May 31, 2024 Newsletter
WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH OUR UKRAINIAN FAMILIES?
It’s been a while since your Outreach & Missions team reported on the Ukrainian families that our congregation supports.
Let me begin with Nataliia Rudenko and her two sons Vlad and Yarik. You will remember they initially came to live with Marnie and subsequently we found them an apartment on their own. Over the period of time they were living here, they remained in contact with Nataliia’s husband and family. The boys especially missed their dad and their dog. Vlad in particular was at a vulnerable age where he desperately wanted to be with his dad and the feeling was reciprocated. So eventually Nataliia made the decision, in the best interests of the boys, to return to Ukraine in May, 2023. At that time, the bombing in Kharkov and the surrounding area had subsided as the Russian forces shifted their offensive. Plans to reconnect with her husband in Poland quickly shifted to a decision to return to her parents’ house in a small village near Kharkov. For a short period of time things were relatively safe and the family were reunited. However, Nataliia’s personal circumstances changed and the bombing once again intensified. Nataliia and the boys fled and they are now living in a refugee camp in Germany. I hear from her regularly and they are doing “okay”. It is important for us not to sit in judgement of her decisions. There has been personal trauma and like many things in life our plans don’t always work out the way we thought they would. Nataliia remains very grateful to everyone in our St. Andrew’s family who provided her and her boys with a safe and caring haven for the year she was living here. I will continue to connect with her. Please pray for Nataliia, Vlad and Yarik as they struggle to find a way forward that will bring them a sense of peace.
Let me now bring you up to date on our second family for which we share responsibility with Fairview Baptist Church. Snizhanna and her daughter Ivona are living in the apartment which we had previously rented for Nataliia. It was wonderful that it had already been furnished through your generosity. Ivona attends St. Dominic school and Snizhanna is working at Hill’s Florist. Roger and Debbie Hill are extremely supportive of Snizhanna and even kept her employed all season in spite of the slow down in business after the summer.
Snizhanna’s husband continues to be part of the Ukrainian forces. Fortunately, she is able to keep fairly regular contact with him. But…..he is unable to obtain a visa to come here and has no idea when that might happen. Snizhanna struggles with the decision therefore about whether she should try to find a way they can be a family again. I cannot imagine what stress that must cause her, worrying about his safety and as a young woman missing her husband. Complicating the situation is the reality that there is very little left of her home city of Sumy, the recent target of intense Russian bombing. As an Outreach team we are committed to continue helping Snizhanna through to the end of 2025. Please pray for this little family.
On behalf of the Outreach team, we thank you for your generous support of our Ukrainian family. We may in the near future need to request a top up to the existing fund.
Dianne Dalton, Convenor, Outreach & Missions Ministry
ANNIVERSARY SUNDAY
WE REMEMBER
Cathy Campbell
May 19, 2024
When you enjoy your next cup of coffee or tea in the new mugs from our kitchen, please remember Cathy for her kind thoughtfulness in making this donation. Our soup kitchen staff also appreciated her meeting the need of extra soup bowls.
Gift Cards available for purchase from the office for various retailers. St. Andrew’s receives a percentage of funds.
Say goodbye to Jim & Keatha Bartlett on June 9 at Coffee Social.
Elder Election June 16 - Ordination June 23.
NEW MEMBER SUNDAY - APRIL 28
Maureen Green, Marilyn Rampulla, Philip & Sheila Mayville, Margaret & Kevin Adams, Mary & Jesse Jeffrey, along with Elliot, Alexa, Jamie & Desmond.
On Sunday, June 2, we will celebrate Holy Communion. If you are worshiping at home, please remember to have your elements ready.
SUNDAY SCHOOL
The Presbyterian Church Flag has a blue background representing the sky, a white diagonal St. Andrew’s cross called a saltire and a burning bush in the centre (Nec Tamen Consumebatur). The church, like the bush that burned but was not consumed, will last forever. The Sunday School children have planted a garden at the south west corner of the church on William Street. The garden replicates the flag with blue ageratum, white wax begonias and a burning bush.
RECYCLED GLASSES: Deposit your unneeded glasses in the box to go to the Lions Club to help others in need. The donation box is in the hallway just outside the north entrance to the Sanctuary.
