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8 OUR LIFE • March-April 2025 Members-at-Large Share Bethlehem Peace Light at Christmas Zoom Meeting UNWLA Members-at-Large (MAL) held a special Christmas meeting via Zoom on December 11, 2024. Participating in the Zoom session were MAL liaison (and Branch 124 member) Olya Czerkas, Maria Holian, Tania Bardyn, Alexandra Hursky, Inna Walker, Dora Horbachesky, Tamara Denysenko, Nadia McConnell, Andrea Kulish Wilhelm, Irene Bi- hun, Nadia Cwiach, and Oksana Stanko. Olya Czerkas opened the meeting with a moment of silence for those who have given their lives for freedom in Ukraine and the U.S. Olya then proceeded to review the names of the Members-at-Large who volunteered for UNWLA Standing Committees and thanked all for agreeing to be part of these important National Board po - sitions. As per the UNWLA Bylaws adopted at the 2024 convention, which require that Members-at- Large elect a President, Vice President, and Sec- retary, Olya Czerkas was elected President, Inna Walker — Vice President, and Maria Holian and Oksana Stanko — co-secretaries. Members-at-Large are planning a 2025 fund - raiser to support children’s camps in Ukraine. Ma- ria Holian is spearheading this project and will be speaking with Elizabeth Buniak, the UNWLA Social Welfare Chair, for further information. Business aside, the members turned their focus to the upcoming Christmas season. Oksana Stanko, a member of MAL and the Plast sorority Ti, Shcho Hrebli Rvut , had shared the history of the Bethle- hem Peace Light in both Ukrainian and English pri- or to the meeting. The Peace Light originates in Bethlehem as an ev - erlasting Light at the site where Christ was born. It is a symbol of peace, warmth, and love. Every year, Austrian scouts light a lantern from the Bethlehem Peace Light and fly it to Vienna. From there, scouts of many nationalities transport the Light across borders to countries in Europe, including Ukraine, where Plast – National Scout Organization of Ukraine has participated in sharing the Peace Light since 1997. Today, the Light travels across Ukraine all the way up to the front lines to those fighting against the russian aggressors. Since 2008, Austrian scouts have flown the Peace Light to New York, where in a beautiful ceremony at Our Lady of the Skies Chapel at John F. Kennedy International Airport, the Light is transferred to lan - terns of other scouts and passed to countless loca- tions in the U.S. Since 2009 the National Executive Board of Plast USA has given the honor for man- aging the distribution in the U.S. to the Ti, Shcho Hrebli Rvut Plast sorority. Since then, the Hrebli have continued this mission, annually organizing a special ceremony to bring the Light to St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Whippany, NJ, from where it journeys across the U.S. In December 2022, the Peace Light ceremony at JFK was dedicat - ed to peace in Ukraine. At the ceremony, the Hrebli distributed Scouts for Ukraine buttons, made the keynote presentation, and sang the beautiful Beth- lehem Peace Light song in Ukrainian. Prior to our December MAL Zoom meeting, members were reminded to bring an unlit candle to the meeting. Oksana Stanko, who was wearing her Plast Hrebli scout uniform, lit her special Peace Light candle, raised it, and asked that all mem - bers light their candles at the same time. With all candles virtually lit with the Peace Light, she pro- claimed joyously: “May this Peace Light from Bethlehem bring you, and your family and friends, peace, love, and joy this Christmas season and throughout the year. Please spread the Light of Christ.” “Дарую усім цей Вифлеємський Вогонь, щоби Він приніс Вам і родині мир, любов і радість у цей Різдвяний час і в наступному році. Христос Раждається! Славім Його!” Oksana then sang the refrain from the Bethle- hem Peace Light song in Ukrainian: Вогонь любови, Вогонь добра Неси у світлі ліхтаря, Хай знає кожен Божий дім — Ми понесем Вогонь, даруючи любов усім. Oksana Stanko , Press Officer, UNWLA Members-at-Large
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