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On Sunday December 4th, St. Nicholas made his annual visit to the children of the Assumption Parish. The event was held at the School Hall, which was filled 67 excited youngsters with their families and friends. Prior to the St. Nicholas arrival, the children  and the parishioners enjoyed the free breakfast prepared by the Holy Name Society.  The  youngest members of the parish “Veselka”  dancing group  greeted him with charming dances. Before distributing his gifts, St. Nicholas encouraged all the children to be good, to obey their parents, to remember to say their prayers and to come to church on Sundays.

I would like to extend my thanks to the planning committee for helping to organize the Generations  of Faith Program  our parish last Sunday. Almost 60 parishioners and guests of all ages attended the event. Our parishioner Mrs.  Melanie Fedynyshyn gave an inspirational presentation on Thanksgiving: Faith, Hope and Love in our life. She emphasized the virtue of Faith as a means of expressing gratitude for God's blessings and as a way to lift the spirits of others. Mr. Andrew Wowk was very helpful in  leading a spirited questions and answers session in Ukrainian and English languages. Following the program, many parishioners commented that they appreciated the program because it helped them to be even more grateful to the Lord for all the blessings they have.
The following questions were presented for the group discussion.

• Can you describe an act of kindness that you  (or another)  did  that  had  lasting effects?
• If you were   to express thankfulness for some things that are happening in your life right now, what would be the first thing that comes to your mind?
• If you were stranded on a desert island with someone, who would you want that person to be? Why would you be grateful to God for that person?
• Have you ever witnessed a manifestation of Faith or Gratitude out in the secular world?
• What is the Eucharist? Please explain how important it is to you, and what role does it play in the salvation plan.

On Sunday November 13, 2011, Patriarch Sviatoslav (Shevchuk)  has started a pastoral visit to the USA with celebration of the Pontifical Divine Liturgy at the Cathedral in Philadelphia.  Over 1500 faithful had gathered in the Cathedral on that day to pray and listen their spiritual father and a leader of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church. During his short visit, Patriarch Sviatoslav will meet with representatives of the Ukrainian community, clergy and will conduct services in each of the cities.

On November 16, in Washington, the head of UGCC will meet with Ambassador Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to USA, Oleksandr Motsyk and visit the White House to meet senators and congressmen.   On November 19, Patriarch Sviatoslav will lead the annual memorial service for the victims of the genocidal Holodomor and make a speech in the Cathedral of St. Patrick in New York.

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BALTIMORE (CNS)/ November 14, 2011 — The new primate for the world's 8 million Ukrainian Catholics lauded the work of the U.S. bishops' annual national collection to aid the church in Central and Eastern Europe. The collection "has provided financial support for the development of basic church structures which had been destroyed by the communist regime," said Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk of Kiev-Halych, who had overseen as apostolic administrator a Ukrainian eparchy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before his election as primate earlier this year. "We will always remember" the help given by the U.S. church, Archbishop Shevchuk said Nov. 14, the first day of the U.S. bishops' fall general assembly in Baltimore. The church in Ukraine — the largest Eastern church by numbers — has benefited from the financial assistance, he added. "Today the church is undergoing a period of rebirth and resurrection," Archbishop Shevchuk said. "We are blessed with many vocations. Our seminaries now have three applicants for every available space." The archbishop suggested the church could aid Ukrainian society. "Our society is just emerging from the post-communist ideology," according to Archbishop Shevchuk. "Ukraine is undergoing tremendous social and economic changes today," he continued. "We are marked by a lack of credibility in government and our social and political institutions."…

Metropolitan-Archbishop Stefan Soroka will celebrate his 60th Birthday on  November 13th, which is the same day that His Beatitude, Major-Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk visits the Cathedral in Philadelphia.  On behalf of all the parishioners of the Assumption of B.V.M  Parish in Perth Amboy, NJ  we wish you  a very Happy 60th  Birthday.  Your Grace,  as you step into the 61st year of your life, we wish you all the best in your service through the coming years.  May God always bless you, protect you and keep you in good health.  May He shower his choicest blessings on you on this special day and always.…

Archbishop Stefan Soroka has  announced that  Patriarch Sviatoslav Shevchuk, head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church  will be addressing the United States  Conference of Catholic Bishops on Monday, Nov. 14th at 2:10 pm.  It will be broadcast live on EWTN.

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Last week, our Pastor Fr. Ivan Turyk  was named  a  chaplain for  the Perth Amboy Police Department. Department Chaplains serve as "ambassadors" dedicated to providing a ministry of presence and  support to members of the Police Department. Police chaplains can also counsel officers and members of the police department as well as their families, make death notifications, provide assistance to victims, help at suicide incidents, serve as part of the department’s crisis response team.

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The Holy Name Society is a men's spiritual and fraternal organization. The principal objective of the society is devotion and reverence to the Holy Name of Jesus. The society sponsors several breakfasts and a picnic for  parishioners and guests of the parish.  Despite the bad weather, the annual parish breakfast that was held twoo weeks ago was again a great success. Its success could not have been accomplished without hard work and dedication of all men from the Holy Name Society.  Thank you all for making the Assumption Parish  a truly special place to worship in faith, fellowship, and fun! Congratulations also to Mr. Nicholas Makar who joined the Holy Name Society this year.