Give to Refugees in Ukraine

“Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you tells him, ‘Go in peace. Stay warm and well fed,’ but does not provide for his physical needs, what good is that? So faith without works is dead.” Epistle of Saint James 2:17-18.

Do you wish to send money to help refugees? It’s difficult to know whom to trust. We’re sending monetary donations directly to our church in eastern Europe. We know where that money goes, and we trust the people who are using it.

We’re able to send money immediately by international wire transfer to a bank in the European Union where our priests are safely able to purchase necessities to bring back into Ukraine. It’s always risky to send money into a situation of chaos and war, but it’s reassuring that we can send money in a way that we know it is being used directly to help people. There is no bureaucracy involved. A Byzantine Catholic priest in Slovakia, Father Ján Lemeš, Archpriest (Protojerej) of the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Košice, will then distribute it to help refugees in need.

You can read more about giving online through Tithe.ly here

We use Tithe.ly to accept donations using credit or debit cards or ACH bank transfer. You can give by clicking the button below, and through the Tithe.ly mobile app.

Tithe.ly charges a processing fee on your donation (Credit/Debit Card: 2.9% + .30¢, ACH/Bank: 1% + .30¢, Amex: 3.5% + .30¢). When you donate, you can click “Cover Fees” to cover these processing fees. When you choose to cover the fees, your total gift is increased, so that we receive your desired amount. If you were to donate $100 on a Visa card, for example, and did not choose to cover the fees, you’d be charged $100 and our church would receive a deposit of $96.80. If you did choose to cover the fees, you’d be charged $103.30 and our church would receive a deposit of $100.

Giving through Tithe.ly

As soon as you give via Tithe.ly, you’ll instantly receive an email with the details of your transaction. All of your giving history is also tracked and available within the mobile app, giving you instant access to check your records.

You do not have to create a Tithe.ly account to make one-time or recurring donations. But, if you’d like to make giving as easy as possible and to take advantage of all Tithe.ly features, you can create an account by heading to get.tithe.ly and clicking on “Sign Up Free.”

An account will let you:

Securely store your payment method (so you don’t have to type it out each time)
See your giving history
Manage your account 24/7

In order to use the Tithe.ly mobile app, an account is required.

An account will let you:

Securely store your payment method (so you don’t have to type it out each time)
See your giving history
Manage your account 24/7

In order to use the Tithe.ly mobile app, an account is required.

Alternatively, you may send a check to our parish, payable to “St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church” with “refugees” in the memo. Mail the check to St. Mary Byzantine Catholic Church, 321 Chestnut Avenue, Kingston, Pennsylvania 18704.

Letter from Most Reverend Kurt Burnette, Bishop of the Eparchy of Passaic

Letter from Most Reverend William C. Skurla, Metrpolitan Archbishop of Pittsburgh

Letter from Bishop Nil Luschcak of the Eparchy of Mukachevo (in Ukrainian)

Video from Bishop Nil at Holy Cross Cathedral in Uzhorod (in Ukrainian)

Video from Bishop Nil About Refugees in Southwest Ukraine (English Subtitles)

Your Donations

The news of the war can be too painful to watch. People are arriving every day in Transcarpathia escaping the carnage, especially women and children. Our very own parish priest has family in Ukraine. His brother is a priest in a village who is hosting refugees living in his own house along with his wife and children. In addition, he has people living in the basement of the church. When people arrive, he sits down with them with his wife to find out what they need. They have no money or food, and also need things for hygiene, and clothing. The day care centers have been turned into shelters for refugees to live in. The high school is also a shelter, but the high school does not have showers. The priest is using his own money to install showers in the high school. He also had to buy a new refrigerator and a new washing machine to take care of so may people in his house. Our parish priest also has a cousin who is also a priest in a village. He has a large rectory, and he has hosted scores of refugees in his rectory. In one week alone, he had 52 living in the rectory, and more in the church.

The photos below are from these priests, showing the refugees your donations are helping.