In April, Gethsemane church reached out to the community on the Family Day with the message of God’s vision on the family and love of God. The outreach began with the gathering in the city center with many people holding pro-family banners.

Church ministers of various denominations spoke messages of God’s purpose and love for the family. The outreach was accompanied by a chamber orchestra “Jesu Juva” (latin for “Jesus, help us”).

Gethsemane Church deacon Pavlo Vasikov was the outreach host. Apart from the church ministers, there were several representatives of the Regional government and an advisor to the city mayor who spoke their words of support for the event and its Christian values. “To us— the family is invaluable”, said Oksana Rubai, an advisor to the city mayor.

The messages to the community were given by Pastor Valeriy Marchenko (Gethsemane Church), pastor Yaroslav Nazarkevich (Central Baptist Church), bishop Volodymyr Ya-kimiv (Central Pentecostal Church), Roman Catholic priest father Ivan Khodonovych, the head of the family committee of the Greek Catholic Church father Taras Fitio.

The open air gathering finished with a common prayer for God’s blessing on the families of Ukraine and God’s protection of the country. After the gathering, there was a public pro-family march to the university. The outreach then proceeded on the square in front the university with performances by the California Student Choir, the “Jesu Juva” orchestra, Gethsemane praise group and a choir from the Grace Christian Children’s shelter.

During all this time were handing out New Testaments, Chistian children’s and evangeslistic literature and reaching out to the interested passersby.