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By Miriam Raftery
Photo courtesy of ECM news partner 10 News
January 26, 2024 (Spring Valley) - St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Spring Valley has been a place of worship for Ukrainians across San Diego since 1960. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, the small church has welcomed and helped many Ukrainian refugees—and has also gathered humanitarian relief supplies to send to war-torn Ukraine.
But on Monday, January 22nd, a wall of stormwater surged down Campo Road in Spring Valley’s Casa de Oro community, inundating the Ukrainian church with two to three feet of mud and debris.
10 News reports the damage to the church is estimated at $200,000, with another$100,000 in damage or destruction of supplies that were to be shipped to Ukraine next week.
None of the losses are covered by insurance.
The sanctuary, church hall, parking lot and the parish priest’s residence are all drenched. Father Myron Mykhaylyuk and his wife were trapped in knee-deep rushing waters for 45 minutes, clinging to a fence before they were rescued, according to the House of Ukraine’s website.
Volunteers have been working to start removing debris, rocks and mud, but major repairs and new flooring are needed, plus all donated goods for Ukraine must be unpacked, cleaned if possible, or replaced.
A site for a new Ukrainian church was recently approved in Santee, but for now, the Spring Valley parish remains the primary place of worship for Ukrainians in the San Diego region.
The river of mud has been especially disheartening for displaced Ukrainian refugees and expats already distressed over the Russian invasion and the fate of loved ones in Ukraine. But Vera Skop, whose family members were founding members of the church, told 10 News, “Ukrainians are resilient. That spirit is truly amazing and we’ll get through it.”
You can help by donating to a flood relief fund for the church set up by the House of Ukraine, which you can find on their website at https://houseofukraine.org/flood-relief-for-ukrainian-orthodox-parish-in-san-diego/.
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