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September- October 2003 On October 23, 2003 another "Gift of Life" center was open in Kyiv. This time a room was provided by the City of Kyiv Clinic in Darnytsia. Leaders of the "Gift of Life" Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Laper, Consultant Svitlana Leshchenko, Ukrainian Lutheran Bishop Vyacheslav Horpynchuk, Nativity Lutheran Church Pastor Yuriy Fizer and many other people, including a state official, participated in the dedication of the new center.
International charitable foundation "Gift of Life" pays close attention to protection of to be born babies. Hundreds of born babies were protected by God in the wombs of their mothers through the work of the "Gift of Life" workers and volunteers in Ukraine. On October 17 through 20, 2003, Bishop Vyacheslav Horpynchuk, Galician Eparchy Head, Rev. Taras Kokovskiy and Rector David Jay Webber visited Ivano-Frankvisk Oblast. Bishop Vyacheslav and Pastor Oleh Yukhymenko have conducted a worship service in Ivano-Frankivsk. Bishop Vyacheslav and other members of the delegation had their meetings with the members of the Church in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast and with the state officials of the Oblast. The visit was finished by a short memorial service in the "Dem'yaniv Laz" Memorial. Lutherans were murdered and buried among other victims of a godless Communist regime there. The memorial service was in particular to remember Pastor-Martyr Theodor Yarchuk, Ukrainian Lutheran leading theologian of 1920-1930ies.
Picture (left to right): Brother Ivan Zaklunskiy, Bishop Vyacheslav Horpynchuk, Rector Jay Webber at a possible grave of blessed memory Pastor Theodor Yarchuk (mass grave). On October 12, 2003 Thanksgiving for Harvest worship service was celebrated in the Resurrection congregation in Kyiv. Worshippers thanked God for generous fruit of the earth but special thanks were given for the gift of eternal life for the sake of crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ. Pastor V. Horpynchuk preached his sermon devoted to this day "MEAT WHICH ENDURES UNTO EVERLASTING LIFE." Parishioners had their traditional thanksgiving dinner prepared of this year harvest fruits.
On October 4 and 5, 2003 Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk visited Ukrainian Lutheran All Saints congregation in Kharkiv. Dr. John Lawrenz and Dr. Robert Dolittle as well as other people accompanied Bishop Horpynchuk on this trip. Bishop V'yacheslav Horpynchuk, pastor Serhiy Borsch, and Dr. John Lawrenz participated in the liturgy. (You can read Bishop Horpynchuk's sermon here).
Dedication of an electronic organ for the congregation became another joyful highlight of the day. Money for the organ was donated by our brothers and sisters from the U.S.A. through the "Thoughts of Faith" mission society. The congregation in Kharkiv has now even better opportunities to praise the Savior Jesus Christ On September 30, 2003 representatives of the Ukrainian Lutheran church pastor Oleg Okruhin, vicar Vadym Zinchenko, mentor of the Sisterhood Tavita Emilia Zinchenko and member of the Holy Spirit congregation in Radomysh Svitlana Nekhorosheva met with officers of the Department for Social Protection of Population.
19 people participated in the meeting. They got acquanted with the history and doctrine of the Church. At the end of the meeting those present received Bibles, prayer books and issues of the Banner periodical as gifts. Professor Armin Schutze's book "Basic Bible Doctrines" is published in the Ukrainian language. The book reviews all the basic doctrines of the Christian Church. Ukrainian readers will be interested to study this publication which is written in plain and understandable language. 5 000 copies of the book were printed by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
One can read chapter 8 of the book in Ukrainian here
You may order a copy of the book here.
On September 14, 2003 deacon Victor Paschenko was ordained as a pastor. Bishop of the ULC V’yacheslav Horpynchuk, rector of St. Sophia’s Seminary David Webber, Dr. John Lawrenz, pastors Taras Kokovsky, Andriy Honcharuk, Serhiy Zuyev, Ihor Ratushny, Pavlo Bohmat, Oleksandr Dich, and guests of the ULC Episcopate participated in the the ordanation. A festive concert was held after the worship service.
On September 13, 2003 a regular meeting
of the Synodical Council of the Ukrainian Lutheran church was
held in Sevastopol, Crimea. Representatives of the
Thoughts of Faith Mission Society Kermit Traska, Dr. John Lawrenz,
Volodymyr and Svitlana Cherevko, the ULC Bishop V’yacheslav
Horpynchuk, and |
