(FALLS CHURCH, VIRGINIA, USA – February 27, 2022) Der Baptistische Weltbund (BWA) verurteilt die Gewalt in Osteuropa und unterstützt die baptistischen Bemühungen dort, das Licht Christi zu sein.
In response to the rising tension along the Ukrainian and Russian border, the BWA hosted Igor Bandura, Vice President of the All-Ukrainian Union of Associations of Evangelical Christians-Baptists and a BWA General Council Member, at the organization?s headquarters in Falls Church, VA, USA, earlier this month. BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown also joined Bandura in a series of key meetings and roundtables hosted in Washington D.C. on February 10 that brought together representatives from human rights and religious freedom organizations in the United States.
SOLIDARITÄTSBESUCH
With more than 130,000 troops amassed on three sides of Ukraine, Brown traveled to Kyiv the following week to participate in a national prayer gathering on Wednesday, February 16, at St. Sophia Cathedral ? the oldest church in Ukraine. Brown was able to pray alongside other faith community leaders, including Catholics, Orthodox, and Pentecostals. Departing less than 100 hours before commercial aviation to Ukraine was suspended, Brown also gathered with the national council of the Baptist Union as they prayed and prepared to help Baptist churches serve as communities of hope.
SOLIDARITÄTSBESUCH
Leaders from EBF and BWA, including General Secretary Elijah Brown and former President Paul Msiza, are pictured during a solidarity visit to the “Gray Zone” in September 2018.
Das Wohnhaus befindet sich in der Nähe eines mit Landminen übersäten Feldes.
RELIGIÖSE VERFOLGUNG UND STÄNDIGER DIENST
Seit 2014 werden Teile der Ostukraine von politischen und militärischen Konflikten heimgesucht, und die bereits besetzten Gebiete sind zunehmend von Verfolgung und Not betroffen.
?In the Luhansk Occupied Territory, the Ukrainian Baptist churches were officially declared a terrorist organization, therefore requiring all of the churches to close,? said Brown. ?The Baptist hymnal and the Gospel of John were outlawed as ?extremist material.? The churches that have tried to remain open do so at great risk and in secret.?
In September 2018, the BWA and the European Baptist Federation (EBF) ? one of the six regional fellowships of the BWA ? participated in a joint solidarity visit to the border of the occupied territories in a region called the ?Gray Zone.? Participants included Brown, Paul Msiza, Tony Peck, Jenni Entrican, and Helle Liht.
Trotz Verfolgung und der täglichen Härte des Lebens in einem Konfliktgebiet sind in den letzten fünf Jahren 25 Baptistengemeinden in der Grauzone gegründet worden. In den letzten sechs Jahren hat der Baptistenbund in der Ukraine mehr als $54.350.000 ukrainische Griwna (entspricht mehr als $2 Millionen USD) in die Grauzone investiert, um dort Hilfe zu leisten, zu helfen und Gemeinden zu entwickeln. Pastoren, die aus den besetzten Gebieten geflohen sind und sich an anderen Orten in der Ukraine, u. a. in Kiew und Lwiw, niedergelassen haben, haben zehn neue Gemeinden gegründet.
Heute ist die Allukrainische Union der Vereinigungen der Evangeliumschristen-Baptisten die zweitgrößte Baptistengemeinschaft in Europa und im Nahen Osten und mit über 100.000 Mitgliedern in mehr als 2.100 Kirchen auch die größte protestantische Gruppe in der Ukraine. Sie ist seit 30 Jahren Mitglied der BWA, ebenso wie die Russische Union der Evangeliumschristen-Baptisten.
REAKTION AUF DIE KRISE
Am 24. Februar wurden die Herausforderungen, die für die Menschen in der Grauzone alltäglich sind, für alle Ukrainer zur Realität, als sie vom Lärm der Sirenen und der einschlagenden Artillerie erwachten, als das russische Militär eine groß angelegte Invasion zu Land, zu Wasser und in der Luft startete.
Innerhalb weniger Stunden organisierte die EBF einen weltweiten Solidaritätsaufruf, um direkt von baptistischen Leitern in der Ukraine zu hören. Mehr als 75 baptistische Leiter aus aller Welt nahmen daran teil. Die globale baptistische Gemeinschaft sagte ihre Unterstützung und ihre Gebete zu, während Bandura auf emotionale Weise die kurzfristigen und die zu erwartenden langfristigen Auswirkungen der Anschläge beschrieb.
Baptist World Aid Director Marsha Scipio convened a BFAD (Baptist World Alliance Forum for Aid and Development) coordination call on Friday with representatives from more than 25 Baptist unions and aid organizations, resulting in more than $200,000 raised within 48 hours of the first airstrike. Attendees pledged to raise additional support over the coming weeks.
