, and All Youth in mind. The day begins at 3:00 pm with a Youth Led Stations of the Cross; then 4:00 pm Youth Arts and Crafts; 5:00 pm Youth Led Divine Liturgy (celebrated by His Grace, Metropolitan Lawrence) and group photo; 7:00 pm Youth Games/Activities; and 8:00 pm Vespers. Parishes are asked to complete and return the attached registration form to the Chancery by August 1.

Unity 2006 is an extraordinary event for young adults from across Canada. It is being held in Muenster, Saskatchewan at Saint Peter’s College from August 24-27. Sister Darlene Pelechaty, ssmi, and Father Mark Gnutel will facilitate the event. For more info, contact Tamara, Archeparchial Youth Coordinator, and visit the Unity 2006 website at http://unity06.sasktelwebsite.net. Pastors are asked to encourage their young adults to attend Unity 2006 and to include the following petition in the celebration of the Divine Liturgy: “We pray for Unity 2006, that as young adults gather to embrace and celebrate their faith, they open their hearts to the Lord. That this experience may help them to grow in awareness of God’s image in others, let us pray to the Lord.”

The next meeting of the Presbyteral Council/College of Consultors will take place at 3:00 pm on November 20. Note that the September 25 meeting is cancelled as the Ukrainian Catholic bishops in Canada will be on ad limina in Rome.

The next Clergy Conference will take place November 21. Note that the September 26 meeting is cancelled.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Faced with the current state of violence in the Middle East and the potential for a major humanitarian crisis, Most Reverend Roger Ebacher, Chairman of the CCCB Human Rights Committee, has issued a message concerning the Middle East conflict and the humanitarian crisis in Lebanon.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised to hold a free vote in Parliament this fall on a motion to re-open the marriage debate, thus affording Canadians a rare second chance to give back to marriage its natural and historic definition as a life-long covenant of love between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.

In preparation for the Parliament’s vote, it is very important for Ukrainian Catholics to contact their MPs in the coming weeks and to take advantage of their presence in their respective ridings in order to make known their concerns. To help bring the faithful up-to-date on the challenges facing them, Catholic Organization for Life and Family (COLF) has prepared the attached bulletin insert describing the evolution of the marriage issue; this should simplify the pastor’s task.

Also attached is a petition form in favor of the definition of marriage as a life-long covenant of love between a man and a woman to the exclusion of all others.

The numerous documents (briefs, declarations, brochures, etc.) which were published during the months preceding the adoption of Bill C-38 are still very valuable resources and can inspire Catholic citizens as they speak up in the public square. They can be found on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB) and COLF website www.cccb.ca. Particular attention is drawn to documents entitled “Does Marriage have to be Redefined in Canada? Good Reasons for Challenging Bill C-38 and Defending the Natural Definition of Marriage” and “Marriage Matters.”

His Grace, Metropolitan Lawrence, blessed the decision of Rev. Ihor Bloshchynskyy to petition for pastoral ministry in the Archeparchy of Philadelphia. With Father Bloshchynskky’s departure, the parishes of the Ethelbert District have been reorganized into the Dauphin and Gilbert Plains Districts. As a result, Rev. Yaroslav Strukhyak has been appointed Pastor of Gilbert Plains and District Parishes, and Rev. Oleg Bodnarski has been appointed, in addition to his current pastoral assignment of Dauphin, as Pastor of Fork River, Horyn, Meadowlands, Toutes Aides and Weiden.

Copyright © 2007 Archeparchy of Winnipeg