Easter Celebration

Our St. Stephen parish as many others recently celebrated season of Lent and Easter. Just like any event needs preparation, all of us Christians prepare for the Feast of Resurrection during Lent. April 12 was a wonderful day for the St. Stephen parish. Four priests of our Archeparchy visited our parish with Lenten Presentation. They shared with us about the importance of the Lent in our lives. Fathers broke the three evening talks down by discussing the Lent in terms of "Christ’s Passion," "Sin & Repentance " and "Reconciliation through the Sacrament of Penance."

The program with the reflections and songs was helpful to understand how important the season of Lent really is in the lives of Catholic Christians and the very life of the Church. Fathers shared about the spirituality of offering ourselves each and every day and each and every moment of every day to God. The wonderful prayer of the priests encouraged people to pray and receive the Holy Sacrament of Confession. It was a great way for our parishioners to grow closer to Jesus and prepare for the Easter Feast. We thank God for bringing Fr.I. Royik, Fr. W. Klanichka, Fr. M. Myronyuk, and Fr. R. Romaniuk to share with us about Our Lord Jesus Christ. May God Bless and reward them for this special mission .
 

In one of the busiest weeks of the year, Holy Week, our parishioners participated at the church services. Veneration of the Holy Shroud on Good Friday and Easter Procession on Holy Saturday gathered many people and made them spiritually ready for the celebration of Our Lord’s Resurrection. Many Easter Baskets with Ukrainian Pascha, smoked ham and kielbasy, eggs, cheese and many delicious goods were blessed after the service on the Holy Saturday. People were very happy and the day ended with the excited laughs of children during the Easter Egg Hunt. Families of young children were invited to gather at the church backyard to hunt for Easter eggs. About 25 children, ages 2 to 8, took part in the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Even though “Easter Egg Hunt” was washed by rain, kids with flushed cheeks came back from their hunt with baskets of plastic eggs, all of them filled with tiny chocolate candies. It was so delightful to see them going home very happy as their parents had smiles on their faces. Many thanks to the members of the parish Holy Name Society for sponsoring Easter Egg hunt event.

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