Let us be prepared to welcome refugees, church leadership urges

The fates of innocent people, friends and families of our Ukrainian brothers and sisters, our fellow citizens, colleagues, neighbours, are on our minds. Our prayers are with them. We ask for wisdom and courage for all those who are able to contribute to ending the conflict in the given situation. At the same time, we are looking for ways to provide at least partial relief from the suffering and the fear of imminent war.“ This was the message of the Synodal Council of the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, as conveyed by the letter of the Synodal Senior, Pavel Pokorný and the Synodal Curator, Jiří Schneider, on Wednesday the 23^rd of February 2022.

One day before the message was sent out, the Synodal Council discussed the events with director of Diaconia’s Development and Humanitarian Cooperation Centre, Kristina Ambrožová.

She said that they have been carefully monitoring the situation in the region though their long-standing partner organisations, the Father’s House and the Home of Mercy, which take care of orphans and homeless people in Kyiv, respectively. The ECCB’s Diaconia is prepared to provide immediate financial as well as organisational support, for example by helping to evacuate people or by providing humanitarian aid and medical supplies.

A second direct line of help that is prepared to start working is a network of humanitarian non-profit organisations, connected with (mostly Protestant) churches in Europe. In coordination with Diaconia in Germany or Scandinavia, for example, the ECCB’s Diaconia is prepared to act immediately on the call of the Ukrainian partners. The ECCB’s Synodal Council will support any church collections that might be organized to aid Ukraine and will continue to look for further efficient ways to help.

This includes being prepared to welcome refugees from Ukraine. Some congregations as well as individuals have already offered possibilities of accommodation, should it be necessary to provide shelter for larger amounts of people from the war zone. 

„If larger numbers of refugees arrive in the Czech Republic, we want to be prepared to offer quick and efficient help. Please let us know whether you would be able to provide accommodation for people running from war, and how many you would be able to help,“ church leadership has asked.

On Thursday the 24^th of February 2022, in the early hours of the morning, world press agencies brought news of what was, in fact, the beginning of the Russian invasion in Ukraine. Russia’s President Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a „special military operation“. Gunfire and explosions can be heard in many places, a state of war is declared in the country.

„In the upcoming days, deciding which information is given attention and which is not will become increasingly important. We consider it part of our responsibility as Christians to make sure that humanity and faithfulness to the truth and to the Gospel are the ultimate measure for everything. Let us be responsible and not give any room to information fog, where hate and evil often thrives,“ church officials pointed out when talking about the immediate impacts of the war conflict, which are already starting to resonate in Czech society. The church can contribute to mitigating these effects.

Helping refugees in congregations of ECCB: