ULC NEWS

January

January 24, 2005. Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk has participated in the Blessing Ceremony of the new President of Ukraine, Victor Yushchenko. The Ceremoby took place in the ancient Holy Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv.

Bishop has said, addressing the President...

Accept sincere greetings from the faithful of the Ukrainian Lutheran church and many Lutherans worldwide that are rejoiced at your victory. The Lord in His holy and unerring Word teaches us, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance" (Psalm 33:12).
God chose us for salvation. We are rejoiced with His salvation and today we are rejoiced with your victory. May God richly bless you! May God always give you wisdom to lead Ukraine so that law and justice beloved by our Creator and Savior never leave the Ukrainian land. May the Lord always renew your strength. May the Lord always bless you with decisions that are much needed by this time and this state. May the Lord always grant you deep insight and great heart, true faith and hands ready to do good to your people! May merciful God, the One who knows hearts surround you with men that will not get corrupted by high positions or bribed by the world, the men that value freedom and have will, the men that will not lie and will be able to stand any temptation of the vain world.
May the Lord teach our people that the President and the government are from God and that you are the servant of God in fulfilling your duties. May the Lord also grant all of us sense of duty to support our President with fervent prayer and readiness to honor and follow the laws of this country. May the Lord always remind us about the highest priority in our life as He Himself says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well" (Matthew 6:33).
May the Lord bless your leadership in Ukraine, may the Lord bless your family and may He give You and all Ukrainians the spirit of love and the spirit of eager service, the Spirit of humbleness and wisdom, may He grant us strength and willingness to always acknowledge our success. "Not to us, O Lord, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness" (Psalm 115:1). May the Lord bless you abundantly!

President of Ukraine Victor Yushchenko called upon heads of the Christian churches to common work for the welfare of the Ukrainian people. This was the main message of his speech at the St. Sophia's Cathedrale where they had a solemn prayer for Ukraine.
"This is our common work - the work for the common good of Ukraine. I ask you to help us with your prayers and blessings," adressed President the church leaders. Victor Yushchenko assured them that his team "will always seek their advice and pastoral presence".
The Ukrainian President called the victory of the orange revolution "God's providence". "We won having one collocal advantage - our tremendous faith. It is the faith that gives stength and it was the only source of the orange revolution," stated Yushchenko in his speech.
The President expressed his confidence in "the prophetic words proclaimed 2,000 years ago from the Kyiv hills: "A blessed people will live here!" He promised to put every efford for this purpose.
At the end to his speech the President emphasized that the power will in no way interfere with the church affairs. We are Europeans. We respect each denomination, the spiritual choice of every person. No one of the temporal power will direct people which church to join. This is not the authority of the secular power", maintained the Ukrainian President.

January 15-16, 2005. Christian Stewardship seminar took place in the All Saints Lutheran Church in Kharkiv. D-r Wayne Borgwardt and Mr. Thomas Conzelmann were holding the seminar. Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk and D-r Wayne Borgwardt have also assisted Pastor Serhiy Borsch in the liturgy on Sunday. After the worship service Bishop had sincere and fraternal meetings with the members of the parish.

Picture: During the seminar and liturgy.

January 13, 2005. All Saints Lutheran Church in Kharkiv has greeted students at the school for children with hearing problems. Pastor Serhiy Borsch, Borys Ziomenko and Volodymyr Borsch have told children about Christmas and of Christ's importance for mankind. The Word of God was delivered to children through interpreters. The parish members have delivered candies to children as Christmas gifts. Similar greetings All Saints Lutheran Church members have brought to other schools were children lack parental attention.

Picture: During Christmas greetings.

Christmas Greeting of Bishop of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church
V'yacheslav Horpynchuk

CHRIST IS BORN! LET'S PRAISE HIM!

But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons (Galatians 4:4,5).

Dear in Christ visitors of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church web site! Accept sincere greetings on the account of this wonderful and great holiday - Christmas. These days while singing Christmas carols, wishing each other all the best and especially faithfulness to the Son of God, we remember the nativity when the time had fully come.

Long ago God promised people salvation from sins, death and the devil. The merciful Lord declared His promise about the Savior in the garden of Eden right after the fall of our ancestors Adam and Eve. For thousands of years God through His prophets confirmed His great promise and gave more details of its fulfillment. All the people who lived before the birth of Christ and believed in this promise were saved through their faith. The Savior came for the humankind and here belong Adam and Eve, Abraham and Jacob, all those who believe in the Savior.

We together with millions of other people faithful to God have a special privilege to live in the time of incarnate Son of God. The Son of God as true God lives eternally. But He was sent by God to be born of a woman and to stand under law that we might receive the full rights of sons. These rights are not granted by birth. These rights cannot be bought with money. These rights cannot be earned with one's own work or gain by good deeds. These rights are granted for the sake of Christ who redeeemed us from the sin, saved from the devil and conquered our death on the Calvary and with his glorious resurrection from the dead once and forever confirmed that everyone who believes in Christ has everlasting life.

Dear brothers and sisters, these days we happilly celebrate the nativity of Christ because by Christ we are renewed to enjoy the rights of God's children. We rejoice today because through the true God and Man Jesus Christ, God forgives our sins and calls us His people, His children that have everlasting life in His kingdom. At Christmas time we sing carols because we are filled with joy of salvation in baby Jesus, the son of Mary. Let's spread this Christmas joy among other people, especially those who cannot join our festive community. Let's rejoice! Our Savior Christ is born! Let's praise Him!
Sincerely yours Christ Incarnate,

V'yacheslav Horpynchuk, Bishop
Ukrainian Lutheran Church

December 26, 2004. The first English language worship service took place in Resurrection Lutheran Church in Kyiv. Dr. Wayne Borgwardt was leading the service and was the preacher. The Common Service from the Christian Worship (WELS) is used during services that take place every last Sunday in a month. Ukrainian pastors who can speak English will be participating in the worship services in the future as well. The next worship service in English will take place on Sunday, January 30 at 9 Am. at the Institute of Mathematics (3a Tereshchenkivska Street).

Picture: During the worship service.

December 14-16, 2004. Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk during his visit to Sweden has given a course of lectures on the history of Eastern European Lutheranism within the context of the Eastern Church. The lectures were given for the students of the Biblicum Foundation. The Biblicum trains pastors for confessional churches of Scandinavia and Northern Europe. There are three churches in Scandinavia that the Ukrainian Lutheran Church enjoys fellowship with: Lutheran Confessional Church that unites Lutherans in Sweden and Norway and two Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Finland. Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk has also had fraternal meetings with pastors of the Lutheran Confessional Church from Sweden.

Picture: After lectures with future pastors from Sweden and Finland.

December 12, 2004. Ukrainian Lutheran Church began celebrating Advent. This is a special time for Christians as we are getting ready to celebrate Christmas, birthday of our Savior Jesus Christ. This special church season will be culminated in celebrations of Christmas Eve in the evening on January 6, 2005.

Picture: At the worship service on the first Sunday of Advent.

A Church Register has been published thanks to the Lutheran Heritage Foundation. It will be the main register for congregations of the Ukrainian Lutheran Church. The Register consists of chapters to register Baptisms, First Communions, Confirmations, Marriages, and Funerals.

The pastors of our church has been looking forward to receiving this Register. This is another step to renew the Ukrauinian Lutheran Church.