history lessons I learned and

the memories I made, space

limits me to this. In closing I

would highly recommend

anyone and everyone

thinking about participating

in S.E.R.V.E., to stop thinking

and “Just Do It”. It is an

experience which you’ll

treasure for your life (and

next time you’re in the Shrine

gift shop at St. Joseph’s pick

up a copy of the Acathist)!!!

Where to begin? My

experience at S.E.R.V.E. was

absolutely incredible!!

Unfortunately, I’m limited to

a certain number of words…

as a result I will briefly talk

about two memories which

impacted me the most.

The first was getting to work

with the people at Siloam

Mission. Their gratitude and

kindness for their meals was

something which touched me

(one man hadn’t eaten in

four days). Serving them was

special but even more

meaningful was getting to sit

down and just talk with them

while we played cards. Some

would talk about life, while

others their family. Some

would just give me tips on

how to beat Fr. Taras in

Cribbage.

The second thing which I will

never forget, and probably

impacted me the most

spiritually (besides daily

liturgy) was praying the

Divine Office/Byzantine

prayers. My two favourite

were morning prayer and the

Acathist Hymn to Blessed

Vasyl. The words of the

Acathist were so rich, and

were sung so angelically –

“Rejoice for you lost your life

to find it in Christ, Rejoice for

you bought the pearl of Great

Price, Rejoice for you found

the hidden treasure…Rejoice

for you renounced the world,

Rejoice for you chose the

Kingdom…Rejoice O Bishop

and Martyr Vasyl glorious

champion for Christ!!” - One

couldn’t help but feel like

they were on Heaven’s

doorstep listening to angels

sing!! While I could write so

much more about the

amazing people I met, the

S.E.R.V.E. By Jonny Lashyn

I N S I D E

T H I S I S S U E :

Youth

Ministry

2

Young Adult

Ministry

3

Family

Ministry

4

Kindred Spirits F A L L 2 0 1 6

F O R E V E R Y O N E

W H O S H A R E S I N

T H E M I S S I O N

A N D S P I R I T O F

S T . A L P H O N S U S

Farewell . . . from Michelle

L-R: Michelle Thiessen, Olesia Panas, Fr.

Taras Kchik, C.Ss.R, Br. Guy Meir, C.Ss.R,

Jonny Lashyn and Vinessa Monias.

My time working and serving with the Redemptorists these past 6 years has been

nothing short of amazing. However . . . it’s time for a change in ministry for me. As of

September, I will be the new coordinator of Campus Ministry at St. Boniface Diocesan

High School here in Winnipeg. I’m looking forward to new faces, new challenges and

new ways of God working in my life. Of course, I will take the Redemptorist Charism

along with me, it truly is a part of who I am and it has made me into the person I am today. For this, a

heart-felt thank you to you all!

Jonny & Fr.Taras

P A G E 2

Youth

Ministry

Fun and Games with

are cool!

UR Youth If there’s anything I’ve learned

from the teens that come to

UR (Ukrainian Redemptorist)

Youth, it’s that they love to

spend time in the kitchen.

We put their skills to the test

early in the year with our Soup

Night. Yes, we gave them a

variety of ingredients (think:

beets, clams, peppers), offered

them no recipes and outlawed

Google. The evening ended

with 4 very creative vats of

soup. Some more edible than

others! But we shared our

creations and ate till we were

full! Mission accomplished.

It was one thing cooking for

ourselves, but were we

capable of feeding a crowd?

Of course . . . So we signed up

to cook a spaghetti supper for

a crowd of 60 people

at The Welcome

Home for their

Thursday Family

Night meal.

A few things we

learned while doing

this:

1) Many hands make light

work.

2) Pink ground beef is not

cooked.

3) Washing dishes is not

nearly as much fun as

stirring spaghetti.

We participated in a pilgrimage

through the Holy Door with

Fr. Taras Kchik, C.Ss,R in

January.

Our late night gathering on

Holy Thursday was truly epic .

. . candles, music, a beautiful

foot washing ceremony . . . .

And not one person giggled!

What is unique about a church

youth group? That everything

we do brings us closer to Jesus

and grows our relationship

with God and each other.

As much as we love having fun

and goofing around with each

other, prayer is the foundation

of our gatherings. We start

with it and we end with it!

one of our young people

pulled out his guitar and led us

in some Ukrainian Christmas

carols. Thanks,

Thomas!

We’ve even spent

some time at Holy

Family Home, helping

out with their Big

Bingo night. We’re

becoming

professionals at

handing out prizes and learning

our Ukrainian numbers up to

75! Way to go!

St. Joseph’s Ukrainian Catholic

Church is the home base for

UR Youth. Just down the

street is a large apartment

block where many of our older

parishioners live.

UR Youth planned a Pizza and

Games night in their common

room. We shared a slice,

played some games and then

shared stories about ourselves.

A definite highlight was when

K I N D R E D S P I R I T S

Spaghetti for 60!

