Trauma Care in Ukraine
For more than 2.5 years we have watched the conflict going on in Ukraine. Our hearts are broken.
I have met displaced Ukrainians in our Fellowship churches as I visit from Sunday to Sunday. Our churches gave generously (over $2 million) to our past Ukraine appeal to help save and support the refugee exodus. I heard testimonies from Ukrainians themselves during my visit to Poland over a year ago – a grandmother who spent a month in an overcrowded bomb shelter with her grandchildren – terrified. Bombs landing day after day. While visiting my own barber I learned he was able to get his partner out of Ukraine and I sat listening to her share her story with tears.
The needs in Ukraine continue. How can you help?
Although the Ukrainian people continue to show great strength and fortitude in the face of uncertain and dangerous circumstances, there is an undeniable emotional toll. For the churches and organizations working to meet needs that a government focused on defending its borders can’t address, it has been a long war. The pastors, leaders, and workers are tired. They need encouragement. They need prayer. They need help.
In February 2022, FAIR launched the Ukrainian Refugee Crisis emergency appeal. The response from Fellowship churches and FAIR donors was swift and left no doubt that caring for Ukrainians affected by the war was a priority. FAIR still receives donations for this need, and churches in Poland and Ukraine are still blessed by your care. THANK YOU.
Although the initial urgency has subsided, and the war has shifted away from media focus, FAIR is still seeking to serve our brothers and sisters in Poland and Ukraine as they minister to those most in need. In partnership with Fellowship International missionaries Ben and Krista Taylor, FAIR has identified the greatest needs that local churches in Poland and Ukraine are uniquely placed and able to minister to.
Please consider hosting a Christmas or Thanksgiving offering for Ukraine relief.
FAIR’s Stand by Me Fall special appeal is inviting you to partner with churches in Poland and Ukraine who are ministering holistically to the needs of displaced Ukrainians. The goal is to raise $1 million which will be used for the purchase of physical aid (i.e. food, water, heat, medicine); counselling for those experiencing trauma; provision of family, children’s, and frontline ministries; and for the training, encouraging, and counselling of local church leadership.
Your church can be involved in a variety of ways:
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Option #1: Give through a church offering
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Option #2: Pray for Ukraine
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Option #3: Send church members to serve
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Option #4: Connect with a church partner
This is a big goal. But our God is awesome and we know He has a big heart for those who are suffering. This big ask is an opportunity for Canadians to stand with their brothers and sisters who are doing the hard work of serving in a time of war. To encourage them. To lift them up. To show them they are seen and cared for.
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.” (Galatians 6:9-10 ESV)
Would you consider how the Lord is calling your church family to respond to the Stand by Me special appeal? Visit fellowship.ca/StandbyMe to learn more or give today.