Mason County Churches Team Up to Assist in Ukraine

With several hot-button issues making headlines in America it can be easy to lose sight of the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine. A group of churches and ministries in Mason County says they haven’t forgotten what’s going on overseas.

The group is called Mason County Aid for Ukraine and is made up of nearly half-a-dozen area churches and ministries. Pastor of Living Word Church of Ludington Brian Ford says it’s important the community doesn’t lose track of what’s happening.

“It’s easy to lose your focus because there is so much going on right now, but there is a war going on in Ukraine,” Pastor Ford says.

Mason County Aid for Ukraine began their efforts recently. They partnered with a doctor in Ukraine and are collecting medical supplies to send over.

“There’s no one group, one denomination. This is widespread and we’re all coming together to provide this help. Because we believe the Bible tells us that true religion that’s pure in the sight of God is helping widows and orphans in their distress,” Pastor Ford explains.

They’re gathering supplies at Help Ministry in Ludington. Once they get the supplies it goes in a duffel bag, then is hand carried all the way to Ukraine. Mason County Aid for Ukraine organizer Jim Scatena says they couldn’t have done it without the leadership of Jim Hill and the assistance of Help Ministry.

“[Help Ministry] jumped in at the last minute and is essentially our base of operations,” Scatena states.

They have two volunteers and two pastors board a plane to Poland and bring the duffel bags as their carry-on. Once they get off the plane the volunteers carry the supplies directly to the doctor in Ukraine.

“Right now we have two clergy on the ground taking care of pastoral needs. And two of our volunteers helping transport the medical supplies across the border,” Scatena explains.

Scatena says at first they thought they’d be too small to make a difference.

“My approach was to reach out to large corporate entities and they already had drives setup on a much bigger scale,” Scatena admits. “So, we took it down to a small level and the doctor continue to tell us how important that was.”

They say even with everything happening here stateside, they hope the community continues to contribute.

“There’s a lot going on in the world, but this situation in Ukraine is very dire. So, we’re asking everyone to participate any way you can to help organization like ours to gather these supplies,” Scatena says.

Mason County Aid for Ukraine is asking folks to donate basic medical supplies like bandages and medicine. Any donated items can be dropped off at any participating church or Help Ministry.

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