Soup Night!

Our new friends!

Being a servant to others

Sin can be

messy!

Flames Ignite: In Remembrance and Celebration

P A G E 3 F A L L 2 0 1 6

“You did WHAT on Halloween?” I

know, I know, there was a bit of a

shock-value to our program on

Halloween. We watched The

Exorcism of Emily Rose, followed

by a candlelit trip to the cemetery

to celebrate a Panakhyda, (prayers

for our deceased)

over the graves of

our Redemptorist

fathers and brothers who have fallen

asleep in the Lord.

This night reminded

us that we need to be

aware of the ever-present evil of

our world and not to forget those

who have gone before us.

We also lit some candles in

February at our annual Table for

Two, a Valentine dinner for young

married and engaged couples.

A special prayer service had

our young people partnering

up with the sisters, to read

scripture and share their

thoughts with each other.

This activity helped to break the ice

among all of us and afterwards, we

enjoyed a huge potluck dinner

together. Every year we are

welcomed back to Bethany House

Beautiful things happen when

different generations get together!

Our annual Palm Sunday Retreat

found us at Bethany House, the

home of the Sister Servants of Mary

Immaculate. Sr. Darleane Pelechaty

led us in a personal account of her

faith journey and opened our eyes

to the movement of Christ in our

lives.

with open arms. It

certainly is nice to see

their warm smiles and

experience their loving

hospitality. See you next

year!

opportunities to volunteer your

time with us too!

If you are interested in applying for

a year or volunteering for an hour,

please contact the director of The

Welcome Home, Justine Kruz at:

whome01@mymts.net

204-946-5352

The Welcome Home is currently

accepting applications for live-in

community members for the 2016-

2017 year. Community members

commit to a year of service, living

and working with Redemptorists

and other young adults in the inner-

city of Winnipeg, Manitoba from

late August to early July.

Can’t commit to a full year, you

say? Well, there are many

Halloween

at Holy

Family

Cemetery

in

Winnipeg

Looking for something to do next year?

A Retreat with a Twist!

There was a warm and

inviting atmosphere in the

church hall. We enjoyed a

three course meal followed

by a presentation from

Sandy and Norm Dobson,

parishioners of St. Joseph’s

Ukrainian Catholic church,

where this event is held

every year.

Couples also enjoyed a

photo booth and received a

complementary photo print.

It was a wonderful evening

enjoyed by all!

Table for Two 2016

Dayna with Sr. Elicia

Young

Adult

Ministry

Zenia with Sr. Marianne

The Welcome Home

Community 2015-2016

time with each other.

We don’t necessarily

know the families

that sit around us on

Sunday morning. For

myself and many

others, church is still

important, but how

I have a theory about why Family Ministry is

so important to the life of our church

communities . . .

A long, long time ago, life revolved around

the church. I love hearing stories about how

there were church baseball leaugues and

hockey tournaments.; how they would flood

the parking lot at St. Joseph’s and use the

youth room as the locker room! Their were

church picnics, praznyks and missions that

many people would come out to.

Enter local community clubs. Enter children’s

organized sports. Enter the wide array of

community programs and activities, clubs and

events. Life no longer revolves around

church for many of us. I’m not saying that

these things are bad . . . I’m saying life has

shifted. We no longer spend large chunks of

do we shift our priorities now to

accommodate this new pace of life?

This is why Family Ministry is so important.

In order to build a strong church community,

we have to get to know each other again . . .

outside the pews!

So let’s go on a sleigh ride, hang out a family

movie night or stop in at the Knights of

Columbus Winter Games. We probably have

more in common than you think!

Family Fun at it’s finest!

Kids playing while we get the bonfire

started.

Kindred Spirits F A L L 2 0 1 6

Ukrainian Redemptorist Young Adult Ministry Office

188 Euclid Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba, R2W 2X4

rymcssr@gmail.com 204-799-1060

THE REDEMPTORISTS are an international religious order of priests and brothers

founded in 1732 by Saint Alphonsus Liguori. Their mission is to spread the Gospel

to the poor and most abandoned.

THE REDEMPTORISTS OF THE YORKTON PROVINCE include all the Ukrainian

Catholic Redemptorists of Canada. We currently serve parishes located in

Saskatoon, Yorkton, Ituna, and Winnipeg. Commissioned lay collaborators, Partners

in Mission, share an integral role in our ministry. Recognizing that youth and young

adults are among the ‘most abandoned’ in our church, we have deeply invested

ourselves in growing in relationship with them since 1991. The Welcome Home, a

community-focused Winnipeg inner city mission, was established in 1993 and

enables us to share our charism with the neighbourhood and with young adults

who choose to live in community with us. Winnipeg is also home to the Shrine of

Blessed Vasyl Velychkovsky, a Redemptorist bishop who was beatified in 2001.

►Ukrainian Redemptorist Young Adult Ministry

►Redemptorists of the Yorkton Province