When two congregations in Pennsylvania came together for their annual summer camp, they wanted to find a way to support the people of Ukraine. With the help of international partners, they purchased and sent 92 Luci Lights to congregations in Transcarpathia.
Bishop Sándor Zán-Fábián and Lay President Gábor Danku
During the early days of March 2022, a small group of volunteers from two churches came together to plan their annual summer camp. The two churches, St. John’s United Church of Christ and Zion Lutheran, are located in the rural village of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania. For more than 40 years, these churches have held a combined summer camp for the children of their congregations and the surrounding community. The children who attend these camps range from preschoolers to 8th graders.
The summer camp organizers decided on the theme “Be the Light” for the 2022 program. Every year, the summer camp supports a mission project. As the churches considered how to choose a mission project that reflected their theme, the nation of Ukraine was on their hearts and minds. They decided to use the funds raised from the summer camp to purchase a number of MPOWERD Luci Lights, a type of solar-powered, collapsible lamp, to send to the people of Ukraine. Supporters generously raised enough money to purchase 92 Luci Lights. Once the lights were purchased, the two Pennsylvania congregations just needed to find a way to send them all the way to Ukraine.
With the support of MPOWERD, the United Church of Christ’s national staff, the United States Postal Service, the Reformed Church in Hungary, and their Ecumenical Officer Rev. Balázs Ódor, the 92 Luci Lights made their way across the world. They were shipped from Boalsburg, Pennsylvania to Budapest, Hungary, and then driven into Transcarpathia, Ukraine.
The Reformed Church in Transcarpathia is now distributing the Luci Lights to people in need among their congregations and programs. They have a total of 108 congregations. They also operate education programs, rehabilitation centers, bakeries, homes for the elderly, a school for Roma children, a program for people with disabilities, and many more. Many people in these congregations fled Ukraine when the war started. Among the people who stayed are high numbers of elderly people, mothers, and children. Transcarpathia has also hosted more than 400,000 refugees in various institutions, private accommodations, and schools. All of these communities and programs have a need for extra resources.
The people who received the Luci Lights in Transcarpathia decided they would be most useful in bomb shelters, where natural light is limited. The churches are also distributing them in confirmation camps over the summer.