Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe

The article below is taken from the webpage of our Budapest church. You can find the latest updates here: https://budapestipresb.hu/#blog If you would like to contribute to help the refugees and the need in Ukraine, please find the details at the end of this article.

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As I write, Ukrainian and Russian delegations begun talks about the possible ending of war. Many in Ukraine are skeptical about the success of these peace talks.

Today morning we gathered together with the fellow pastors and elders to listen to the reports from our pastors and elders in Ukraine. The news in the media, quite understandibly, focus on the fights in Kiev and eastern Ukraine. But the situation in the western part of the country is rather severe, much more than it is reported in the news. Since most of the resources are redirected to support the regions in the war zones, there is shortage of food and fuel in the most western part of Ukraine (Zakarpatska Oblast). The food prices have already tripled or quadrupled. Our elder in Ukraine told us that the stores have supplies for about two weeks, what happens after that, nobody knows.

Still, many have stayed in the country. Some hope that the war will end soon and things will go back to normal. Others have cattle or poultry and do not want to leave it behind. Still others fear of the marauders that might come with the chaos of war. To prevent their houses and properties from being plundered they rather stay at home. But still, these people need help, and so do the many tens or hundreds of thousands that flee from the war zones to the western regions of Ukraine.

How can we help in these situation? We see two main avenues. First, to help financially, so people who stay can store up reserves for the coming weeks both for their families and for others who will be in need. Even this financial help is not easy, as the bank system is down in Ukraine. But we have ways to help them. Second, to help those who want to leave the country and seek asylum in Hungary but couldn’t do this before because they did not have the means for that.

To this two areas of aid, I need to add a third one, which aims the mid- and long-term help. Our church property in Miskolc can host up to forty people. In our Budapest church property and in the apartments generously donated by church members and friends, we can hopefully accommodate another 15-20. These people will need help, not just now but in the coming weeks and months. Men will need assistance to find jobs, wives and children will need help with schools, education, health-care, and so on.

Our Hungarian and Romanian churches stand together collectively and generously for this cause. And the dear brothers abroad expressed their willingness and hearfelt desire to help. Amidst all the dark events, this unified eagerness to help testifies to the unity we have in Christ. “​By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

So, how can you help? The needs are great, and for many people we will likely need to provide some kind of support for a longer term, not just in the coming days and weeks.

We deemed it best that the relief aids and support will go to the Hungarian bank account of Gál István, our pastor in Ukraine. Please label your support as “Humanitarian aid for Ukraine”. The account is supervised by our denomination-wide relief board, we will do precise and faithful accounting. The details are as follows (please choose the account number of the currency in which you will send the aid).

• Account holder’s name: Gal Istvan
• Account number HUNGARIAN FORINT (IBAN): HU19 1177 3346 0308 7376 0000 0000
• Account number EURO (IBAN): HU37 1177 5348 7766 7881 0000 0000
• Account number US DOLLAR (IBAN): HU37 1177 5441 4053 3016 0000 0000
• SWIFT number: OTPVHUHB
• Bank’s name: OTP Bank Nyrt.
• Bank's address: Szabadsag ter 33, Vasarosnameny, 4800, Hungary
• USA Correspondent bank (name): Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, New York
• Beneficiary's address (if necessary): Kartacs utca 1, Miskolc, 3527, Hungary
• Beneficiary's e-mail (if necessary): g.istvan.a@gmail.com 
• Beneficiary's phone number (if necessary): +36 30 978 5802

Account for domestic HUF transfer // Magyar számlaszám belföldi utaláshoz

• Gál István
• 11773346-03087376-00000000
• OTP Bank Nyrt.

Thank you so much, dear Brothers.