It is an unbelievable paradox that in the recent years, Poland was ruled by a political party with “justice” (and “law”) in its name. Meanwhile, these years brought no justice to many marginalized groups in Poland, and since there was no justice, many spheres of life lacked peace.
Ellen Smith, World Mission’s regional liaison for Eastern Europe, has just returned from a visit with partners in Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland to see first-hand how they are coping with the enormous task of caring for refugees fleeing Ukraine and how the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can accompany them.
The people of Poland, a nation well acquainted with the misery an invading country can inflict, has responded to the 500,000 or so displaced Ukrainians who have crossed the border into Poland in amazing and yet practical ways.
The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) launched an appeal Tuesday for funds to help support the Church’s humanitarian response to the war started last week when Russia attacked Ukraine.
The way Christmas is celebrated in Eastern Europe is different than how it’s done in the U.S., but the spirit of giving and helping others is very much the same.
More than 28,000 people have gathered in Katowice, Poland for the 24th United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change “Conference of the Parties” (COP), and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is there.
Presbyterians interested in learning about conflict and reconciliation, from both an active and historical perspective, have an opportunity to do so by participating in one of the Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s travel study seminar series upcoming in Spring 2019. Reconciliation Work in Rwanda: Healing the Trauma of the Genocide is scheduled for March 11–23, 2019, and Ukraine and Russia: Peacemaking on the Front Line is scheduled for April 22 – May 6, 2019. The due date for applications is November 15 for the Rwanda seminar, and December 15 for the Ukraine-Russia seminar. After those dates, applications will be considered if space remains available.
