Many Canadian international relief and development organizations are affiliated with the EFC. How can we find out what they are doing overseas? How can we support their work?
If your church belongs to a larger denomination, you may already have a connection to a group that is helping. That's worth looking into for sure.
Many charities are part of larger groupings that work together. Four major ones are the World Evangelical Alliance, the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the Humanitarian Coalition, and Kentro Christian Network.
- worldea.org/ukrainecrisis: Look on this webpage for the link especially for Canadians.
- foodgrainsbank.ca/news/pray-for-ukraine: This grouping of 15 Christian agencies includes many EFC affiliates and often manages appeals where the Canadian government matches donations.
- humanitariancoalition.ca/ukraine-crisis: An interfaith group of 12 international aid agencies based in Canada. Three are EFC affiliates: World Vision, Canadian Foodgrains Bank, Canadian Lutheran World Relief.
- kentronetwork.ca/member-map: Kentro is the new name for the Canadian Christian Relief and Development Association. Its website has a great member map of the world where you can click on a country to see which of its 50+ member organizations are doing work in a particular country.
Another way to research is to enter terms like "Ukraine conflict" at
TheEFC.ca/AffiliateSearch, which is a search engine that tries to survey the websites of our affiliate organizations. It's not working perfectly, but it's still a good place to start. You should find results like these:
If you find a charity that is new to you when searching anyplace online, a good idea is to check its reputation before donating. The Canadian Centre for Christian Charities has an
accreditation program where you can search the names of charities (note that browsing alphabetically can be tricky as groups with "The" as part of their official name are listed under T).
Another good idea to remember is that, while disaster responses are urgent, one of the best ways to contribute is by donating repeatedly over time to long-term development.
Prayer Prompts for Ukraine
For Peace:
Pray for the Spirit of the Lord to press President Putin to call off his armies and broker a ceasefire and in time, a peace settlement.
Pray for the President of Ukraine and the Mayors of Ukrainian cities under siege, that they might know your wisdom and strength.
Pray for our political leaders in Europe and at the UN, that they would be instruments of your peace.
For the Witness of the Church:
Pray for the church and its leaders in Ukraine as they and their congregations are suffering great loss while seeking to guide and serve those in their communities.
Give strength and grace to those who remain by choice or circumstance, for protection and courage wisdom and grace.
Pray for Russian Evangelical leaders as they serve in a very difficult and dangerous role of speaking truth to their people and of helping their own people to speak into the crisis. They need courage and wisdom.
Pray for Christians in both countries and outside that they may stay firm in the LORD with mission of peace and ready to become ambassadors of reconciliation
For Those Suffering Loss:
Pray for those suffering the loss of life, deprivation of home and basic needs, of family and community: for both for those who have fled to other countries and those who choose or have no option but to remain amidst the chaos and uncertainty.
Pray for those offering medical and psychological help, and those providing spiritual counsel and daily needs of shelter and food.
Pray for the Evangelical churches and ministries in Ukraine (and surrounding countries) as they use funds raised to support people in dire situations.
Pray that Christians world-wide will open their hearts of generosity as the need to help widens by the day.
Pray for ideas of support and comfort for those who have lost children in the war on both sides.
Pray for refuges, for their protection from predators, such as those involved in human trafficking and those who exploit them in their distress.
Pray for those in surrounding countries who are caring for refugees fleeing, that there would be evidence of the love and peace of our risen Lord in hospitality. And for their settlement as they seek new places in which to live.
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To help our reflection on what God might be calling us to think and do at this time, Phil Wagler of the Peace and Reconciliation Network has also helped to publish several blogs and podcasts related to these topics.