The Presidium of the Reformed Church in Hungary issued a circular requesting pastors to offer parts of their salaries for the fellow ministers in Ukraine, persevering and serving faithfully in the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia. International partners are also welcome to show solidarity.
“Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege.” (Psalms 31:21)
“The war in Ukraine puts not only those directly involved in the armed conflict in an increasingly hopeless situation, but also the pastors and colleagues of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia, Ukraine, who continue serving faithfully, encouraging church members to stay in the country, persevere to the end and welcome and serve the vulnerable, especially refugees (IDPs) coming from Eastern and Central Ukraine,” reads in the letter to the 1300 pastors. “As their church members are among those fleeing from the country and are temporarily or permanently displaced, the livelihoods of the pastors’ families and colleagues of Church institutions and the Diaconia are threatened,” explains the Presidium the challenging situation congregations in Ukraine have to face.
In this extraordinary situation, it has become necessary to open the Transcarpathian Reformed Pastors' Relief Fund (called also Hungarian “Partnerhilfe”), initially established for the support of retired pastors without pension, for active pastors in Transcarpathia. “Therefore, we again invite our brothers and sisters to offer additional donation for this aim. Ministers of RCH has been encouraged to help their fellow ministers and church workers in Transcarpathia, to secure their income, and, according to their capacities, offer regular a monthly payment.”
“Knowing the difficult situation of retired pastors and pastors' widows in Transcarpathia, we have been donating to the Transcarpathian Reformed Retired Pastors' Aid Fund since 2008, with the aim of providing these brothers and sisters with a regular monthly income and supplementing their income. We are grateful for the support that many pastors have so far offered for the benefit of the pastors without pensions there,” reads in the circular of the Presidium of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
“In the context of the war in Ukraine, we have already sent several circular letters to our congregations asking them to support brothers and sisters living in Ukraine, through direct congregational partnerships or through the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid.” More than 1000 congregations of RCH offered also a Sunday collection to facilitate the humanitarian relief, HRCA has been providing since the beginning of the war. “We gratefully acknowledge the past and ongoing donations of our congregations,” closes the letter.
Congregations, individuals, companies and international partners supported the Emergency Relief work of the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid with in-kind and financial donations since the beginning of the war. The amount of the financial donations reached 850 000 EUR, as of 8 April, a third of which came from international partner churches of RCH.
For the new initiative, the Reformed Pension Found opened a dedicated account to receive donations in support of the pastors’ and employees’ families who continue to serve faithfully and offer help - open shelters and meet humanitarian needs - of the refugees and internally displaced persons. Pastors have also been organizing worships and prayers in Ukrainian.
The aim is to offer monthly financial aid to 100 persons, including 73 pastors serving in 108 congregations of the Reformed Church in Transcarpathia, and employees of the church administration and diaconal institutions.
- Bank Name: OTP Bank
- Account Holder: Református Lelkészi Nyugdíjintézet (Reformed Pension Found)
- IBAN: HU59 1178 4009 2021 2368 0000 0000
- SWIFT: OTPVHUHB
- Remark: Solidarity with Ukraine