In Stryi District Children reflected on the Virtue of Sobriety

The second summer Christian Camp “The Sobriety of the Soul is a sign of Holiness”, that was organized by the representatives of the UGCC subcommittee “For a Sober Life” was taking place from the 1^st till the 5^th of July 2012 in Stryi Diocese of UGCC. Children from differents parts of Stryi District came to Zazdrist’ village of a Ternopil region with an objective not only to take a rest, but also to grow spiritually in the virtue of sobriety. It was reported by Fr. Andrii Lohin, who is the Chairman of UGCC Commission on Pastoral Health Care. The camp was taking place in the Museum and Retreat House of Patriarch Josyf (Slipyi). Each day children had the possibility to take part in the Divine Liturgy, which was headed by Fr. Taras Sydor, who is the head of the Commission “For the Sober Life” belonging to Stryi Diocese, and also had the possibility to receive the Sacrament of Penance and the Eucharist. Moreover, the abovementioned priest held spiritual sciences for the camp participants, helping them, in such a way, to provide answers on how to find their inner peace or peace of mind. Roman Prochko, who is the rehabilitation therapist, explained to children the concept of the Virtue of Sobriety through such Christian values as kindness, honesty and respect. The camp participants attended the classes, which were taking place each day, under the slogan “The future starts today”. They were led by Svitlana Baula, who is collaborating with the All-Ukrainian public organization "International school project." The main purpose of the programme is to develop the important life skills and to nurture the Virtues of Sobriety. During the classes children learned of how to dream, set goals for themselves, as well as, how to identify and overcome those obstacles, which were found on the way to their implementation. They realized what “to do good” means and why it is important to strive for it; how not to stop in personal development and walk towards the future fearlessly. The group of psychologists, mainly: Iryna Yatsiv (from Stryi), Olena Ksiondzyk (from Lviv) and Maria Novitska (from Ternopil) assisted them to achieve it. With the help of trainings and classes, the camp participants revealed their best qualities and skills, showed how much they love and need attention, what they are thinking about and how they view this world, as well as, what they are striving for.

UGCC Information Department