LIFE & STYLE
Windsor church aids Ukrainian humanitarian effort
by Maryann Callaghan
What could a group of Hawkesburians possibly do to really help war-ravaged and destitute Ukrainians who live half a world away ?
It was a question Mark Pentecost and his mates at the Windsor District Baptist Church pondered as soon as war broke out in Ukraine last year .
“ What can WE do about it was a comment which really stuck with me for some time ,” Mark , a member of the Windsor Baptist Church Adventurers Group , told the Independent .
“ We feel so far away , we ’ re safe and isolated here from Europe and you think there ’ s nothing you can do , but we can , and it ’ s a privilege we can do this .”
For months , Mark and his fellow church members have been industriously raising funds by a variety of means in order to purchase food parcels for Ukrainian refugees .
The Fettlers Shed at WDBC opens to the public on the third Saturday of the month .
“ We have raised enough money to make up at least 500 food parcels to be given out ,” he confirmed .
“ Since [ the war ] has kind of settled a little bit , we can help reach out to the most vulnerable living in the worst situations with food parcels and prayers .
“ Our money is sent through the European Christian Mission ( ECM ) so it can arrange to buy food and supplies locally or across the border in Poland .”
The current conflict in Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 when Russian military forces entered the country through Belarus , Crimea and its direct borders with Russia .
Windsor District Baptist Church ( WDBC ) has raised a total of $ 7050 so far through its fundraising bus trips and church-led events , including through its miniature railway drawcard , the Fettlers Shed .
So how did a Windsor church get in direct contact with people on the ground in the Ukraine ?
“ I knew a missionary in Malta connected with ECM and asked if he had a contact in Ukraine , and he did in Lviv ,” Mark said as he investigated further .
“ This church in Lviv , on the first day of the invasion , turned its building and basement into a refugee centre … eight million people have fled from the front lines , hundreds of thousands through Lviv .
“ ECM fundraising managed to get a 40-foot luxury coach liner to drive overnight and back from Poland to this church with six tonnes of bunk beds , food and sanitary items to give these people travelling through the centre .
“ I found out this church had connections with a local bakery , which makes 900 loaves of bread a day … the local ladies embossing the Ukrainian word for ‘ victory ’ on the top of the loaves to raise morale .
“ I saw footage of 200 people in the queue outside this church getting bread with [ ECM ] missionaries offering to pray with them , help them recharge phones and get people food and supplies during their 24-hour stay .”
As fate would have it , this church Mark was researching was called New Hope Church Lviv “ and it turned out to be a Baptist Church ” he said almost in disbelief . “ It was truly giving people hope as they came through this makeshift refugee centre .
“ Normally Lviv has a population of 750,000 , out of the eight million people who fled the invasion through this city , 250,000 have now found somewhere to live in Lviv , so its population is well over one million people – many who have had their soldier sons killed , family killed or missing and their houses blown apart .”
WDBC continues to fundraise to assist these refugees displaced by the fighting .
Giving renewed hope : So far , various WDBC fundraising efforts , like this Adventurers Sight-Seeing Bus Tour , have combined to raise thousands to assist in purchasing 500 food parcels for Ukrainian refugees in Lviv .
The food parcels they fund are practical , immediate assistance .
Across September and October , WDBC has raised funds through its monthly sightseeing bus trips , the Fettlers Shed model railway , regular barbecues , the Bargain Barn and Hobby Shed .
If you would like to help support WDBC ’ s fundraising efforts , the Fettlers Shed model railway - a detailed 1960s themed layout for model train enthusiasts – is open to the public every third Saturday of the month .
WDBC Adventurers bus trips are held monthly , the Bargain Barn op shop of pre-loved items is open Thursdays and Saturdays and there are regular activities for seniors , youth and children across its calendar .
WDBC is located behind Bligh Park McDonalds and KFC at the corner of George Street and Richmond Road , South Windsor .
For more information , contact 4572 6952 or go visit wdbc . org . au .
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THE HAWKESBURY INDEPENDENT theindependentmagazine . com . au ISSUE 162 // NOVEMBER 2023 15