A Russian guided glide bomb struck two passenger minibuses in Kramatorsk, in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, at about 10 a.m. on 8 October, killing more than 30 people and wounding 18, according to Ukrainian officials. The blast also damaged a residential building and cars, and public transport in the city was suspended.
For the international circle of free evangelical churches, the attack was personal. In late September, pastors from Ukraine took part in the IFFEC general assembly in Nairobi, Kenya, where they shared meals and conversation with partners from other countries — among them Pastor Saito of Uniting Church Okayama in Japan. One Ukrainian pastor told the gathering that after preaching at the start of the war to sustain faith, he had returned to an ordinary verse-by-verse series on 1 Kings. Another described starting three new churches in a town where staying meant danger.
On 8 October, Yuriy, a pastor from Kramatorsk, posted news of the bus strike in the IFFEC “General Chat”. He wrote that 33 people had been killed and 18 wounded — a toll in line with the 30 or more reported by Ukrainian officials — and asked fellow church leaders to pray. According to separate public reports cited by the Japanese church, the Kramatorsk Free Evangelical Church had been meeting in a school building that was later destroyed in an attack, with no one injured.
Messages of solidarity came back from Kenya, India, Denmark, Lebanon, Poland, Brazil, Finland and Tanzania. Pastor Saito replied from Japan with the opening of 2 Corinthians, which speaks of the God of all comfort, and with Hebrews 13:8: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” He told the Ukrainian pastors that their churches’ presence was becoming a sign of hope in the darkness.
(Originally published in Japanese. Summary translated by CC / Connexion.)
Source: Uniting Church Okayama (Japan) — uniting-church.com
