As part of our joint Ukraine appeal with the Diocese in Europe, USPG has been working alongside the Lutheran World Federation (LWF). In May, they invited us to a Psychological First Aid training course for those who work with refugees. Two representatives from the Diocese in Europe attended: Madeleine Cuckson (Ukrainian Aid Programme Manager in Romania) and Dan Culbertson, curate from St Margaret's Church in Budapest.
Here's an account of their time:
Over 9-11th May we went to Prague for a LWF training course about pastoral care in the migration context. It was attended by a group of about 30 Lutheran volunteers and clergy came from all over Europe: Romania, Hungary, Ukraine, Poland, Czechia, Germany, Latvia, Estonia, Slovakia and beyond. Within such an international group, it was often a challenge to find a language we could all understand. However, the one thing that all of us did understand are the challenges of helping Ukrainians who have fled the war.
Many of the attendees have been working very hard throughout the last 14 months to provide housing, food, jobs, administrative help, psychological and spiritual support to refugees. Experiences included one Lutheran pastor who has become the temporary legal guardian of a Ukrainian teenage boy. With so much work taking place there was some sense of fatigue but everyone in the room was committed to learn how to provide better support for those who have experienced the trauma of fleeing from a war and the challenges of settling in a new country.
Ekatarina, a Ukrainian psychologist who had fled with her son to Germany, taught us some of the skills of Psychological First Aid. For example, identifying colours in a room can help someone pay attention to the present. Painting can help a child who has a hard time expressing emotions communicate their experiences, while drawing with a pencil can give a greater feeling of control over overwhelming circumstances.
Everyone at the training felt the great importance of the stories that Ukrainians had shared with them and the emotional challenges of providing care. We were given some concrete tools to not only help others, but to keep ourselves emotionally and mentally healthy in such a challenging environment. The volunteers present were just like so many people we know, all over Europe, who are helping during this crisis. One volunteer from Poland said “It’s like in Esther, where it says that if Esther doesn’t do something, God will find someone else to deliver the people. I don’t want to miss the opportunity to help.”.
That desire to be part of God’s response to suffering was such a strong common theme that the Regional Secretary of LWF said “I find it amazing that people coming from so many different countries, after one day, could become such good friends.” Perhaps it's not entirely true that many hands make light work, but partnership in the gospel is surely how God is calling his Church to respond to the world’s needs.
You can read about our joint appeal with the Dicocese in Europe a year on, and the projects that we have funded here: https://www.uspg.org.uk/stories/news/one-year-on-ukrainian-refugees-receive-vital-support-from-uspg.php
Please also continue to pray for peace for Ukraine. Revd Toumas Mäkipää, Chaplain of St Nicholas, Helsinki has written the following prayer for those affected by conflict.
Father,
Give wisdom to the leaders of the nations,
that they may be a force for good on the earth.
Sustain the anxious and fearful and renew them with courage from on high,
Comfort all worried families whose loved ones are in danger,
surround them with your love protect them from all harm.
Be with the sick and wounded,
Stand by all prisoners and captives,
let your mercy be shown to all and your power to heal and save.
In Christ Jesus your son, our Lord,
Amen