On September 15th students and children came forward at the end of the Liturgy to have their backpacks and themselves blessed for a the new school year. Fr. Gene then greeted the children and youth and teachers, calling upon God to bless them with success, peace and wisdom.

Our church school is held in the auditorium every Sunday between September and June beginning at 10:30. All children ages 4 to 15 are welcome to participate.

Families can use the following links to learn about our Orthodox faith:

• Saints alive -  Interactive games with an Orthodox theme for children 5 and up.
  
  
• Orthodox ABC - Orthodox Christianity teaching materials that will engage and inspire the next generation.
  
  
• Orthodox Jeopardy – you can download the powerpoint presentation with a Facebook account
  
  
• Children’s Bible Reader Online - read along Bible stories

Boys between the ages of 7 and 18 are welcome to join the altar servers. Please speak to Fr. Gene if your son is interested.

CYMK - Ukrainian Orthodox Youth

• There are two active locals in Winnipeg at Holy Trinity Metropolitan Cathedral and St. Mary the Protectress. Sr. CYMKivtsi have formed one group encompassing youth from all Winnipeg parishes. Many activities are done collectively for maximum participation and fun!
• See the CYMK National Home Page @ www.cymk.ca

Winter Retreat: February 16-18, 2024

Last weekend CYMK-Ukrainian Orthodox Youth from Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Ontario spent the weekend learning about faith, culture, leadership and fellowship at our parish in Winnipeg. If you have youth age 14-21 who are interested in being part of CYMK-UOY, please contact Michelle Kowalchuk mikowalchuk@gmail.com

Pictures from the Weekend

Greetings from your Executive of Camp Veselka,
     Here is a summary of what’s been happening and what’s coming up with Camp Veselka.
     There were a lot of expenses during the summer, and many volunteer hours dedicated, of which many thank yous could never be enough.
     We have had discussions about general fundraising and communication to Church and Camp Veselka community.
     Children’s Camp had 44 campers each week and was successful, the kids raved about the cooks. A clean up was held on June 18th and attended by parents and other volunteers.
     We had a Green Team position this summer who helped with general grass cutting, clean up and maintenance. For next year, it might be better to look into a university aged student who would have a four-month term instead.
     The Camp was booked almost the entire summer for 2022. Most cooks were impressed with the kitchen facilities and overall facilities and there’s a good chance we will have the groups back next year.
     Some of the maintenance activities undertaken this year include:
- Roof on dining hall patched;
- Deck removed and built on back of dining hall by Jerry Bielak and Ron Kuryk & his son, also stairs replaced;
- New large propane tank installed for grill/stoves in kitchen;
- Power washed ramp, washroom deck and church deck;
- Two vents installed in the church;
- Built new benches and installed hooks in showers;
- Banya removed;
- Treelines trimmed, cleaned and hauled;
- Removed hospital beds, replaced with metal frame bunkbeds;
- New storage fridge purchased in dining hall;
- Raked gravel back onto road from spring washout;
     Patching of the dining hall roof was undertaken early summer, however heavy rains had water finding other ways to leak in. We are looking for estimates for either a shingled or metal roof and will discuss the benefits and costs of both. We need to fundraise for either option, and the work must be done in the spring. Estimates so far range $7K to 18K. The higher cost could last much longer and be less to maintain, so we would need our community to rally behind either choice, financially.
     We replaced the smaller 25-year-old tractor, used for cutting grass and closer trimming, with a Zero-Turn Mower for more efficient cutting.
     Gravel and grading of the road will be done in the spring.
     We would like to work on getting more weekend bookings, such as for family reunions or retreats, or each parish having a service and weekend stay. The camp can easily accommodate 100 people. We may even have a wedding booked.
     Father’s Day picnics used to be a huge thing, when buses would bring parishioners.
     Is this something we should plan for in 2023.
     The Camp’s facility rental rate was increased from $15/person/day to be $20/person/day. This has not been adjusted for many years and we need to keep up with the increasing costs of running the facility such as propane, Hydro and
maintenance.
     We will continue the Raffle 50/50, but did not do Grey Cup tickets this year. Ticket distribution is underway for the draw in February.
     The Constitution/By-Laws will be updated, as well as the trailer park tenant agreement. We are aiming to have them ratified at the AGM in March (date TBA).
     We have a Strategic Planning Committee that will be putting a proposed plan together for a rotation of maintenance so we may coordinate fundraising and events and set achievable goals. Our Camp is a small community of Ukrainian Orthodox parishioners and our children, with additional trailer park tenants, and is running on the fuel of volunteer hours and donations. Please offer what you can with time or funds.
     We’d like to hear from you – what worked this year and what didn’t? What special talents to you have that you’d like to contribute? Are you interested in serving as a board member or on a committee, helping with an event, or doing some handy
work? Let us know!
     Please reply with feedback or contact our President at Michael.Kapty@gmail.com or 204-805-1842.
     Also, join us on Facebook and Instagram @campveselka.
Thank you, and be well,
Rose Kapty
Secretary
Rose.kapty@gmail.com

CAMP VESELKA 2023 SPONSORSHIP REQUEST AND SPONSORSHIP