An expanded board of the association met December 8, 2018, at the church in Lancaster, PA, where Rev. Leonid Bliznyuk is the pastor. This was a traditional meeting of the board that was carried out in an unconventional manner. The traditional date was the second Saturday of December, and the normal business session, which addressed issues such as the mission, vision and values of the board; planning events for 2019; and a budget for the association.
The unconventional aspect was that a board meeting included pastors with their wives – for the first time in the association’s existence. The meeting began with prayer, the glorification of the Lord by singing and reading the Word of God. Then the business session proceeded, but the wives of pastors had their own program. Svitlana Khrystenko, head of the women’s department, together with Halyna Bliznyuk, organized a visit to an Amish museum. After the executive board meeting, the board and other pastors with their wives ate lunch together at a local restaurant, after which they went to a Christian theater to see the play “Jesus.” In this way, the board meeting united traditionalism and non-traditionalism: pastors of the churches gathered at the expanded board meeting, where their wives were present, after which they all watched with fascination the stage play about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
