What can we do in response to the situation in Ukraine?

We can …

Pray | Act | Give

We can pray

Please continue to pray for the people of Ukraine and all who are affected, directly and by ripple effects, of the conflict. Pray for the evacuees, in particular those who come to the UK, for their hosts and other supporters.

In a recent update from Alege Viata church in Romania, we heard: “Last Friday we had a great prayer-evangelistic fellowship! 4 Ukrainian families (not Christians) came. Our dream is that this will grow into something like a church. We are looking now for a pastor: a Russian or Ukrainian speaker, local or from Moldova or Ukraine. Preferably with counselling experience. There are some really bad cases. One family just came from shelling and bombing. Pray for helpers from local churches, to start a Ukrainian teen ministry here.

We can act

Several Saint James families are generously hosting Ukrainian evacuees. Apart from opening their homes, this has involved considerable support in navigating visa applications, travel to and arrival in the UK, registering with local schools and medical services and helping them connect into the local community. A number of other families are providing back-up support of various kinds to the hosts and their guests.

We have registered with Welcome Churches, an organisation that has a strong history of partnering with and equipping churches to care proactively for refugees in their community. A small group from within our church family are planning and overseeing our responses.

We can give

We can also give financially to support the response to the humanitarian needs of those caught up in, and fleeing the conflict in Ukraine.

We have established a Saint James Refugee Fund from which are able to support refugee initiatives in neighbouring countries to Ukraine, as well as supporting, and partnering with others supporting, refugees as they arrive in the UK.  You can see the policy and process for how the fund will be administered here.

To give to the Refugee Fund please make payments by bank transfer to:

Name:PCC of St James Gerrards Cross
Sort Code:60-08-34
Account Number:51176858
Reference:Refugee Fund

Please send cheques payable to the PCC of St James Gerrards Cross and Fulmer, marked ‘Refugee Fund’ on the back to:

Saint James Church Centre
Oxford Road
Gerrards Cross
SL9 7D

So far we have contributed to initiatives in Romania, Moldova and Czech Republic.

Details of some of the work we are supporting can be found here:

  • Kindergarten and day camp (May – September) in partnership with local schools, hosting 90 Ukrainian children, their mothers and infant siblings.
  • Church meetings in Ukrainian in partnership with local churches (Many who participate are not believers).
  • Temporary shelter, currently using the interior of the Alege Viata (Agape) office but moving into 10 modular units on adjacent land. See May 2022 Shelter Appeal and watch this video below for more information.

Find out more of how Crù are working with Ukrainians in this video of Martin Josten interviewing their leader Nelu Suciu. 

A video of how containers are being used to provide accommodation for Ukrainian refugees in Bucharest, Romania.

Below is a video of how the accommodation now looks.  Some friends from America raised some money for the project and went out to visit.

  • Graeme & Becqui Innes, serving with Crosslinks in Cisinau, Moldova
  • Petr & Veronika Tichy, serving with Betel in Kralupy, Czech Republic
    • Hosting a refugee family from Ukraine

To see previous news articles regarding Ukraine head to:

saintjames.org.uk/?s=ukraine