Kirk congregations raise more than £360,000 for refugees in Ukraine

Church of Scotland congregations have raised more than £360,000 for Reformed Churches housing refugees in Ukraine.

Members have raised a total of £367,277 to support churches with their humanitarian response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Moderator of the General Assembly Lord Wallace travelled to Ukraine to see the work they were undertaking to support those affected by the war.

The Ukrainian Reformed Church have a strong relationship with Reformed Churches in Hungary and have historically spoken Hungarian.

The two countries have forged close links since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Reformed Church in Hungary Aid provide vans to help move around goods and people to places of safety.

Drivers in Ukraine are facing lengthy journeys across the border for petrol, due to the lack of availability as a result of the war.

Described as a “hugely worthwhile and poignantly rewarding” visit, Lord Wallace heard from English teacher, Lilia, who fled the city of Kharkiv and fled to the Transcarpathian Oblast at the Hungarian border.

Her husband is a dentist and when the bombing started they hid in his clinic with their children and prayed to God.

They sheltered for a few days then decided to leave the city early one morning before the bombing started again.

The family packed themselves into their car and drove the length of the country to find sanctuary in the Reformed college in Berehove.

Two floors of the college are being used to house around 80 displaced families.

Lord Wallace also visited a nearby bakery, built by the kirk 20 years ago to feed those in need in the community. It bakes around 700 loaves each day and previously sent 2,000 loaves a day to Kyiv to feed people in need.

The Reformed Church also welcomes local Roma children in the area to use the kindergarten and after school club.

Lord Wallace said: “The resilience and vision of the Reformed Church congregations in Ukraine is quite remarkable.

“Every bit as moving is their deep appreciation of our continued prayers for them, and more specifically for peace.

“We saw that the financial gifts of the congregations in Scotland are being well used in feeding the hungry and in offering support to families and individuals.”