For more than two months, UBTS volunteers have been serving Ukrainian refugees around the clock in L'viv and throughout Ukraine. "Every day, our team encounters a lot of traumatic stories of people," our friends at UBTS tell us. "We are experiencing the trauma of war and are in the process of realizing our life will never be as it was before February 24. We do not always know how to respond to people's emotions, how to support them and not hurt even more; sometimes we even cry with them."
Recognizing this spiritual and emotional toll, UBTS sponsored a special roundtable conference on April 30 for students and volunteers serving refugees in Ukraine and five other European countries. Side by Side was presented in 59 locations and attended by more than 1,000 participants. The goal was to encourage front line volunteers who are emotionally and spiritually exhausted and offer them time together to pray, grieve, and ask difficult questions.
It also marked the beginning of an ongoing Christian counseling and training initiative that will equip volunteers to help refugees and each other with the suffering and trauma that has resulted from the war in Ukraine.
The day-long conference featured:
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Clay Barnes, PhD, Spiritual Director and Christian Life Coach from the Carmel Counseling Center, a ministry of Carmel Church in Matthews, NC, addressed the topic of Spiritual, Psychological and Emotional Health, along with colleagues Emily Snodgrass and Rebekah Schlottman, both Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselors.
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Alex Savich, Director of the Pastoral Department at UBTS spoke about Identity: How does God see me now? Where is God in today's events?
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UBTS President Slavic Pyzh presented A new vision: A change of Mentality from "Victim" to "Ambassador."
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Fedir Raychynets, Head of the Department of Theology at Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary, discussed Volunteering is Like a Marathon During the War.
In addition to participating in the conference, Clay and his team conducted training and had personal consultations with all UBTS staff and volunteers. Also assisting on the ground in L'viv are John and Suzanne Galvin, two practicing attorneys from the St. Louis, MO area who are serving as crisis relief chaplains for The BGEA Rapid Response Team.
