Ukraine Appeal.

Since the end of July of 2022, Bethany has partnered with The Stradch Church (The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in Stradch, Ukraine) to provide food for the displaced Ukrainians seeking shelter and care in their Pilgrim House – a retreat center transformed into housing and trauma services for Ukrainians fleeing the worst of the war. Many arrive homeless and without possessions and identity papers. All arrive traumatized. In 2022 we sent $1275 each week; in 2023 we increased that to $1300 each week. Thanks to the incredible generosity of our members and surrounding community, we have not missed one week of sending food money since we began this journey with the Stradch Church. What a joy to be an unexpected answer to prayer!

Why Did the Stradch Church Build Pilgrim House?

Stradch is a village in a beautiful setting west of Lviv that is steeped in religious history. Their outdoor Stations of the Cross regularly bring thousands of people to Stradch for prayer. Fr. Ivan Koltun joined the Stradch Church over 21 years ago. Over time, Fr. Ivan felt led to build a Spiritual Retreat Center on church grounds. With help from Ukrainian colleagues and friends, Pilgrim House was built! But before it could be used as a spiritual retreat center, it was needed for the humanitarian disaster brought about by the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February of 2022. Although Fr. Ivan did not see the need Pilgrim House would fill when he first felt the inner leading to build it, what a blessing that it was completed just in time! As millions of people migrated through western Ukraine in the early months of the war, Pilgrim House became a safe place to rest on the way to somewhere else. But in time, those who had nothing and had nowhere else to go (and no means to leave the country) became long-terms residents there.

How You Can Help!

Each week we send $1,300 to cover the cost of food for the Pilgrim House residents and those who seek assistance there. You can help ensure that the money is available to send by:

1. Pledging to give a certain amount each month for Pilgrim House, and making that part of your Stewardship discipline.

2. If you are employed and your employer provides matching gifts, ask if contributing toward

Pilgrim House would qualify according to their plans.

3. Instead of traditional Christmas or Birthday Gifts, make a contribution to Pilgrim House

in someone’s name.

4. Design a fundraiser that would bring in community members to help support

Pilgrim House. Talk with Pastor Kim about your idea.

5. Tell others about the amazing work happening at Pilgrim House.

How Did Bethany Connect with Pilgrim House?

Bethany began praying for peace with justice for the people of Ukraine immediately after the full scale invasion started. As Easter approached Pastor Kim looked for a video that would introduce the congregation to Ukrainian Easter practices, as a way to enhance our connection with Ukraine. She found several, but was partial to one of them. She shared them with Jason Roach, Bethany’s Technology Coordinator, and he also preferred the same video – a video by Cobblestone Freeway Tours about one of their tour guides and his grandmother preparing to take their Easter basket to the Stradch Church for a blessing. Pastor Kim contacted the Lviv office of Cobblestone Freeway Tours to get permission to use their video, (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0v6teMHXpQ). After the Easter Service we contacted the tour guide in the video, Taras Sabadash, who told us that his church – the one we saw in the video – had opened the doors of Pilgrim House to internally displaced Ukrainians who were fleeing the war. They were now trying to care for all of these people – trying to stand up a massive operation on their own and in real time (shelter and food and water and clothing and trauma support)! The war had millions of people on the move, many of whom were vulnerable, and on the move! And all were dealing with varying degrees of trauma!

What Happened Next at Bethany

Pastor Kim and Fr. Ivan held their first Zoom call, with Taras Sabadash as their interpreter. She was given a virtual tour of Pilgrim House and was able to hear about the many needs facing the Stradch Church as it tried to figure out how to feed, cloth and provide the emergency care that these people needed. Kim brought their needs to Bethany’s Mission Committee (which was chaired by Carolyn B. Hofmann), and the committee immediately sent money so that Pilgrim House could get a second refrigerator and some kitchen tools. We decided that Bethany would help Pilgrim House by providing money for food for the war refugees seeking shelter there. By the end of July, 2022 we sent our first weekly wire transfer for $ 1275. We worked hard to get the word out to the local community and our denomination about our support of Pilgrim House. We planned and executed fundraisers. In 2023 we increased our weekly wire transfer to $ 1300. We watched them go without light and heat. We watched them huddle in a storage closet when the air raid siren would go out. Bethany took our responsibility to help very seriously, and we made sure that there was always food.

