RESTORATION

It was eight years ago.  We had come to Ukraine to volunteer at the Mennonite Centre. In the early years we made many discoveries as we explored the villages of our ancestry.   One building stands out in our memory - the ruins of a once ornate church in the village of Schönsee.

2007

Today

Walls were still standing and trees within were almost overshadowing the building. Loose bricks had long been gleaned for reconstruction elsewhere. We roamed around the site and tried to imagine what once was.  It came as a surprise earlier this year to learn that this building was under reconstruction - again as a centre for worship.  The Mennonite Centre is supporting the restoration by providing cement and bricks.

This is a church-planting project of Father Peter, a Greek Catholic missionary from the Czech Republic.  We had the opportunity to meet him at the building site.

Father Peter, second from right

When we arrived 8 young people, volunteers from CZ, were hard at work levelling the ground so that the concrete flooring could be completed.  They all spoke English, as well as two seminarians studying in Austria.
One of them told us that Father Peter has planted 18 churches in Europe.  They also said that there was a time when he was persecuted and had to flee for his life.  A group of believers has already formed in Schönsee and are meeting regularly in this still-to-be-completed building.  Several of them appeared while we were there.

Local parishioners

This project will take some time to complete. Father Peter is planning a dedication a year from now and intimated that this church might become a pilgrimage site.  We were able to converse in German and found him to be a most likeable, kind person.  Before we left he gathered his colleagues around him and ourselves and they sang the Lord's Prayer in three-part harmony.  I must admit that I was wiping tears.  He then closed in prayer - not a memorized liturgy, but a blessing from the heart.  We are grateful that this building is having a new life.

Another restoration:
In previous blogs we've referred to the the former Willm's mansion next door to our apartment.  When we left in November a new roof was being put on the building. When we returned a few weeks ago the roof was still incomplete, but men are again working. We are told that workers had disappeared with 20,000 UAH of roofing material which put a stop to the project.  This week the whole area has been fenced in.  Apparently it belongs to the local furniture factory and the building is being renovated to create sleeping space for workers. This still begs the question.  With so many unemployed in Molochansk why create lodging?

             Sunflowers in all their glory.  Some fields extend as far as the eye can see.

             A restoration for the senses.  Good news, we had some rain yesterday.

For more information on the work of the Mennonite Centre, please go to http://www.mennonitecentre.ca/

Click on pictures to enlarge