Rebuilding lives destroyed by the war in Ukraine

The Revd Dr. Barry Sloan, Partnership Coordinator for Europe in the Global Relationships team, reflects on his recent visit to our partner church in Ukraine and the support being given to those whose lives have been destroyed by the war.

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the United Methodist Church in Ukraine has housed, fed and served almost 2000 internally displaced people fleeing the war. I got to visit two shelters that are run by the church, and I was able to speak with some of the people living there. Every one of them had a story to tell - some of them unbelievably tragic, some of them incredibly inspiring, and all of them deeply moving. Stories of babies born at the shelter who have never been held in the arms of their father; mothers who have buried their husbands and sons, women who have suffered unmentionable abuse and terror.

These are just one half of the stories. I have not yet been told the stories of those who are actually facing the horrors of war on the battlefield!

My colleagues, and good friends, Oleg and Yulia Starodubets, are pastors and leaders of the UMC in Ukraine. Yulia is also a medical doctor, experienced paediatrician and has studied psychology. It is crystal clear to Oleg and Yulia that the trauma that they are seeing in the people who come to their shelters is really on the tip of the iceberg. It pains me to watch my colleagues carry the impossible burden of knowing that things are only going to get worse. They know that when the war ends, almost a million Ukrainian soldiers that have seen combat will return to civilian life. Most of them with some form of trauma. Trauma that, if not properly addressed and healed, will become a massive problem for that individual, his family and probably even society as a whole.

That is why, under the courageous leadership of my colleagues, Oleg and Yulia, the UMC in Ukraine is in the process of developing a Rehab Social and Spiritual Centre in the Transcarpathia region of Ukraine. This trauma centre will be a relevant and appropriate expression of church in this time of war, and its aftermath. Quite simply, this is church being church. It’s what we do. Because it’s the kind of thing Jesus would do. Serving people who are hurting. Walking with those who need a helping hand. Bringing healing and wholeness. Offering hope. Leaving no one behind.

They won’t like me saying this, but Oleg and Yulia are my heroes in this tragic and insufferable war.

Let me finish with a poem I wrote about one of the stories I heard at the shelter. (Writing poetry helps me process what I hear). It illustrates how necessary and important Oleg and Yulia’s vision will become. It’s the story of a brave and healthy young army medic and how the horrors of the battlefield have impacted him. It changed his whole personality - so much so that the psychological wounds are now more debilitating and destructive than the physical wounds that scar his body.

I was told this story by the soldier’s wife, who is fighting to get back the man she married, who although at home, is still at war. Lord have mercy.

Slava Ukraini (”Glory to Ukraine”)

Medic, touching lives with healing hands.

Saving souls hanging between worlds.

And dodging fiery darts in no-man’s land.

Bringing hope to the battle weary, angel wings unfurled.

But your angel eyes saw too much pain.

Causing chinks in the armour of a medic heart.

Your healing hands in bloody stains.

Told you that killing, not caring, was the way to play your part.

Now hands that gave blood, become arms that take blood.

No longer ‘Medic’, now ‘Demon’ your nickname.

With a rifle you crawl through the same field of mud,

As you fight for the glory of Ukraine.

Brothers all around you, cruelly torn from your life.

Push it down. Push it down.

Unmentionable horrors, unspeakable strife.

Push it down, Demon. Demon, push it down.

And on the day that you look your killer in the eye.

A pentagram of bullets tattoos your body in a fiendish work of art.

But at home someone is praying for the Demon not to die.

God’s way to use bullets is an ammunition pack that shields a heart.

Push it down, Demon. Push it down.

Don’t mention it. Do not talk. Do not share.

Push it down, Demon. Push it down.

Until it explodes inside you. Now it’s the medic who needs care.

Wounds that scare are touched by healing hands.

Trying to save your soul as you lie between worlds.

Fighting to bring back some kind of life, from no-man’s-land.

Messengers speaking hope in darkness, wings unfurled.

Helping, if you let them, to bring back the light.

To battle your demons and reclaim your true name.

So don’t give up bringing it up. Fight, soldier, fight.

And win the battle. For your wife. For your child. And the glory of Ukraine.

The specific work mentioned here was supported by the joint Ukraine appeal of the Methodist Church in Britain and All We Can.

If you would like to support the whole work of the Global Relationships team in connecting with partners around the world, you can do so by making a donation to the World Mission Fund of the Methodist Church in Britain.

Barry Sloan 30th May 2025