April 9 in the parish of the Holy Silverless Cosmas and Damian in the village of Environmental missions took place in Turya in Lviv Oblast within the Lenten initiative of the Bureau of the UGCC on environmental issues, which, at the invitation of Dean Olesky, Fr. Yuriy Kolachnyk, conducted by Fr. Yurii Godis, Head of the Environmental Commission of the Sokal-Zhovkiv Diocese.
This is reported by the Information Service of the UGCC Bureau for Environmental Issues.
Missions began with an open lesson in the local school, which was attended by the management, teachers, students from the 1st to 11th grade, as well as all willing villagers. The topic is “Energy efficiency and energy conservation under the challenges of war.” During the lesson, they thought about the meaning of the words “energy efficiency” and “energy conservation”, and also shared their own experience of energy conservation in everyday life.
Those present recalled the recent massive rocket attack on critical infrastructure facilities in the Lviv region and its consequences for the environment and people’s lives. We exchanged views on how we can help our energy companies and the state in saving energy in private houses and households. The speaker emphasized everyone’s environmental responsibility to the Creator, interpreted the term “ecological sin” and explained its impact on our lives. In addition, those present watched a video from the UGCC Bureau on environmental issues about human impact on nature and how we can change it for the better through personal responsibility, as well as a video explaining the terms “energy efficiency” and “energy conservation”.
For their activity and correct answers, the children received eco-stickers, and the school was presented with the “Energy Saving Marathon” game and various environmental literature published by the Ecobureau of the UGCC.
After that, everyone together went to the school yard and from the figurine of the Mother of God began an ecological Way of the Cross through the streets of the village, which was joined by local residents. During the Way of the Cross, children and teachers read the stations and took turns carrying the cross. The Way of the Cross ended in the center of the village near the grave of the fighters for the freedom of Ukraine, where those present prayed together for all the fallen heroes, as well as for our Victory and just peace in our country and the world.
Another meeting with the faithful took place in the bosom of nature in a picturesque village called Gutysko-Turyanske, on the place where a church once stood, which was destroyed, the faithful wanted to preserve the memory of this place and put up a figurine of the Mother of God and a memorial cross. Ceselo is a part of the parish of Saints Cosmas and Damian, and historically these villages have a common church and are one big Christian family.
Father Yuriy, the administrator of the parish, could not avoid his faithful who live in this village, so he invited them to a joint prayer to the statue of the Mother of God, where they all prayed the Prayer to God the Creator amid the singing of birds and the pleasant smell of the forest. After the prayer, Fr. Yuri delivered an ecological sermon, based on the decalogue of the Blessed Svyatoslav, and emphasized ecological sin and a responsible attitude towards nature, called on the faithful to protect this gift from the Creator and nurture love for Him in their children and grandchildren in order to preserve the beauty of the earth for future generations.
Information Department of the UGCC