Prayer service strengthens resilience
BUTLER TWP — One year after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Rev. Yurii Bobko emphasized the importance of remembrance and resilience at a vigil Saturday evening, Feb. 25, at Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
“For us, this is not the time to get tired,” Bobko said. “Because if we think about people who are there in Ukraine — if we think about what they have already gone through and what is still ahead of them — then we all understand that we are not tired at all, in terms of others.”
The prayer service itself, according to member Karen Sheptak, is one of thanksgiving and compassion.
“It’s called a Moleben,” Sheptak said. “And that service is a prayer of thanks to God, and, of course, we pray that we are thankful for the lives that we have here and freedom, and we pray for those in other countries.”
Sheptak, a second-generation Ukrainian, said her prayer that evening was simple.
“Just that I pray that this war ends soon so that the suffering people of Russia and Ukraine can go back to their daily lives in peace and hopefully prosperity,” she said. “And that maybe soon Ukraine can be rebuilt.”
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