Editorial

Dear Readers,

The number of „international days“, pointing out various important realities, often painful topics to which attention should be drawn around the world, has certainly increased in the past few decades. When I was a little girl, sometime in the 1960s, I was only aware of two such days in the whole year: International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, infamously abused by Communist doctrine, and then International Children’s Day on the 1st of June. Since those times, the days of someone or something have definitely grown in number. The downside, in my view, is that the days of fundamental importance, such as International Holocaust Remembrance Day, are now placed alongside days like International Legumes Day and thousands of others. This trend leads to people’s indifference, we are less and less aware of what really matters.  

Do we know that there is also an International Migrants Day? It is not necessary to know the date (in December), but we should be aware of the importance of the topic. It is only good that the church is keeping this in mind. In this edition of the Bulletin, you can find out about the ecumenical manner in which the Evangelical Church of Czech Brethren, our church, commemorated the day, which has gained new, striking dimensions with the ongoing war in Ukraine. 

Ukraine remains the main theme also in the second article, which deals, among other things, with the trip that two of our ministers took to the war-torn, jeopardized country. The text is all the more valuable given that it contains an authentic message from Ukrainian Czechs, inhabitants of the local Czech villages, celebrating their Sunday service to the sounds of sirens and explosions. 

The hope that the war will end quickly, that Ukraine will prevail, is strongly present, but the issue has its human dimensions, and these can fail. Let us hold on to the hope that reaches further and higher. So help us God. 

Wishing you the best of times 

On behalf of the Editorial Board

Jana Plíšková