Generous is a word that comes quickly to my mind when I think about our church. In these nearly five years we have been together, I have watched time again your willingness to help those near and far. Today, I am thinking about your eagerness to assist the Ukrainian people as they experience the devastation of war being made on their country.
In this instance, we are particularly blessed to be a congregation in the United Church of Christ. Why? Through our Global Ministries office, the United Church of Christ has been in partnership with churches and organizations in eastern Europe for many years. Those organizations, Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, ACT Alliance, and Hungarian Interchurch Aid, have been around for a while and have served those in need within their region and beyond for years. What that means for us is that we can have confidence that the gifts we are giving to help the Ukrainian people are being used to help the Ukrainian people.
Having that confidence is a good thing to be sure. But there is another benefit to giving through these partners. They take our gifts and add value to it. Some of our gifts could have been used by a local church group who volunteered to make sandwiches for fleeing refugees. Another portion of it could have been used by a group of church volunteers who are making sleeping space available in an existing building. The picture I am getting as I read the accounts of what these organizations are doing is one of people not so different from us, doing what they see needs to be done in the current situation. They are church people doing what church people do when a need presents itself. Granted, they are doing these things in a horrific situation on a large scale, but their heart and their motivation is rooted in their call to love their neighbors.
If you have time, read for yourself reports from border as to how Ukrainian refugees are being assisted by our partners in eastern Europe:
- Reformed Community Proved Love in the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis – Reformatus.hu
- HRCA Helped Again a Hospital in Transcarpathia – Reformatus.hu
- As needs grow in Ukraine and neighboring countries, churches offer crucial humanitarian aid | World Council of Churches (oikoumene.org)
- Ukraine – Ökumenikus Segélyszervezet (segelyszervezet.hu)
Once you start searching on the internet, you discover numerous articles that highlight or mention the work of those organizations with which we are partnered. Reading some of those articles can certainly help inform how we pray for the situation in Ukraine. We need to always follow our giving with our prayers just as we follow our prayers with acts of mercy and compassion.
Thank you for your generous hearts. You are a wonderful congregation of folks and I am privileged to be your pastor.
Ed Sunday-Winters
