One week away from the Clergy and Staff Study Days to be held in Regina, SK at St. Athanasius Parish from November 7-10, 2011.
We will cover a host of issues that include reports from the various eparchial offices as well as look at primarily two things:

1) Vision 2020 - Vibrant Parishes that will align our eparchy and parishes with others in the world about where we want to strategically move our focus up until the year 2020, and

2) eparchial policies - educating ourselves about how a church is to be structured and operated.

Please take a look at the schedule of the gathering below that includes a presbyteral council and a college of consultor's meeting.

God Bless.


2011 Clergy & Staff Study Days - St. Athanasius Church, 55 McMurchy Avenue, Regina, SK

Date Time Monday, November 7
11-07
4:00 p.m. *Check in @ place of accommodation - No Low Rates All participants
6:00 p.m. Supper All participants
7:30 p.m. Gaudeamus All participants

Tuesday, November 8
11-08
8:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy @ St. Athanasius Church All participants
8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast All participants
9:30 a.m. Presentation – Youth and Campus Ministry All participants
10:30 a.m. Break All participants
11:00 a.m. Presentation – Communication Office & AGEMI All participants
12:00 p.m. Lunch All participants
1:30 p.m. Presentation – Family Life All participants
2:30 p.m. Presentation – Patriarchal Visit 2012 All participants
3:30 p.m. Break All participants
4:00 p.m. Presentation – Religious Education Centre All participants
5:00p.m. Free All participants
5:30 p.m. Moleben to Mother of God All participants
6:00 p.m. Supper (including all clergy wives) All participants
7:30 p.m. Bowling (deanery teams) All participants

Wednesday, November 9
11-09
8:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy @ St. Athanasius Church All participants
8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast All participants
9:30 a.m. VISION 2020, Catechism, Encounter III - Bishop All participants
10:30 a.m. Break All participants
11:00 a.m. Presentation: Eparchial Policy Rev. Vladimir M. All participants
12:00 a.m. Lunch All participants
1:30 p.m. Presentation: Eparchial Policy Rev. Vladimir M. All participants
2:30 p.m. Work on Parish Constitutions/ Presbyteral Council Mtg All participants
3:30 p.m. Break All participants
4:00p.m. Parish Constitutions & Dates cont. in Deaneries All participants
5:30 p.m. Moleben to Lover of Mankind – Jesus Christ All participants
6:00 p.m. Supper All participants
7:00 p.m. Consultors Meeting Consultors

Thursday, November 10
11-10
8:00 a.m. Divine Liturgy @ St. Athanasius Church Clergy
8:45 a.m. Continental Breakfast Clergy
9:30 a.m. Presentation 2012 Budget-Cathedraticum Clergy
Insurance , St. Matthew Clergy Society Clergy
10:30 a.m. Break Clergy
10:45 a.m. Clergy Conference Clergy
12:00 p.m. Lunch Clergy

UGCC Synod of Bishops begins in Curitiba, Brazil September 4-12, 2011

We have been working on numerous issues and projects at the Synod of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church (UGCC). Please learn more about VISION 2020 and the role of a VIBRANT PARISH at our site www.ugcc.org.ua from the archived reports corresponding to the date September 2011.


As it was reported earlier, the second day of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC dealt with the main theme of this year’s meeting: “The Strategy of Development of the UGCC until 2020”. The presenters on the second working day of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC were Most Rev. Stefan (Soroka) – Metropolitan-Archbishop of Philadelphia and Bishop David (Motiuk) – Eparch of Edmonton. The Bishops were assisted by the presentations of experts – Gai Camarata and Chuck Newbacker, as well as by Tetiana Stavnycha, the Head of the Development Office of the Finance Department of the Patriarchal Curia.

Metropolitan Stefan (Soroka) in his presentation outlined the main goals which the Synod strives to achieve in the next 10 years in development of our Church and invited the episcopate “to realize a restoration journey under the guidance of God’s presence, the presence of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ among us”.

Bishop David (Motiuk) recalled the main stages of elaboration of the key directions of the strategy of development of the Church for the period until 2020. The outcome of this work is a result of extensive reflections and persistent work of many experts, representatives of the episcopate, clergy, religious and lay people of the UGCC.

The speakers stressed that the locus of implementation of the Church’s strategy is, foremost, a parish community, because it is the parish where most often the faithful have their first encounter with Christ whether it be through attending the Sunday Divine Liturgy, a baptism, wedding or funeral. A lively parish community is a divine-human space in which a relation of human being with God is born, it grows and matures. For this reason a working group headed by the Metropolitan Stefan and Bishop David suggested to the Synod of the Bishops a practical program of implementation of the UGCC Strategy entitled “Vibrant parishes – places to encounter the living Christ”.

Members of the Synod of Bishops after discussion of various aspects of such a concept accepted it as the base for further actions and created a working group to implement the Strategy of development of the UGCC for the period until 2020.

Secretariat of the Synod of Bishops of the UGCC.

It has been quite some time since I added a blog entry. I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

As we embark on our Lenten Journey, may we join in prayer to make the Holy Family our model. To be like Christ is to be a child of God, one who loves the mother who gave birth to him, one who was obedient to his parents, one who gave his life for his family.

May the Great Fast be a time of prayer, fasting, charity and growth in the Spirit, so that we can appreciate the mystery of God's unconditional love and enter more deeply in the mystery of the Trinity.

God Bless!

I would like to wish everyone a wonderful National Family Day. May you choose well how you spend this time so that you can strengthen and enjoy the family God has given you.