As the war drags on in Ukraine, two years after the Russian invasion, Zion and our community can take some comfort in having made a positive impact on the lives of six families who have escaped to the safety of the United States. The families include twelve adults and six children. In most cases, they have found employment and are adjusting reasonably well. Thanks to the generous contributions of Zion members, Zion Foundation, St. Francis Xavier, Rotary, and others, over

Imagine huddling in a bomb shelter beneath the streets of Mariupol for three weeks trying to comfort a one-and-a-half-year-old boy and an eight-year-old girl, listening to bombs destroy your home and city above you. When you finally emerge from the shelter, you drive around burned-out cars with dead bodies strewn on the roadside to escape. The dangerous journey takes you through Russia, Moldova, Italy, and Mexico before six of you arrive in Montrose, Minnesota where your mother and her husband

Sponsor Ukrainian Viktoriia Kurylenko God has presented our congregation with the opportunity to become the official sponsor for another Ukrainian who is attempting to escape her war-torn country. Viktoriia Kurylenko is a 28-year-old single woman who is a cousin of Yevhen Hrytsai, a member of the family that arrived in Montrose eight months ago. Although we were not their official sponsors, we continue to assist him and his family as they have relocated to the Twin City area. Yevhen found

The scenes coming out of Ukraine since the start of the war in late February have deeply moved countless people from around the world. Images of Ukrainians fleeing by foot, car, or train, children and belongings in tow. Videos of Ukrainians sheltering in underground Metro stations, community theaters, and steel plants to escape shelling from heavy artillery, rockets, and airstrikes. Lutheran World Relief is providing food, shelter, critical health needs, emergency supplies, and emergency funds for Ukrainian refugee families in

If you are wondering about ways to support Eastern European relief efforts, Zion endorses the work of Lutheran Disaster Response. You can give to them directly or designate a gift through Zion. Give online at elca.org Lutheran Disaster Response is accompanying our companions in Ukraine, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia, as well as such ecumenical partners as Lutheran World Federation and Church World Service, in their humanitarian responses to the crisis. These partners provide refugees with immediate support and supplies such