Evangelical Christians and churches have raised well over £100,000 to resettle 44 refugees from Kharkiv City Church and Irpin Bible Church in Ukraine at All Saints, Preston. May 2023 marks the first anniversary of those first arrivals.
The Lancashire church, which has a regular congregation of up to 250, was deeply moved by the plight of those fleeing the Russian invasion of 24 February 2022. The Ukrainians had woken to the sound of bombs, and had packed their bags and left their homes, not knowing where they were going.
One group managed to get to Romania. It comprised some entire families, because fathers were allowed to leave Ukraine if they have three or more children. Some mothers arrived just with their children. Most, but not all, of the group are Christians. Half are children and five students came too. In God’s sovereignty they were welcomed by a Romanian church which led eventually to a contact with Debs Macaulay, who attends All Saints, Preston.
Because accommodation costs are so much cheaper in the – far less affluent – north of England they decided to see if they could rehouse them there. But many in the church do not have spare bedrooms, and no-one could possibly house one entire family of five who arrived.
The plan was the church could take them on, whereby it became the refugees’ sponsors under the government’s Homes for Ukraine scheme. Then it would approach other Christians throughout the UK, particularly in the more affluent south, to see if they could help provide the financial support required. A ring-fenced fund was set up, into which donations (including Gift Aid) from over 80 individuals and churches were paid. It also received the Homes for Ukraine funding, although that was just a small percentage of the total income. The fund paid for the refugees’ flights and topped up their Universal Credit payments, when they began to arrive. The church also helped them find schools, bought school uniforms and waterproofs, and advised on employment opportunities. The whole enterprise was very much a team effort, both from within the church family and by those in the Preston community who wanted to help.
The biggest cost by far was renting houses, but they also had to be furnished and insured. And when the refugees started applying for – and getting – jobs, some based well away from Preston, they needed cars, all properly insured, taxed and maintained. But there is a housing shortage in Preston too, so finding landlords willing to let to refugees initially seemed impossible. But again, things miraculously fell into place. Using social media, some people came forward to offer empty accommodation, one at half the market rent. But the game-changer was All Saints member Chis Chetwood, who is a professional landlord managing 70 properties in and around Preston. He was able to provide seven houses, with the church guaranteeing the rents.
Since the refugees arrived, between May and December 2022, they have made great strides in supporting themselves. One worked in IT in Ukraine and continues to work remotely. Another has found a job at an IT company in the UK. Two are now employed by publisher Ten of Those at its warehouse. Some of the students in the group work in fast food outlets. All are learning English two days a week. Four members of the group have, however, since returned to Ukraine.
The blessings of the group’s arrival flow both ways. Most of the Ukrainians have very much become part of the church family and have integrated into church life, learning English and serving. Some other Ukrainian Christians in Preston also decided to come and worship at All Saints, which has become quite an international community. The effort of serving these refugees, and fundraising for them, has also energised and further encouraged the church to become even more outward-looking and Christ-focused. As Debs says, ‘God’s provision is incredible’.
Here is the personal testimony of one of the refugees:
On February 24, 2022 I received a couple dozen texts from all over the world asking what was happening in Kharkiv and what we were thinking of doing next. We hopped in the car just before 6 am and were on the road until the curfew stopped us in a small town in Central Ukraine. I answered briefly. I mostly texted back something like 'on the road, trying to drive as far as possible today', 'Where are you going to stay overnight?', 'I don't know, I guess we'll just stay with some family from church in whatever city we manage to get to.' They were confused and didn't understand how that would work out. That's because it's so strange for someone who doesn't know how the church works to imagine that we have family everywhere we go. Even if we have never been there before.
God used so many wonderful people to provide for us and safely guided us all the way from Kharkiv to Preston.
When I heard first explosions in the distance and the windows of our house trembled, I grabbed one change of clothes for each of us, yoghurts and my daughter's school bag. I have no idea why, it was just there in the porch and I did. It was all we had.
Nowadays we have everything. We lack nothing. When we first walked into our new house in Preston we felt strange. It seemed as if we had been there before and just left it to go on holiday or something. There were our pictures on the walls, casserole dishes of my favourite sizes, books on the shelves. There were snuggly blankets, fluffy rugs and even vanilla scented candles. After 3 months of playing mostly with sticks, rocks and whatever they cut out of paper, our children found themselves in a room full of their favourite toys. Tiny clothes were waiting for our baby boy in the wardrobe picked out just for him. A set of cotton bibs, a highchair, just like the one he would have inherited from his sisters back in Ukraine. It felt like OUR home.
We are all settled, we have no idea what the future will bring but we know we live here and we love it here. We are also very blessed to know that someone has got our back. We are so very thankful to God and kind and generous people of England.
