Page 32 - Presbyterian Connection

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PRESBYTERIAN
FALL 2022
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INTERNATIONAL
An Update from PCC Partners in Ukraine
By Sándor Zán Fábián, Bishop of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia, Ukraine
The Reformed Church in Tran- scarpathia is an officially reg- istered church in Ukraine. It is organized into three dioceses/ presbyteries in which there are 108 congregations, led by 75 pastors. The Reformed Church has 64,000 members—nearly 8,000 are youth members—who participate in religious education, and about 1,500 are children who are attending confirmation preparations. The church runs a number of educational programs, including 18 kindergartens, four secondary schools and a Roma school program. It also main- tains a children’s home, a sen- iors’ home, and two rehabilitation centres for children living with disabilities. A number of vital pro- grams and services operate out of the church’s Diaconal Centre, including a bakery and social kitchen’s network. There are various ministries within the Re- formed Church that provide vol- unteer fire brigades, support for people struggling with addiction, as well as a home care service. Other facilities under the church’s care include three conference centres and church headquar- ters (the Bishop’s office), which oversees the administration and coordination of all these activi- ties, programs and services in the church.
Unfortunately, the war that broke out in Ukraine on Febru- ary 24, 2022, as a result of the Russian invasion, caused great damage to the life of the parishes. Many fled the country out of fear of the war and being drafted into the military. Many elderly people, young mothers and their children were among those left behind.
Since the war broke out, the re- gion of Transcarpathia has hosted more than 400,000 refugees and internally displaced people in various institutions, private accommodations, kindergar-
Ljuba, director of a foundation that works with the Reformed Church of Tran- scarpathia, in the city of Irpin, which is close to Kyiv in northern Ukraine.
and education of those who have remained at home is an even greater burden and challenge for the congregations and church leaders.
The Reformed Church in Tran- scarpathia is working to ensure the survival of the parishes and educational institutions. Unfor- tunately, the war has presented our community with huge chal- lenges that are beyond our hu- man and financial capacities. One of these challenges is that, as of September 1, 2022, the state will require educational institutions to be properly equipped with bomb shelters/bunkers in order to be allowed to remain open. We are now working to ensure that our kindergartens and schools meet the state requirements so that they can start in September with- out any disruption to educational services. This is the only way to save our educational system and the only hope that members of our community remain in their homeland.
On top of this, since the mother tongue of our members is Hun- garian, we have already been facing many difficulties and re- strictions due to the abolition of minority language rights and the language law. The outbreak of war has put an even greater burden on the people of this area, who have always had to struggle to survive as a minority.
The most important and criti- cal asset of our social ministry is that our pastors and their families stay in Transcarpathia and that lo- cal parishes coordinate efforts to take care of all those who suffer from the war: the elderly, the sick, large families, those living with disabilities and all the internally displaced persons who cannot return to their homes. Many fami- lies have been torn apart and are struggling. We carry emotional and physical burdens. We put our hope in the Almighty God, who has a plan for us even in this time of war.
We are grateful to all those who have contributed in any way to help us continue the ministry entrusted to us. May God’s rich blessings be upon all our brothers and sisters, and all our partners and donors, whether individuals, churches or organizations around the world.
May God bless our lives and help us to end to the war as soon as possible and to embrace a time of peace.
tens and schools. The Reformed Church has lovingly welcomed and taken care of many of these refugees and internally displaced people, providing them with daily care in the facilities of the church. Refugees are invited to weekly worship services conducted in the Ukrainian language, and are also provided with Hungarian- language education by members of local parishes, whose mother tongue is Hungarian.
The Diaconal Centre of the church sends weekly humani- tarian shipments with in-kind donations to the interior parts of Ukraine. The Centre’s bakery bakes and distributes hundreds of loaves of bread every day for those who have found shelter in our facilities and local congrega- tions. The social kitchen’s net- work provides over 100 additional hot meals a day to the elderly and disadvantaged families.
In cooperation with representa- tives of Protestant churches in Ukraine and a Ukrainian char- ity, we have been able to regu- larly send non-perishable food to war-torn areas in Kharkiv, Kyiv, Borodyanka, Irpin, Sloviansk and many other places. We are al- ways shocked and disheartened by the pictures and videos we receive from our local colleagues who have witnessed first-hand the destruction of buildings and areas by bombing and shelling. So many people need help and suppor t.
The pastors of our local par- ishes are doing their best to make sure that those left behind—the elderly, disadvantaged families and orphans—are cared for. Prayer meetings for peace have been organized in the congrega- tions, along with summer camps/ day confirmation camps that members of the church and refu- gee children can take part in.
Our pastors also carry a heavy burden, but by trusting in God, they try to remain in their local communities and continue serv- ing faithfully, for which we are extremely grateful. Churches have been weakened by the war due to many members fleeing the region for neighbouring countries, which is a great concern for our future. The spiritual, mental care