As the Russian war against Ukraine grinds on and many refugees are anxious about losing their immigration status, a group of Ukrainian immigrants gathers every Saturday in Mint Hill to pray — finding peace in the language, religion and traditions of an old country transplanted into a new setting.
“We have a prayer meeting in a neutral territory, like a park, a very good place,” Pastor Basily Rudnitsky said. “We pray about our country of origin, Ukraine. We pray for the United States, the country that accepted us and gave us shelter.”
Rudnitsky has led these prayer gatherings since 2010, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine…