PARSIPPANY, N.J. – During the self-isolation and social distancing that have been prescribed by governments around the world as a measure to slow the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Ukrainian community life continues, albeit online.
Universities and schools have moved classes online and incorporated home study, and Ukrainian organizations have followed similar paths. Youth groups, including Plast Ukrainian Scouting Organization and the Ukrainian American Youth Association (as well as its counterpart in Canada, the Ukrainian Youth Association) now hold meetings online. Schools of Ukrainian studies – known in many communities as the local “Ridna Shkola” with classes usually held on Saturdays – are exploring options for online learning (the Ukrainian Educational Council USA website is www.ridnashkola.org). Some teachers have recorded videos of Ukrainian folktales and similar lessons for younger students.
The Ukrainian Canadian Congress and its National Ukrainian Education Committee (www.shkola.ucc.ca) on March 25 announced the launch of its updated website to meet the growing need for online resources. The website has links for audio of Ukrainian folktales and video appropriate for youth.
The website’s goal is to aid communication among Ukrainian Canadian community schools, as well as the sharing of resources and information. The committee is working with schools to establish an online platform and continue to offer study options and online programs while schools are closed. The committee and its Shkola website are supported through the UCC Educational and Charitable Trust. For more information, readers can visit the Shkola website or contact Tatiana Sunak, committee chair, at [email protected].
The Ukrainian Congress Committee of America has recommended that organizations postpone or move many of their scheduled events online. The UCCA has included a listing on its website (www.ucca.org) of events that have been cancelled, including Church services and events, Easter bazaars, Ukrainian school events, scholarly events, pysanka workshops (including at Soyuzivka Heritage Center). Also noted are closures of museums, national homes and other cultural venues, as well as altered operations of Ukrainian credit unions (all annual meetings have been postponed or cancelled; to cite one example, Ukrainian Selfreliance Michigan Federal Credit Union will keep its drive-up window at the Warren branch open, as phone and online banking options remain available).
Among the events that are still going on, with a modified format, are the Friday fish fry dinners at the Ukrainian Cultural Center of Rochester, N.Y. (www.uccofrochester.org), serving take-out orders only. The Easter bazaar at the Ukrainian Homestead (www.ukrhomestead.com) in Lehighton, Pa., on April 5 is for pick-up only. Readers may consult the listing on the UCCA website for more updated information.
The Ukrainian Catholic and Ukrainian Orthodox Churches in the U.S.A. and Canada have maintained their flocks with broadcast liturgies and services online via Facebook and YouTube.
The hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A., the UOC of Canada, the Ukrainian Greek-Catholic Church in Canada, and Ukrainian Catholic bishops in the U.S., including Metropolitan-Archbishop Borys Gudziak of the Archeparchy of Philadelphia, have encouraged the faithful to pray at home, while the clergy continue to remain available to serve individuals, serving divine liturgies in adherence with prescribed guidelines by government health officials and limiting their own and their congregations’ exposure to the coronavirus.
Sunday schools and youth ministry have also moved online, and people are maintaining their faith through the many offerings of religious programming on television, radio and the growing number of internet outlets, including websites, YouTube channels and radio podcasts. Notably, the Ukrainian Catholic University in Lviv has begun to broadcast daily prayer services via Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/ucuspirit).
Graphic for the live online sing-along via YouTube, called “Spivayte Plastuny” started by Andriy Michalchyshyn of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Ukrainian songs have also united the community, just as Italians have famously shown their solidarity by singing from their balconies across Italy during this health crisis. A live online sing-along via YouTube, called “Spivayte Plastuny!” (enter the name in Ukrainian: Співайте Пластуни!) was started by Andriy Michalchyshyn of Winnipeg, Manitoba. He now has 108 subscribers and plans to host a weekly sing-along on Monday evenings, with the next one scheduled for March 30 at 6:30 p.m. CST (that’s 7:30 on the East Coast). He plays guitar while singing selections from the Plast songbook “Pry Vatri” that is available online (https://pryvatri.de). The first video received over 2,000 views, with comments from viewers in Ukraine, New York and Boston, among other locales.
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Life at The Ukrainian Weekly, as well as its sister publication, Svoboda, has also undergone some adjustments, as staff work from home and we limit our time in the office. Our advertising/subscription/administration department, that is, Walter Honcharyk, has been available for phone and e-mail communications.
The Ukrainian National Association, our publisher, continues to provide essential services from the Home Office, as a limited number of staffers work on a rotating schedule. UNA executives and staff have largely been working from home.
As we continue to protect ourselves, our loved ones and our neighbors, our Ukrainian community organizations will need our support during and after this crisis passes. We look forward to sharing how our community organizations help one another through this trying time. Keep us posted!