This is What a Miracle Looks Like

By the grace of God and the generosity of kind people, we have made that wire transfer every week. There has always been enough to send to feed the people at Pilgrim House. In 2022 we sent around $ 34,000 and in 2023 we sent around $ 79,000 (including a $ 7,000 gift from Nassau Presbyterian Church to purchase a van for Pilgrim House). As of July, 2024 we have sent around $ 39,000.

Loaves and fishes? The jar of meal and the jug of oil of the widow of Zarephath that didn’t go empty during the famine? Elijah fed by the ravens by the Wadi Cherith? Manna in the wilderness? All of the above? Yes – all of the above! What an incredible blessing it is to be a part of God’s providential care for those in need! Bethany has been the jar of meal and jug of oil that stays full even though each week we pour out what is needed for the people living at or visiting Pilgrim House. To be used in such a life-giving way is both humbling and hope-filled! What a blessing to be a part of the solution to such a heartbreaking problem!

How Have Circumstances Evolved at Pilgrim House – Pivot and Adapt

Pilgrim House was initially designed with facilities to (comfortably) house 50 guests for short term retreats. At the height of the population migration they had as many as 70+ guests. As those who could leave the country moved on, they were left with long-term residents. This freed up housing for people coming to western Ukraine for medical treatment/rehab, and to be in a safe space while dealing with trauma-induced issues. Fr. Ivan felt led to develop the unfinished part of Pilgrim House to become a healing center that addressed the physical, psychological and spiritual damage of trauma, thinking that it would be important after the war as a place for veterans to heal before going home to their families. But no sooner was the space finished that the first soldiers came to stay. And they were not the last. Other groups began coming to Pilgrim House for a day or two in the beauty and relative safety of Stradch – groups of families who had missing or deceased loved ones who were in the military; groups of doctors who needed a break; teachers and psychologists; children’s groups, which Pilgrim House began hosting for children of the community and those living at Pilgrim House. Pilgrim House opened its doors wider and wider, seeking to meet the physical, psychological and spiritual needs with grace and dignity. They have been a living master class of effective ministry – listening and responding to the movement of the Spirit as revealed in the needs of their guests. Pivot and Adapt!

How does the Partnership Function?

Pastor Kim, Fr. Ivan and Fr. Petro work collaboratively and keep in regular contact through email and What’s App, praying for each other and our respective ministries and families. We share prayer concerns and they regularly pray for Bethany members who are facing difficult circumstances. Our congregations pray for each other and through videos (and livestream worship) we have gotten to know each other a little bit. Roksolana and Daryna Koltun (Fr. Ivan’s wife and daughter) came to visit Bethany in 2023, and in October of 2024, Fr. Ivan and Fr. Petro made their first visit to Bethany to say thank you. Click here to watch the worship service and to hear Fr. Ivan’s message of thanks: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEzFbBTNJcA&t=116s

We hope to arrange a mission trip to Stradch after the war. Until then, our members are always welcome at Pilgrim House. Pastor Kim hopes to go there during her Sabbatical in 2025.

What Happens Next?

We don’t know. Although Stradch is in Western Ukraine, it is also close to utility infrastructures and a military training base – all safety is relative in wartime. Everyone living through the war is exhausted and longing for peace with victory. But with the instability of our current geo-political reality, no one knows if or when that will happen. In the meantime, Pilgrim House will continue to minister to the physical, psychological and spiritual needs of all who come there seeking care. And for as long as God makes a way, Bethany will see that they are fed three hot meals per day. What a privilege to have their backs; what a blessing it is to be an answer to prayer!