“Called to be Holy: Living God’s Purpose Through His Grace” – The Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma Held the Fall Youth Retreat

The youth, young adult leaders, laity, and clergy of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma and the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh gathered together from Friday till Sunday, September 18-20, 2026 at Camp Guyasuta – a Scouting America camp – in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania for the annual Fall Youth Retreat.

The theme of this year’s event was “Called to be Holy: Living God’s Purpose Through His Grace” with the supporting Scripture verse taken from the Second Letter of the Holy Apostle Paul to Timothy: “[He] saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace” (2 Timothy 1:9a (NRSVCE)). The Fall Youth Retreat was organized by the Eparchial Youth Committee (EYC) under the leadership of Fr. Lubomir Zhybak, the committee’s director and pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Youngstown, OH and St. Anne Ukrainian Catholic Church in Austintown, OH, and the director of the eparchy’s office of child, youth & vulnerable adults protection as well as the following EYC members who attended the retreat: Michael Spak who coordinated the event and who was aided therein by his wife, Belinda – both parishioners of St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, PA, Michael Levy and Joseph Levy from St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, PA, Vicky Freed from Sts. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church in Ambridge, PA, and Victoria Fedora from St. George Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, PA. Some laypeople from St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, OH, Mr. Volodymyr and Mrs. Natalia Protsyuk attended the retreat with their children. Some other EYC members who did not attend the retreat due to personal reasons: Deacon Myron Spak from Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie, PA, Subdeacon Joseph Zappernick from St. Andrew Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, OH, and Olena Korendii from the Pokrova Ukrainian Catholic Church in Parma, OH helped with the event as well. Special thanks go to Kim Deniher from Camp Guyasuta and her wonderful staff for the warm hospitality provided to the retreat’s participants.

The main speaker at this year’s Fall Youth Retreat was Father Nathaniel Tapsak from the Byzantine Catholic Metropolitan Archeparchy of Pittsburgh, who is the pastor of Holy Trinity Byzantine Catholic Church in Sykesville, PA and the Nativity of the Mother of God Byzantine Catholic Church in DuBois, PA.

The event began on Friday evening with the Ninth Hour prayer service, led by Fr. Nathaniel, which was followed by a dinner. Afterward, Fr. Lubomir Zhybak heartily welcomed everyone to the retreat, which was followed by Fr. Nathaniel’s first presentation. The main speaker began his talk, entitled “True Happiness,” with a question with which mankind wrestles: how can I obtain happiness? Fr. Nathaniel accentuated that happiness is something we all desire, yet it quickly passes away. Rather, what we truly desire is a lasting peace, which never goes away. For Christians, the answer is obvious: Jesus Christ, Whose words to the Apostles after His resurrection were “Peace be with you!” (see John 20:19) is the source of such lasting peace. Christ teaches us, especially in the Sermon on the Mount, to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness before all else (see Matthew 6:33) and thereby find rest from the anxieties of life. For the Christian, to seek the Kingdom means spending regular time throughout the day in prayer, prioritizing the worship of the Church and the sacraments. Prayer takes preparation: first, by creating a quiet, physical space (an icon corner); second, by shedding distractions – in this day and age, the most common distraction is electronic devices – which fill our mind with thoughts and anxiety; and third, to have a plan for how we will spend our time in prayer. For an experienced Christian, regular prayer truly becomes the source of lasting peace for which we all long. The first day of the retreat was concluded with a campfire outside.

On Saturday morning, after the First Hour prayer service and the breakfast, the group went on the pontoon boat ride, guided by a Camp Guyasuta staff member, on Allegheny, Ohio, and Monongahela Rivers, which flow through and converge in the city of Pittsburgh, PA, along the picturesque vistas and Pittsburgh’s skyline – the event that was met with a lot of joy, laughter, and excitement. After the ride, the participants had lunch, which was followed by Fr. Nathaniel’s second presentation that had a self-explanatory title, “What is prayer and how do I do it?” The main speaker stated that, at first glance, we may not realize that Christ teaches us the essentials of prayer in the Gospels, both by His teaching and by His own example. He tells us to “enter our inner selves” and pray in secret (see Matthew 6:6); in other places, Christ either ends a day or begins a day of ministry by going into the wilderness to pray. Yet, prayer often does not seem self-explanatory. For that reason, Fr. Nathaniel turned to the advice of a desert father, Evagrius Ponticus [who lived in the IV century AD]. The retreat master said that, in various short writings of his, we learn that prayer is not merely paying lip service to God while our minds are elsewhere, but that it requires our full attention; we learn to see prayer as food for our souls, much like bread is food for the body; we come to expect that prayer will not be easy, and will take perseverance; we are warned that the passions, especially anger towards another, will make prayer difficult and ought to be addressed first; finally, that prayer of supplication (i.e., asking for something) ought to always be approached with the intention of the Lord’s Prayer: that His will be done, not necessarily ours. Next, utilizing the teachings of a XIX century Orthodox theologian, Fr. Nathaniel turned to some practical wisdom, looking at some simple instructions for prayer: to prepare your heart and mind before praying, to pay attention to your words, and to pause after you pray, before continuing your day. Last, the main speaker considered the specifics of prayer, namely, that all Christians, whether lay people, clergy, or monastics, need a rule of prayer, that prayer is a habit that should be worked into our days at least twice, and that some types of prayer work better for different people. Fr. Nathaniel ended his talk with a challenge: if you don’t already pray in the morning and evening, make a plan, and start today, and it will change your life.

The retreat master also prepared an Examination of Conscience for the participants before the Holy Mystery of Confession, made available by him, Fr. Lubomir Zhybak, and Fr. Yaroslav Koval, pastor of St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, PA, St. Vladimir Ukrainian Catholic Church in Arnold, PA, and the Nativity of the Mother of God Ukrainian Catholic Church in New Alexandria, PA. Afterwards, the retreatants tried their skills at Camp Guyasuta’s Archery Range, which was followed by Vespers and the dinner. After the meal, the retreatants participated in the Ask-the-Clergy Question & Answer session. Fr. Lubomir and Fr. Nathaniel tackled some questions asked by the participants that was met with humor, candor, and catechetical lessons. The session provided an educational, fun, and engaging opportunity for everyone, especially the youth, to ask the clergy questions to deepen the understating and knowledge of their faith as well as to share with others their life experiences. Afterwards, all present sang a traditional Ukrainian ‘Mnohaya Leeta’ (‘Many Years’) to Mrs. Natalia Protsyuk, who was celebrating her birthday on that day, which was followed by a fellowship with a cake and other treats, provided by the Protsyuk family. The day was concluded with some free time.

On Sunday, the group was warmly welcomed by Bishop Bohdan Danylo of the Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma at St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church in Pittsburgh, PA, Fr. Yaroslav Koval, the church’s pastor, and the parishioners at the Divine Liturgy, celebrated by Bishop Bohdan and concelebrated by Fr. Yaroslav and Fr. Nathaniel that was followed by a luncheon, which concluded the retreat.

This year’s Fall Youth Retreat was a wonderful and prayerful event whereby everyone present was able to experience our Lord’s love and share this love with one another. The next Fall Youth Retreat is planned for the fall of 2027.

Ukrainian Catholic Eparchy of St. Josaphat in Parma