Summer Volunteering Opportunity

A message from Oleh Behen of the Ukrainian Catholic University

Here at the Ukrainian Catholic University we are preparing to host our 17th Annual English Summer School, where East meets West in the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains in Western Ukraine.

We would like to invite you and your students to consider dedicating the month of July 2011 to help rebuild the Church in Eastern Europe by teaching English in Ukraine. Each year we welcome college students, campus ministers and other volunteers from the United States and Western Europe to teach at the school, which provides a summer immersion experience to supplement our students’ language study during the academic term.

Our school provides a unique opportunity for cross-cultural exchange. Volunteers experience the Eastern Christian spirituality of the Ukrainian Catholic Church, including participation in Divine Liturgy and other prayer services, meeting and talking with Eastern Catholic priests and seminarians, religious, and laity, and learning about the witness of the Underground Church during the Communist oppression. (I promise you will agree with Pope Benedict XVI that “The Ukrainian Catholic Church is a cause of joy and hope.”) An initial teacher-orientation program helps prepare volunteers for their work, as well as provides an opportunity to experience life in the city of Lviv, the historic and cultural center of Western Ukraine.

There is no charge for the program. Volunteers are responsible for travel costs and then the university covers all the costs of meals and lodging in Ukraine.

As students (and campus ministers!) return to campus, they begin to seriously consider their summer plans. We invite you to support our ministry by helping to get the word out about this wonderful opportunity. And it’s never too soon to plan for next year. More information at: www.ucu.edu.ua/ess

Thank you for your help! May you have a blessed semester!

In Christ,

Oleh Behen
Ukrainian
Catholic University