Humanitarian aid will be on the menu as the First Congregational Church in Hanson (FCC-Hanson) will present a “Love Ukraine” night on Saturday, June 25 at 6 p.m. The evening will also include information about refugee relief efforts being undertaken in several sites throughout the war-torn country.
Rev. Dr. Peter Smith, Sr. Pastor of FCC-Hanson, has been hired by Samaritan’s Purse, a Christian Relief agency, to serve as a part of their Disaster Assistance Relief Team, which works in partnership with the United Nations High Council on Refugees (UNHCR) to coordinate the work of the several relief agencies wo respond to international crises. Smith, who has been part of several international missions, worked in Ukraine in 1995 with the International School Project, helping to rebuild the educational system there after the fall of the Soviet Union.
“I still have names and addresses of the teachers I worked with while I was there,” he said. “The Trustees and Deacons of the church were very open to my using scheduled sabbatical time to be part of a response to the greatest refugee crisis since World War II.” After a week of training mid-June at the Boone, N.C. headquarters of Samaritan’s Purse, Smith must be available to be deployed for three or four weeks with as little as 48-hours’ notice.
In Ukraine, Samaritan’s purse is operating an Emergency Medical Field Hospital, several mobile medical units, and an extensive distribution chain for both food and non-food items. Transitional Housing as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) facilities wherever necessary.
The evening’s program includes a full chicken dinner followed by strawberry shortcake. A multi-media presentation will precede an opportunity for those in attendance to make tax-deductible donations to support the relief work in Ukraine being undertaken by Samaritan’s Purse.
The cost of the dinner is $12. Reservations are requested: please RSVP to 781-293-7997 or at office@fcchanson.org.