Women’s Evening of Prayer in Perth Amboy, NJ

On Tuesday evening, May 8th, over 120 women responded to the invitation by the St. Ann Society of the Ukrainian Catholic Church of the Assumption in Perth Amboy to attend a Women’s Evening of Prayer, with a Moleben honoring the Blessed Mother of God. Pastor, Rev. Ivan Turyk, co-celebrated the service, joined by homilist, Rev.Ihor Royik, pastor of Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church of Phoenixville, PA, and St. Michael Ukrainian Catholic Church of Pottstown, PA. Father’s homily offered reflections on Mary, Our Example. Parishioners joined in prayer with other Catholic women from the surrounding area, most of whom are of the Latin Rite. The Women’s Evening of Prayer is an outreach effort, now in its fifth year, by Assumption parish to introduce Latin Rite Catholics to the spiritual and cultural richness of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. Many guests in attendance had never participated in a service of this kind and admitted to having a very limited knowledge of the Eastern Catholic Churches in general. There were also a number of Protestant women who joined their Catholic sisters in prayer to the Blessed Mother of God. Following the Moleben, those in attendance were welcomed to complete the evening of prayer and fellowship by sharing a complimentary meal in the church hall.