A day after his This Child Here colleague spoke about the war from Ukraine, the Rev. Robert Gamble visits a church in Manhattan
by Jim Nedelka | Special to Presbyterian News Service
The Rev. Robert Gamble and Holly Nedelka at Avenue Church NYC. (Contributed photo)
NEW YORK — On Monday, Avenue Church NYC welcomed the Rev. Robert Gamble, who does ministry in Ukraine validated by the Presbytery of Western North Carolina, for an extended visit throughout Holy Week.
Gamble’s appearance came just a day after his colleague at This Child Here, Alla Soroka, answered questions from Odessa, Ukraine, posed by Presbyterian youth during a webinar sponsored by the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program and the Office of Presbyterian Youth and Triennium/PYT Beyond. Read about that event here. Watch it here.
Shortly after war broke out in Ukraine in February, Gamble, along with many of the people he’s served during 15 years of ministry helping orphans and other youth, were forced to evacuate.
Gamble was greeted in the Avenue Church NYC sanctuary Monday by Holly Nedelka, a ruling elder who had begun communicating with him in the days leading up to and throughout the breakout of the war.
Following the congregation’s longstanding tradition of short-stay housing offered to refugees, Nedelka invited Gamble to stay in the church house should his travels bring him to New York.
Gamble, who will actively participate with the congregation on Maundy Thursday, has family roots in New York. His visit is part of his traveling schedule to speak with as many congregations as he can.
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