The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is joining a dozen fellow faith-based organizations, including several other mainline denominations, in calling for peace in a simmering conflict involving Russia and 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.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, many have migrated to Russia for a variety of reasons. People from countries of the former Soviet Union came because economic opportunities were better in Russia during this time. In the past 10–15 years, there has been a growing number of people being trafficked from African nations. Often, they have been told that if they can get to Moscow, they will have a gateway to Europe and ultimately to financial success. Traffickers lure with many promises that are, of course, never fulfilled.
It humbles me the extent to which our Roma friends and colleagues practice hospitality, always laying a table for us with whatever they have. They are among the poorest of the poor, marginalized by a society that feels threatened by an alien culture living in their midst. I don’t use the word alien as a negative, just a reality. They are a people with deep traditions, a strong sense of family and community, their own language, their own music, their own style of dress. They do not wish to be assimilated, but they do wish to live in peace with their neighbors, if it is only possible. Often, should a job be posted, as soon as a Roma man or woman applies, it is not available. The Roma are also subject to violence (pogroms) and blamed for any bad incident that takes place in a community. It is assumed that they will steal what is not nailed down.
Anastasiia Rozykova, a Russian journalist who grew up in an agnostic family, is among 14 Presbyterian Peacemaking Program’s International Peacemakers. She came to faith during her university studies, after taking a course in world religions and reading about Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.
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.
Archbishop Dietrich Brauer of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia and Other States (ELCROS) visited the U.S. September 9–18. Brauer visited Presbyterian and Lutheran churches in Topeka, St. Louis, Louisville, Chicago and Asheboro, North Carolina.
