On Sunday ,19th June at midday, local hosts and their guests gathered together for a welcome service at St John’s Church, Lacey Green. The service was led by Reverend Tony Bundock, aided by Graham, with Cher, Fiona, Keith, Tony and Natasha providing the music.
The Church was full to the brim with host families and their guests and the atmosphere was magical. Readings were in both English and Ukrainian, with Natalii Zagrebelna and Maryna Kamardash providing the Ukrainian version, translated by Nataliia Dzhodzhyk. Natasha Albokrinova sang a Ukrainian song written by Kristina Zagarina which was utterly beautiful, tears flowed. She later gave a moving rendition of the Ukrainian National Anthem supported by her countrymen and women.
One of the highlights for me was the percussion section of the service. Fiona invited the children to the front to beat the drums during the final hymn. This resulted in a deluge of youngsters rushing forward, any inhibitions dissolved as they were handed drums and sticks and a veritable riot of sound was produced. Fiona very quickly ran out of percussion instruments and Cher rescued the situation with her secret stash! I laughed as Fiona sang the hymn, competing with the exuberant, if random, beats provided by the children! She persevered and finished bravely before the impromptu orchestra reluctantly returned to their seats.
Tony gave an interesting sermon, speaking of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the bravery of the Ukrainian people in the face of such horror. He hoped for a resolution to the troubles and that humanity would prevail.
After the service finished, we all crossed the road to St John’s School, who kindly hosted the ‘bring and share’ lunch. After some quick introductions of the admin team and a few words from Daniil in Ukrainian, we settled down to meet, eat, play field games and create in the craft corner. A relaxing and happy way to round off a lovely ‘Welcome Service’.
Louisa