St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church hosted its 65th Annual Chicken barbecue Sunday.
Over 1,000 people enjoyed the dinner and activities over the course of the day, the Rev. Bohdan Hedz, pastor of the church, said today.
“Since 2022, the year of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, all profits from our annual chicken barbecue go to support our humanitarian aid mission to Ukraine,” Hedz said. “Our aid mission started long before 2022,” he noted, “because the war in Ukraine started in 2014 with the illegal land grab of Crimea and portions of eastern Ukraine by Russia.”
The majority of funds help the church with shipping costs of donations to Ukraine, he said.
“We are able to purchase medicine, food, and non-lethal aid to Ukrainian civilians, as well as men and women of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who are defending their country against the invaders,” Hedz said. “With the funds collected we are able to provide assistance to upgrade hospitals to help them with the growing number of war casualties. We were able to fund the installation of a new patient elevator in one of the Ukrainian hospitals. We constantly help refugees and elderly Ukrainians who live on the front lines and are lacking in basic necessities and aid.”
Hedz estimated that since 2022, the church has been able to collect and ship approximately 60 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine.
“Of course it would not be possible without our hard-working parishioners and members of local community who continue their support, despite an alarming trend of war in Ukraine becoming ‘old news,’” he said.
Pastor and parishioners are devoted to supporting the people of Ukraine with humanitarian aid and support.
“We are blessed to be able to continue this event that became a staple for our local —and not only local — community,” Hedz said. “We are blessed with a younger generation of parishioners who are stepping in so our annual chicken barbecue can continue in the future,” he said. “As pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, I am extremely grateful for all the hard-working men and women who make this event a resounding success year after year,” he said.
The pastor said there were people working at the event who have been volunteering since its beginning, when they helped out as children and youth.
Hedz expressed gratitude to the local businesses who support the event year after year, including major sponsors like Riverhead Building Supply, Modern Snack Bar and Mattituck Environmental Services, and various other local businesses who continue to support the event. “This year we are especially grateful to Braun Seafood Co. from Cutchogue, who became our newest supporter.”
St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church, located on Pondview Road in Riverhead, celebrated its 100th anniversary last year. Its congregants are drawn from communities across the East End and beyond. The church continues to fulfill its founding purpose: to provide a house of worship and community for Ukrainian immigrants.
RiverheadLOCAL photos by Emil Breitenbach Jr.
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