A crisis and a chance to be the church outside the stereotype of church in society: Pastor Oleksandr Gross of GELCU in Odessa, Ukraine, in a greeting to the VELKD synod spoke about the changes the war had brought to his church.
Iceland’s Lutheran church leaders and country’s President emphasize “no one has to be alone” and “we will get through this,” as they welcome people evacuated from the town of Grindavík which is threatened by volcanic eruption.
In a public statement, the Thirteenth LWF Assembly, condemned the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine and expressed shock at churches that “abuse their authority to justify aggression.”
LWF representatives in Ukraine and Bishop Pavlo Shvarts of German Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ukraine met with local partners and the mayor of Kharkiv to discuss expanding LWF work in Ukraine.
Poland hosts 1.5 million officially registered refugees from Ukraine. Twenty live in Betania, a holiday home of The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland in the Cieszyn Diocese near Bielsko-Biala.
Lutherans in Estonia have supported refugees of the war in Ukraine in many ways. They have made them feel welcome through pastoral care, practical support, and joint activities. A book now celebrates the pastors and volunteers who extended this “…
