From December 27th through January 4th Fr. Bohdan and Marta Strelchuk of St. John's Parish took part in a mission trip to visit and bring aid to several orphanages and rehabilitation centres in Ukraine.  While there they visited the "Dzherelo" rehabilitation centre in L'viv, the Internat in Bukovo (Staryj Sambir Region) which houses almost a hundred girls and young women with various levels of physical and mental disabilities, the "Maple Leaf House" in Stoyaniv which is sponsored and supported by the "Nashi" group from Saskatoon, and the children's orphanage "Sonechko" in Kivertsi (Lutsk Region).  The visits to the orphanages and rehabilitation centre were very joyful for all concerned, and the manifestation of Christian love and care shown by our small group (which also included His Grace, Bishop Andriy, Fr. Lubomyr Hluchaniuk of Hamilton, Tanya Buciora of St. Demetrius Sobor in Toronto, and our driver, Mykola Derevynsky of London, England) was greatly appreciated by all the children and staff members of the various institutions.

While in Ukraine the group also had the opportunity to worship in historical churches such as the Dormition Cathedral in L'viv, where the priests were honoured to concelebrate the Liturgy with His Beatitude, Metropolitan Makarij, as well as at St. Michael's "Golden-Domed" Cathedral in Kyiv.  While in L'viv the group was received by Metropolitan Makarij, and while in Kyiv were accorded the great honour of an audience with the newly-chosen Metropolitan of the Orthodox Church in Ukraine, Metropolitan Epiphanij.  Both of these meetings were very pleasant and deeply meaningful to all the members of our group.

We returned to Canada with a better understanding of the social and religious situation in Ukraine, and with gratitude that we were able, with the support of our parishes and of all the parishes of our Eastern Eparchy, to make the lives of all the youth and adults in the various institutions we visited a bit easier.

On Sunday, December 9th, our parish held its annual Christmas Ornament Bingo.  The organizing committee, in conjunction with our parish youth, prepared and served a delicious lenten lunch, following which everyone enjoyed playing bingo for prizes which consisted of Christmas Tree ornaments donated by our supporters and friends.  Between lunch and bingo the parishioners surprized Father Bohdan with a cake and the singing of "Mnohaya Lita" (Many Years) on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of his ordination to the presbyterate.  The event was a resounding success, bringing joy and fellowship to the community, as well as financial support ot the parish.

Holodomor Commemoration - 11/25/18

On Sunday, November 25th, in unity with Ukrainians all over the world, St. John the Baptist Parish commemorated the 85th anniversary of the Holodomor, the artificial Famine-Genocide perpetrated against the Ukrainian people by the Soviet Regime in 1932-33.  Our youth set up a "black flag" display in front of the Church during the previous week.  On the 25th we had our annual commemoration with a Requiem Service (Panakhyda) for the innocent victims of the Holodomor, followed by a symbolic lunch consisting of a piece of bread and a cup of borscht.  The fillm "Stalin's Secret Genocide," which is part of the curriculum in Ontario schools, was shown, and parishioners who had lived through the Holodomor were acknowledged as well.  "Ukraine Remembers, the World Acknowledges"

During the third week of June our parish again participated in the "Fiesta" folk-festival in Oshawa. This year twenty pavilions participated, sponsored by Churches and cultural organizations.  Our Odessa Pavilion showcased the music, dance, food and culture of Ukraine.  As usual, our Odessa Dancers performed dynamically, and all the dancers enjoyed the opportunity to show their prowess to our Oshawa community.  It was a joy to see the children, youth, parents and grandparents all working together in a joyous atmosphere.  Fiesta is an event that the entire parish looks forward to, as it gives us an opportunity to showcase the beauty of our culture and our community.

On November 10th and 11th St. John's hosted a parish spiritual retreat.  Fr. Dr. Timothy Chrapko from Calgary offereda  presentation on "The Liturgy after the Liturgy;" Yuri Hladio of Hamilton spoke about narrative in the Church and popular culture; and Dr. Peter Kondra offered thoughts on how to maintain a healthy Orthodox faith in our family lives.  Over 85 participants from St. John's and Evangelismos Greek Orthodox Church in Oshawa, as well as participants from other parishes in the GTA, enjoyed the fellowship as well as the spiritual lessons offered.  The retreat concluded with Vespers.

On Sunday morning Fr. Timothy concelebrated the Liturgy with Fr. Bohdan at St. John's and offered the homily.  The weekend was spiritually uplifting and beneficial for all.  

St. John's wishes to thank the St. Volodymyr Cathedral Foundation, as well as the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Canada foundation for their generous financial support in making this retreat possible.