The Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma (USA) Held a Catechetical Committee Meeting

The meeting was presided by Bishop Bohdan J. Danylo of St. Josaphat Eparchy and hosted by Fr. Lubomyr Zhybak, head of the eparchial Office of Children, Youth, and Young Adults Ministry; head of the eparchial Office of Children and Youth Protection; and pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Youngstown, OH and St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church in Austintown, OH. The Catechetical Committee members, who attended the meeting, included: Sr. Ann Laszok, OSBM, Director of the eparchial Office of Religious Education (ORE); Sr. Olga Faryna, OSBM, member of the eparchial Office of Religious Education; Mrs. Renata Harmatiy, a parishioner of St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, OH; Mr. Zachary Sudiak, a parishioner of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, PA; and Mrs. Catherine Rudakewych, a parishioner of Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ambridge, PA. Deacon Kevin Bezner of Charlotte, NС, who is currently working on establishing a Ukrainian Catholic mission in Canton, NC, and Deacon Anthony Dragani from the Protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Catholic Church in Revloc, PA could not be present at the meeting personally and joined everyone through the means of a phone and Skype call respectively.

The meeting began with a prayer led by Bishop Bohdan Danylo. Afterwards, the participants looked over the Pastoral Letter “God’s Word and Catechesis” issued by the Synod of Bishops of the Ukrainian Catholic Church on December 12, 2018 that ushered in the Ukrainian Catholic Church worldwide the year of God’s Word and catechesis. Bishop Bohdan underlined that the whole idea behind the document was to invite the Church to look at catechesis in the Ukrainian Catholic communities throughout the world with a fresh look and vigor. Other major topics discussed during the meeting comprised Biblical Apostolate – lectio divina on a family and parish levels; catechetical programs for children, youth, and adults; catechetical seminars and workshops; ongoing formation of catechists in the eparchy; catechetical resources in English and Ukrainian. A big accent during the meeting was placed on an on-line training of the catechists in the eparchy as well as on the preparations for the Eparchial Catechetical Convention planned for June 22, 2019 in Parma, OH.

The meeting concluded with a prayer Hail Mary, after which Bishop Bohdan thanked Fr. Lubomyr for the hospitality and wished everyone a blessed Christmas and a happy New Year.

Department of Information of the UGCC