I met them at a board meeting of the
International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague in March of 2012.
These four young Ukrainian women were about to
finish their theological education at the seminary and return to their native
country. They talked about the challenging opportunities for ministry they
would find in their homeland. I said I hoped things would change in their
country, and I wished for them many opportunities to practice their gifts
for ministry.
This morning, indeed, things are changed in
their country. I don’t know whether over the past 10 years they had
expanded opportunities for ministry, but I do know this morning their opportunities for ministry multiplied overnight.
For weeks we have heard reports of Russia’s slow
march toward the invasion of Ukraine. We have seen photographs of
the amassing of lethal arms and soldiers at the border. I have often
thought of those young women as I watched. I wonder how their faith
is sustaining them and encouraging them under the shadow, and now the reality,
of war. I wonder what opportunities for ministry this current
outrage has provided for them.
As we hear about tanks and sanctions, about
differing accounts of history, about economic and geopolitical shifts, we can
forget about the people on the ground in Ukraine. These are people
who prepare breakfast in the morning and get off to work, enjoy meals with
friends, care for aging parents, like to walk in the woods on a sunny day, have
dreams for their children, and love their spouses. Last night many
of them bathed their young children and told them a story before putting them
to bed.
In other words, they are like us. Except
today there are tanks in the street and missiles flying overhead, and soon many
of them shall likely die.
The All Ukrainian Associations of
Evangelical Christian-Baptists is a family of about 2,000 Baptist
churches in Ukraine and a fellow member of the Baptist
World Alliance. This morning the Association's President Valery
Antonyuk began his message to his churches in this way:
Dear brothers and sisters, ministers of the Church!
This morning, February 24, the war in Ukraine began. What
we prayed for God not to happen has happened today. And we, as believers,
fully understand that we will have to go through and go through this period and
this time.
The Bible says, “The Lord is my Shepherd. I will not
lack. And even if I walk in the valley of the shadow of death, I will not
be afraid of evil, for You are with me, Your rod and Your staff will comfort
me. ”
That is why we urge everyone, above all, to continue and
intensify our prayers. This is our weapon in times of war, military
confrontation. This is the first thing believers do. And we urge
everyone, wherever you are, to seek the opportunity in person, in your
families, in your churches, in ZOOM, where possible, to unite together and pray
to the Lord.
We in America can do this too; we can
pray.
We feel powerless to turn back the events in
Ukraine. It has been like watching a car accident happen in slow
motion and all our shouting could not stop the colliding cars. Yet
this one thing we can do. We can pray. This is what
people of faith do in response to things they cannot control, turn back, or
reshape; we turn them over to God.
I encourage all our churches this coming Sunday
to pray for the Ukrainian people and to pray for people in all places where the
will to power, greed, arrogance, and inhumanity destroy human community, kill
the innocent, and reward the ruthless. We must continue to remember
the ethnic minorities in Burma who for decades have suffered at the hands of
the powerful and the indifferent.
I also encourage you to send a note of support to our Baptist
brothers and sisters in Ukraine. Go to https://www.baptyst.com/pro-soyuz/ and
go to the bottom of the page; ЗАЛИШИТИ КОМЕНТАР means “leave a comment.” There you can leave a brief comment letting them know NYS Baptists
are praying for them.
And if you think about it, pray for those four young women I met
in Prague 10 years ago and for all those other faithful leaders who guide their
people through difficult times with words of hope and faith.
Blessings,
Jim Kelsey
Executive Minister—American Baptist Churches of New York State
