Dual parish holds Ukraine Day

STRATFORD, Ont. – The dual parish of 1^st St. John’s, Seebach’s Hill and 2^nd St. John’s, Wartburg, held a Ukraine Information Day on March 20, 2022. The membership in both churches were very distressed with the destruction there, which aroused a deep desire to help. The question was, “What is the best way to help?”

Seebach’s Hill’s assisting pastor, Rev. William Ney, has a relationship with Ukraine and so the churches asked him for assistance. What an eye-opening experience that proved to be! Rev. Ney suggested that the churches consider raising funds for the Synod of Evangelical Lutheran Churches in Ukraine (SELCU), initiated by Lutheran Church–Canada. 

On Sunday, March 20, both churches heard Rev. Ney deliver a message on his own experiences in the missionary establishment of the new Lutheran Church in Ukraine. He discussed the relationships he developed in Ukraine and the anguish he now feels when witnessing the tragedy taking place there today.

The appeal for funds for the Lutheran Church in Ukraine was greeted with a heartfelt response over the following two Sundays. The two rural congregations raised more than $11,000 for the LCC Ukraine Aid Fund. Further activities are being discussed as the pandemic allows.

The parish extends its deepest appreciation to Rev. Ney for not only his informative message but for enabling the parish to feel connected to the Ukrainian people and their suffering—and the parish hopes that they will never take for granted the freedoms and blessings they enjoy in Canada.

The parish prays that God will bless the pastors and their families in Ukraine who continue their humanitarian work, and for their spiritual guidance of their flock under extraordinarily difficult circumstances. And they encourage everyone to pray for peace to be restored in Ukraine so that the ongoing work of sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ might once again move ahead unhindered.

Marjorie Brickman

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