Steve James, senior pastor at Trinity Baptist, said having Moss as part of the church family has helped humanize the crisis in Ukraine. He added that the Lake Charles area has experienced its own difficult circumstances over the last several years in the form of several natural disasters.
The last few years have included a flood, a tornado and several hurricanes. Some church members are still in the process of returning to their own homes. The town’s own difficulties have helped the congregation identify with the people in Ukraine, he said, while acknowledging that their situation is even graver than what his community has been through.
“When you can put a name and a face to a place it makes all the difference,” James said. “They (Moss and other Ukrainians in the church) are a part of our family. Our church members can realize ‘I am not the only one in crisis.’”
James added that several church members are preparing to be a part of relief teams headed for the countries surrounding Ukraine such as Poland.
These six teams are made up of members from local Southern Baptist churches, and are in partnership with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief ministry.
Teams will begin leaving as early as Friday (April 1) and continue to deploy throughout the spring.
Moss said the crisis has reminded her of the importance of Christian unity, and of rejecting a spirit of hate.
“God never allowed the seed of hate in my heart for what is going on to be placed in my heart,” Moss said. “I see why people fall into that, but hate is not the answer and it’s not going to do you any good other than drag you down.
“What I actually see positively is how kind and friendly people all over are being, even people that we have never met … It feels great that we all are working for the same cause of helping people, saving people and our city.”
This article originally appeared at Baptist Press.
