The parish Sisterhood of St. Seraphim Memorial Church in Sea Cliff, NY, headed by Elizabeth Mikheev, is holding a collection for aid for refugees of the humanitarian catastrophe in the Donets Basin ("Donbass"). Over $5,000 was collected by the feast of Christ’s Nativity, and was passed on to the Svyatogorsk Lavra of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

The Sisterhood recently received a letter of thanks from Archimandrite Theophan, the monastery’s treasurer, in which he wrote the following: "Dear sisters in the Lord! We greet you on the upcoming feast day of the Meeting of the Lord! We received your monetary transfer and spent the funds on humanitarian purposes. We send our heartfelt thanks to you for your mercy and empathy to the Orthodox people, who have suffered during the hostilities and who have found temporary sanctuary in our monastery. There are over 700 refugees in the monastery now, mostly from Debaltsevo, and the number keeps growing. Thanks to such caring people as you, we are able to provide them with help. At the present time, such transfers are the monastery’s only source of financing. We ask your holy prayers. May the Lord keep you!"

Collections of humanitarian aid by the sisterhood continue. Donations can be sent to the church address:

St. Seraphim Memorial Church
Attn: St. Seraphim Sisterhood
131 Carpenter Avenue
Sea Cliff, NY 11579