“The level of support our global Baptist family is demonstrating to not just the Ukrainian Baptists, but also to the communities in which they serve, is a testament to the strength and generosity of the global Baptist movement,” said Scipio. “It is a privilege to come alongside courageous Ukrainian pastors who are keeping the church doors open amid inconceivable trepidation, transforming their churches into places of refuge for the displaced. With BFAD, we will continue to respond to the myriad of needs, as a people who believe Biblical compassion requires action.”
A video update from General Secretary Brown was distributed to the BWA?s network of Global Impact Churches, calling for prayer and support, as well as a call to action to its 245 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. BWA President Tomás Mackey issued a statement in both English and Spanish (linked in its entirety in the resources below).
“We regret that the humanitarian, economic, political, and other consequences of these actions are serious and painful,” said Mackey. “We have hope in the knowledge that God is at work in the world he loves and in which he has placed us as his disciples who learn from Jesus how to live with integrity the values of his kingdom and how to reflect the fruit of the Holy Spirit.”
BWA leaders across various departments ? including BWAid, BWA Women, Integral Mission, and Global Partnerships ? connected with Baptist leaders in Ukraine, Russia, and neighboring countries to express support and mobilize responses.
Baptist churches in the westernmost region of Ukraine have established their buildings as ?Centers of Hope? to provide food and shelter for the displaced. Hungarian Baptists have set up a humanitarian aid center from which they are distributing food and hygiene kits and providing basic medical care. Baptists in Poland are already welcoming refugees into their homes and churches as well as the Warsaw Baptist Theological Seminary.
HOFFNUNG GEBEN
Mitglieder des ungarischen Baptist Aid-Teams treffen mit einer ersten Ladung humanitärer Hilfe und Hilfsgüter in der Ukraine ein.
Auch in der Westukraine sind weitere Transporte mit Lebensmitteln und Wasser eingetroffen.
UNTERSCHLUPF BIETEND
Ukrainische Flüchtlinge, die nach Polen geflohen sind, suchen in Warschau Schutz im Warschauer Baptistischen Theologischen Seminar.
Baptistische Helfer berichten, dass Frauen und Kinder gezwungen waren, sich an den Grenzen einiger Nachbarländer zu verabschieden, weil Männer im Alter von 18 bis 60 Jahren den Grenzübertritt nicht machen durften.
GEBET
As part of the continuing response, the BWA has also issued an invitation to Baptists worldwide to join in a unified hour of prayer at 10:00 a.m. EST on Monday, February 28, 2022. This global prayer gathering will include prayers voiced from BWA leadership from all six of the ministry?s regions around the world. People are encouraged to visit bit.ly/bwaprays um ihre Zusage zu bekunden, sich in dieser kritischen Zeit der Solidarität und dem Gebet anzuschließen.
?As brothers and sisters within a global Baptist family, we are all called to be both peacemakers and people of prayer,? said Brown. ?As one Baptist family rooted in Jesus Christ as Lord, we bear witness to the biblical truth that ?if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it.? We know it is vital for Baptists around the world to stand with those who are suffering and to fervently pray for peace.?
Throughout the month of March, EBF will host an international prayer gathering on Zoom every Wednesday, rooted in the belief that ?prayers are more powerful than anything else.? Visit ebf.org/prayforpeace zu registrieren.
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The BWA is also the lead partner in organizing a multi-faith prayer meeting to be held at the United Nations Church Center Chapel in New York City on Thursday, March 3, at 12:00 pm EST. The service is entitled: Global Prayers for Ukraine: A Multi-Faith Service for Peace and Freedom in a Hurting World.?
?Faith leaders from around the world, including BWA General Secretary Elijah Brown, will be participating in a service of prayer for both the cessation of violence and the return of freedom to people in Ukraine,? said Scott Stearman, BWA United Nations Representative.
In addition, BWA Women and European Baptist Women United are praying with women’s leaders in both Ukraine and Russia. Brown is also working with Baptist leaders in Russia to plan an upcoming visit to join them in prayer, worship, and ongoing ministry.
Many of the BWA?s Global Impact Churches will be designating a portion of their services on Sunday to a time of prayer for the people of Ukraine. A prayer guide and additional resources have been made available at BaptistWorld.org/gebet-fuer-frieden. Kirchen und Einzelpersonen planen weitere Spenden, um gemeinsam als eine baptistische Familie zu helfen und zu reagieren. Beteiligen Sie sich an dieser Aktion unter BaptistWorld.org/spenden.
