In response to the conflict in Ukraine, Nazarene Compassionate Ministries (NCM) is working to mobilize churches in the Eurasia region to meet the needs of those for whom violence and displacement have become a sudden reality. We can help in this effort through prayer and giving.
PRAY Pray for the people of Ukraine. Pray for those who are displaced and injured and without basic necessities. Pray for those who have lost loved ones. Pray for our churches who are providing shelter and sharing food and water and other basic necessities. Pray for resources to help our churches respond to the overwhelming needs and for security in getting resources to people in need.
GIVE Donate through our local church. Simply place Ukraine Crisis on a blank line of your tithing envelope, on your cheque or on your e-transfer, and indicate your offering amount. (FYI, Pastor Tammy had personal conversation with individuals from the Eurasia regional office this week and confirms that loadable bank cards have been distributed throughout our churches in Ukraine.)
COMPASSIONATE RESOURCE WAREHOUSE (CRW) Our Compassionate Resource Warehouse in British Columbia, partnering with ICROSS Canada, is pleased to be able to respond very quickly to the Ukrainian crisis. We have been asked to send a container for a field hospital on the border of Poland and Ukraine. We also will be including some general relief supplies. One of the specific things we are doing is setting up a house that medical or counselling teams can use as a home base.
CRW is also working on a container of dried food to send. Nutritious food is very important. As of today, over 500,000 Ukrainians have fled into Poland with many more expected over the next few days and weeks.
CRW will be loading this container as soon as a final booking is obtained. A container is purchased so it can be used as a storage container. CRW is in need of physical items and monetary donations to assist with shipping costs and the purchase of the 40′ HC container (which are easier for us to provide from here in Ontario). See https://www.crwarehouse.ca/donate.
Additionally, we give thanks that, in this time, social media is able to provide credible Nazarene reports from the field.
CHURCH OF THE NAZARENE UPDATE Nazarenes in Europe have mobilized to respond with compassion, working around the clock to meet the needs of people who have been displaced by the conflict in Ukraine.
In Ukraine, as many community members seek safety in underground shelters, pastors and church members are there with them providing counsel and spiritual support. When possible, they are providing food, supplies, and transportation. Church leaders in Ukraine are also working to coordinate evacuations and providing other assistance for people in need.
In Moldova, Nazarene churches are receiving refugees. One church is sheltering 18 people and assisted another hundred people in smaller ways. “Of course, our situation cannot be compared to what the people in Kyiv are experiencing,” says one pastor. “But for the last three days my wife and I have not slept more than three to four hours.”
Nazarene churches in Poland are meeting refugees at the border as well as assisting those who arrive in Poznan. There, a team of volunteers and pastors is cooking meals, providing food and basic necessities, and helping people find shelter.
In Romania, churches have prepared their facilities to serve as safe spaces for refugees, and are gathering supplies that families will need while they stay. Pastors are working to help mothers with children travel to other locations in Europe and, when possible, covering the cost of their transportation.
In Hungary, a small response team of Nazarene pastors and volunteers has formed. The group has delivered food and water to the women and children of four villages after many of the men there joined the army. Stores in these villages are mostly empty, and now there is a shortage of drinking water. Pastors prepared one of the church properties in Hungary to host several families. The district in Hungary is collecting funds for refugees who come to the area.
VIDEOS Teanna and Jay Sunberg, missionaries who serve with the Church of the Nazarene, Central Europe Field, visited the town of Przemyśl, Poland, where refugees are arriving after fleeing Ukraine. Here they prepare for further travel to a final destination within Poland or in another country. Community volunteers are providing meals and supplies, and busses are providing weary travelers with rides. (Facebook – https://fb.watch/bzTyUGky3I/)
Ukraine residents Pastor Volodymyr Masyuk (Nazarene District Superintendent) and his wife Sylvia Cortez spoke to Weekend TODAY and NBC News Now from a bomb shelter amid violence in Kyiv. The couple recounted the scenes of war and asked the international community for help. “We know the world is watching, but we need them to do more than just watch,” Cortez said. (YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FEqVyFinfY and https://youtu.be/F7DiGFvcSig )
Thank you for praying, for caring, and for sharing your gifts of compassion for those in need!
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