Parksville’s St. Mary the Protectress Ukrainian Orthodox Church will collect donations and hold a candlelight vigil in support of Ukraine and its people.
The president of the parish for the church, Colleen Sokyrka, said the decision to do so was made during a council meeting on Saturday, Feb. 26.
“We really appreciate the concern and the communications from the community. We’ve had people contacting us, offering donations - offering help if we’re doing any fundraising. That has been really wonderful and we appreciate it all,” she said.
The candlelight vigil will be held on Friday, March 4, at 7 p.m. outside the church at 594 Karls Way in Parksville.
According to Sokyrka, Father Roman Tsaplan from the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Vancouver, who will officiate Friday’s vigil, has immediate family members in Ukraine, including a nephew in Kyiv (or Kiev).
Even though the vigil will be held outdoors, Sokyrka asks of those who plan to attend to be aware of social distancing, however, still welcomes anyone who would like to participate.
READ MORE: VIDEO: Thousands march in downtown Vancouver in support of Ukraine
The decision to start a donations collection was made after the church received numerous offers shortly after Russia invaded on Thursday, Feb. 24.
“We are going to collect funds and then make a decision based on some research as to the very best place we can send it – to help women and children. That would be our priority,” said Sokyrka.
There are three possible humanitarian funds the church has considered donating to on an ongoing basis, but has yet to come to a definite decision.
Sokyrka said, at this time, they will be accepting funds until otherwise announced.
Those who would like to donate to the church can inquire via email to either Sokyrka at cmsokyrka@gmail.com, or to their community outreach worker, Maria Gray, at maria.gray@shaw.ca.
Sokyrka said the church is unsure at this time if it will sponsor Ukrainian refugees, but did say that it will be a topic of discussion during future meetings.
“Going forward, there will probably be many Ukrainians coming to Canada - we don’t know in what capacity we’ll be able to support them… We’ll just do our very best to put (donations) in the place that it needs to be,” she said.