UGCC Launches 15th Lenten Initiative Led by Ecobureau
At the start of Lent, the 15th stage of the eco-social initiative Ecological Transformation for the Rescue of Creation was launched. This initiative aims to help people experience repentance and conversion to God more fully by deepening their awareness of responsibility for God’s creation and finding ways to put this responsibility into practice in their daily lives.
The UGCC Bureau for Ecology’s Information Service reported on the launch.
This year’s theme is tied to the anniversary year: “The Virtue of Hope in the Service of Preserving and Enhancing God’s Natural Gifts,” with a special emphasis on energy conservation and efficiency.
Marking the 160th anniversary of Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky’s birth, the initiative also seeks to promote his eco-social teachings and environmental efforts.
As part of the initiative, thematic Lenten homilies and spiritual reflections will be developed, alongside a range of educational, spiritual, and practical environmental activities in parish communities and educational institutions.
A nationwide competition will be held for educational institutions and catechetical schools, titled “Recycle Waste Paper—Save a Tree—Bring Victory Closer.” Additionally, the long-term eco-social projects “Plant a Tree of Peace” and “Victory Gardens” will be expanded into the “Gardens of Hope” campaign, inviting parish communities to participate with a subsidy covering 50 % of the cost of fruit tree seedlings.
“The virtue of hope is like a bridge that connects the beginning (faith) and the end (love) of the virtuous life. By focusing on hope in this 15th Lenten Eco-Social Initiative, dedicated to preserving and increasing God’s natural gifts, we follow the example of the righteous Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytsky, striving to change the world for the better and build God’s kingdom here and now,” commented Prof. Volodymyr Sheremeta, Head of the UGCC Bureau for Ecology.
The initiative is coordinated at the regional level by archeparchial, eparchial, and exarchal referents of the UGCC Bureau for Ecology.
The UGCC Department for Information
