"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
Missionary work begins at parish level, where we regularly come face to face with Christ, our Lord and Savior, through liturgical worship and partaking of the Eucharist. Through parish life, the Church reaches out to each individual, calling them to join the ranks of the thousands of disciples who have come before them.
Through the anointing we received at our baptism and chrismation, the Holy Spirit descended upon each of us – clergy, laity and monastic, and has empowered us, brothers and sisters in Christ, to go forth and make disciples of all the nations.
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.” (James 1:27)
The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served. He walked to the places where He knew people hungered – bodily and spiritually, and fed them. He healed the lame, cleansed the lepers, exorcised demons, educated His listeners, fed multitudes. Christ touched withered hands, fevered foreheads, and even washed feet. The Lord visited those whom society had cast aside and forgotten, and spent time with those no one else cared for.
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA encourages all the faithful through the work of the Ministry Office of Missions, to follow in the Lord’s footsteps and become His emissaries in the world – feeding the hungry, giving drink to the thirsty, clothing the naked, visiting the sick, and thus serving the Lord through service to others.
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” (Galatians 5:13)
Missionary work of the UOC of the USA begins by serving on a local parish level through education and support of community outreach programs, and expands to fill the physical and spiritual needs of individuals across the nation and the world. By ministering to thousands, the Church provides hope, peace, and sustenance to hungry bodies and souls, and thus evangelizes all nations.
“The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.” (Luke 10:2)
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA encourages you to become one of the laborers as a missionary of the Church and a disciple of Christ!
For more information, please contact the Consistory Office of the UOC of the USA
135 Davidson Ave.
Somerset, NJ 08873
Tel.: (732) 356-0090
E-mail: consistory@uocofusa.org