Praying For Ukraine On Thanksgiving In PA

PHOENIXVILLE, PA — As families gather together for a Thanksgiving feast, the Ukrainian community in the Philadelphia region will be expressing thanks to our country’s leaders for supporting their beloved homeland.

“We can't thank the United States enough for supporting our country,” Vera. M. Andryczyk, a member of the Saints Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Phoenixville, said Wednesday during a telephone interview with Patch.

“We thank our neighbors, Congress and President Biden for supporting Ukraine. Ukraine needs our support.

“Everyday it’s getting worse. Today, I woke up and heard that a baby died in a maternity hospital in Ukraine.”

To date, 6,595 civilians have died in Ukraine, and an estimated 200,000 soldiers on both sides were killed, according to CNN reports.

She said the new VAMPIRE weapon system approved by Congress will help a great deal. The system is designed to take out ground targets and low-flying aircraft.

“The United States is helping to keep Ukraine functioning,” she said. “International security is extremely important. There is a threat to democracy.”

The power grid under attack will result in a brutal winter for the survivors. Temperatures usually fall below freezing in Ukraine.

Andryczuyk said that since the war broke out on Feb. 24, the local Ukrainian population in the Philadelphia region has donated as much as possible to their homeland.

Andryczyk said she fled from Ukraine in 1949 when she was just seven years old.

She and her husband, Roman, have a condominium in Ukraine, where they would go to visit relatives before the pandemic and the war.

But now, she said, they can only pray and send money to help their loved ones.

She said hundreds of Ukrainian in the region are donating their birthday money and other portions of their paycheck to Ukraine.

The church is draped in blue and yellow flags of Ukraine.

The Rev. Royik Ihor is leading a service at 11 a.m. Thursday, 301 Fairview St., Phoenixville.

The church is also selling raffle tickets on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. to raise money for Ukraine. The drawing is Dec. 12.