Public invited to pray for peace at special St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church service this Sunday

A special service will be hosted by the St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church on Sunday afternoon.

Father Michael Hayes says prayers will be offered to support the people of Ukraine.

"We're praying for peace, for freedom and for the aggressors to see the evil of what they're doing," he said. 

The parish has chosen the Catholic Near East Welfare Association as its charity for donations, but will also be helping the family of its former pastor Reverend Jarolsaw Lazoryk, known as Father Jerry.

His brother and father are living in Poland, close to the border with Ukraine, and taking in young mothers with infant children who are fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

"They are not alone," Father Jerry said of his family in Poland. "There are thousands doing this. They are just taking in people, especially mothers with young children, and saying they'll figure it out." 

He said the people of Poland are stepping up and showing themselves as leaders in the humanitarian crisis that is developing quickly in that part of Europe.

"They are trying to do their part because it is the right thing to do," Father Jerry said. "They are trying to provide comfort, peace and to make sure they don't starve."

As the Russian invasion advances, more refugees are leaving the country to look for safety in neighbouring countries like Poland, Romania, Slovakia and Hungary.

Supply chains are shutting down and little is making it into the country. Store shelves are bare and people hiding in shelters and subways are running out of food and medicine.

"They are a peace-loving people who just want to live their lives," Father Jerry said. "How diabolical, how barbaric it is for Putin to come there with these weapons he's using to destroy, to kill. It's purely diabolical." 

Political unrest in the region is also leading to inflation for all the countries in the region and Hayes says individuals trying to assist refugees will be feeling a heavy financial burden. 

Both pastors say there are many avenues to support the people of Ukraine. 

People can send money, food, clothing and medicine through the Red Cross, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress and Caritas.

"Also with prayer," said Father Jerry. "I've seen miracles. The power of God is there. Ordinary people standing in front of tanks and the tanks stop. They have to stop. People tell them to go home, now."

Priests continue to minister to people in the shelters and subways and are also in danger. At least one that Father Jerry knows of has been killed in the shelling.

"We do what we can. What we must," says Father Jerry. "Europe and the world will be different after this. It is one for history."

Father Hayes says the special service at St. Mary's Ukrainian Catholic Church will begin on Sunday at 3 p.m. and that all COVID safety measures will be observed so people are asked to wear a mask. 

The service will not be a mass and communion will not be offered, but the community is invited to come together in solidarity and pray for Ukraine, its people, its culture and freedom.