Jessamine County Church Prays For Ukraine

The regular Friday service at Ukrainian Pentecostal Church in Jessamine County took on added meaning and emotion this Friday night.

With the service steeped in tradition, a heavily Ukrainian congregation lifted voices and prayers up, mourning the loss of innocent life and pleading with something larger than themselves for peace for the situation in Ukraine.

Hymns echoed throughout the sanctuary at UPC in Nicholasville. A rough translation of one of the songs spoke of love and service to one another and to God.

It’s custom for the group to meet Friday nights doing just that but only a day removed from tragedy, their hearts and minds were thousands of miles away.

"Oh, it was terrible,” said senior pastor, Yaroslav Boyechko. “For me I think maybe that’s a mistake or something like that."

Pastor Boyechko fine tuned the prayer meeting. With prayer as his only weapon, he and hundreds of others took aim to the heavens, searching for peace in the midst of turmoil.

"The message is we’re always praying to god and asking for peace because we know that everything’s in god’s hand and we’re asking for god’s mercy to Ukrainian people."

A Ukrainian people represented strongly in Central Kentucky. Church members said any given Sunday, 1,000, maybe more fill the pews at UPC.

Many, like Victor Selepina, still have family in Ukraine.

"We pray for them every day with my wife as you heard in our church,” said Selepina.

Aunts and uncles, even grandparents weigh heavy on Selepina’s mind. As do the surviving families of those near 300 lives lost aboard m-h 17.

"The main thing is for this to stop ASAP because the longer it goes, the more people die and lose their lives. Obviously we pray for the families that lost loved ones but we just want this to end ASAP so that’s our biggest prayer."

You can learn more about UPC by checking out the church’s website:http://www.visitupc.org/.