ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — People were in deep prayer in support of Ukraine Friday evening at St. Mary's Assumption Ukrainian Catholic Church in south St. Louis County.
Some were parishioners and others were there to just show support.
Church leaders said most of the congregation are recent immigrants from Ukraine with relatives and friends living all throughout the country and some serving in the military.
And over the past few days, they've received a lot of support, good wishes and prayers.
Nadia Rice, whose entire family lives in Ukraine, broke out into tears following the 45-minute service.
"We are scared for them. They are scared, and we do not know how to help them," she said.
Rice's brother, a police officer, is on the frontline.
"I'm afraid I will never see him again," she added.
Russian troops have spent the last few days attacking on multiple fronts across the country.
"(Ukraine is) beautiful. You cannot even imagine. We have amazing, kind people. They did not deserve that, and they did not do anything wrong," Rice said.
Mike Goldstein, who is from Russia, also attended the service in support of his wife and her family, who are natives of Ukraine.
"They are very scared. They had to flee to Poland. They didn't know if they were going to make it. We've been texting back and forth. They are basically running for their lives," he said.
Goldstein's said his family was advocating for the removal of the Russian regime and hoped the West could better unite.
"Build optimism. Support Ukraine with weapons (and) ammo, (and) with anything they need to fight,” he added.
The prayer service was an invitation to the Ukrainian community and its neighbors to fight back the best way they can right now.
"(We're) hoping that our prayers in some way will influence divine providence in what is going on. This is the duty of our love to our neighbors," said church deacon Eugene Logusch.
The battle comes on the verge of Lent, a time of constant prayer and fasting for the church community ahead of Easter.
Church leaders said they envisioned the moment will motivate parishioners even more.