Due to the war in Ukraine, human lives are at risk, people lack basic supplies and have been forced to leave their homes. IDPs have reached the Western part of Ukraine and refugees are arriving to Hungary in growing numbers. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid has been providing emergency response from the first day. Daily update.
National offering for the benefit of the Transcarpathian Reformed community (11:35)
The Presidium of the Synod of Reformed Church in Hungary has sent a letter to all its congregations asking them to offer their March 20 collections to the Reformed Church in trancarpathia, Ukraine.
"We mourn with those who mourn and have to leave their homes, who are afraid and terrified, who have to face death, who do not know what tomorrow will bring. We look at the war, the destruction of lives and the fruits of human labour, as the work of evil. We pray that God will stop the evil. [...] We remember with a grateful heart those who came to the aid of the refugees at the very moment the war broke out. Our reformed congregations reacted jointly as one body. Each one of them, as far as they could, wholeheartedly helped the refugees who came to our country. Now we ask all our congregations, our Reformed brothers and sisters, to take another step with us. Together, let us offer our Sunday offerings to help our reformed brothers and sisters in Transcarpathia. Trusting in the power of prayer, let us strengthen one another so that the promise of God, our Creator and Saviour, may become a reality: “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear though tens of thousands assail me on every side.” (Psalm 3:5-6)," reads the circular of the Presidium.
Reformed community’s help reaches Kharkiv (14:09)
"First and foremost, we have to help those who have remained in the war-affected areas, but this does not mean that we have abandoned our own elders and those in need, as we still have a living relationship with them," said Sándor Zán Fábián, Bishop of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia. Since the outbreak of the war, the church has been helping those in need both inside and outside the border," he said in a TV21 Uzhhorod news broadcast, which reported about the work of the Transcarpathian Reformed Church.
"God has entrusted us to be merciful" (15:46)
“We had to learn to be flexible because of the war,” Sándor Pocsai. In a video produced by the portal, the pastor of Csongor in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, explains how they have been able to help people coming from inside Ukraine so far. Not only have they provided and continue to provide for the refugees, but they also provide a hot meal once a day for the locals who are left alone by family members fleeing to Hungary.
"It is natural that we do this, because God has entrusted us to be merciful and caring," says the pastor. As previously reported, services in Csongor will now be conducted in Ukrainian. These occasions are not only an opportunity for reassurance, but also help to break down any prejudices that those who come to Transcarpathia may have towards Hungarians, the video shows. “This is a witness for all of us: a testimony of how welcoming we are, how caring we are, how hospitable we are [...] This testimony is a seed that the Ukrainian people will take home,” says Rev. Sándor Pocsai.
János Balogh, chief elder of the Nagydobrony Reformed congregation, also speaks in the compilation. The Nagydobrony congregation assesses where the greatest need is in the village, district by district, through its 24 elders. He is also grateful for the help from Hungary, which enables them to help themselves and others around them.
HRCA’s daily operation in numbers
- Information requested: 1483 persons
- Transport requested: 54 persons
- Accommodation requested: 52 persons
- Mental health assistance: 125 persons
- Medical care: 11 persons
- Meals, drinks: 1145 persons
- Hygiene and childcare products: 354 persons
- Blankets: 42 persons
- Number of persons on duty: 146 persons
- of which volunteers:
- of which health worker: 8
- of which interpreter: 47
Edited and translated by Anna Derencsényi, international officer of the Diaconia of RCH.