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I started my journey in a modest town, tucked away in western Ukraine. Here at a local parish, I saw not just a social bakery, but a secret space where faith and generosity take on tangible form. From the unfinished, lower chapel of the church, sacred hymns filled the air. Women were making pierogi, singing about sons and husbands who are now defending the country on the front lines.
It felt like a sacred act. Spiritual service made visible.
The dough mixer purchased through donor support worked quietly and steadily, transforming flour, egg yolks, oil, water, and salt into soft dough, and just as this simple machine performs small miracles in the kitchen, social initiatives built on donor generosity were turning financial gifts into real support for those in need.
The circle of mercy must be closed, said Father Volodymyr. Then he packed 10 kilograms of freshly made pierogis and brought them to a hospital for wounded soldiers. The rest would be sold to townspeople with the proceeds going toward the completion of the church. That church in turn will become a spiritual refuge for many more, and so the circle continues, again and again.
When I was assigned to write a story about social entrepreneurship as a form of embodied Christian service, I felt deeply grateful, because this is something I’ve witnessed with my own eyes over the past three years. I have stood in many places along this same circle of mercy. I fled the war and received help.
I stood back up and helped others. And now as a journalist, I see my mission as sharing real stories: stories that show social ministry is not just an idea, but a living, breathing act of compassion. It’s mercy in motion, and it has the power to change lives.
After an evening liturgy, at the main cathedral of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Ternopil city, I stepped outside. A gentle spring rain was falling. The trees and flowers were beginning to wake from their winter rest. And once again, I found myself thinking: Life is unpredictable. Today, you may be the one offering help. Tomorrow, you may be the one who needs it. But as long as mercy keeps moving between us, the circle remains unbroken, and we do not lose each other or ourselves. We carry on, in faith, in humanity.
Read more about how Ukrainian parishes offer social support in “Beacons of Hope“ in the September issue of ONE Magazine.