There will be a retiring collection each Sunday in May for an appeal launched by The United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough called U&Ukraine. This initiative aims to help Ukrainian people arriving in Ireland to feel welcome. The Church of St George and St Thomas in Dublin’s city centre is being made available for use as a hub and cultural centre. The well-known church, located on Cathal Brugha Street just off O’Connell Street, will become a centre of warmth, welcome and activity for those arriving in Ireland from Ukraine.
Funds are needed to upgrade kitchen and restroom facilities in St George and St Thomas’s to ensure they are fit for use by members of the Ukrainian community. The United Dioceses has committed to working closely with the Ukrainian community leaders in Ireland to identify practical ways to support and meet the needs of those arriving in the country.
In the slightly longer term, its intention is to sponsor a priest in the Ukrainian Orthodox tradition and in this way to provide pastoral and liturgical ministry to Ukrainians who have come to Ireland as displaced persons. We intend to do this in the first instance for a year. This will take some time to effect.
Funds raised during May will be forwarded to the United Dioceses to assist this appeal.