Ukrainian guests share culture at Baptist church in Poole 

Ukrainian children, young people and their teachers shared their culture in song, music, prayer and poetry with the congregation of Buckland Road Baptist Church and the local community on Sunday 18 June

They spoke of their folk stories, pride in their country, their gratefulness for the welcoming space offered to them by Buckland Road, funded in part by the Southern Counties Baptist Association.

Deacon Jonathan Martin said, 'It was a deeply humbling and memorable Father's Day, with church neighbour Jason Herbert speaking of intimacy with the Father, a remarkable concert with our Ukrainian friends, then afternoon worship with the Living Stones Church which worships in Russian, drawing together a congregation who originate from Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Estonia.' 

Jonathan visited Ukraine in 2019 to improve community resilience. Thought this was for a very short period of time, it involved working with medical, military and other professionals, alongside community activists, and gave him a personal sense of commitment to that country.

Following Russia's invasion, the church has sought to help by opening its building for local Ukrainians. They use the building primarily for education for children and young people. It has also helped with the usual requests for accommodation, accessing health and educational resources alongside others who often lead the way.

The church has also hosted a training workshop on Ukrainian customs and culture; on the challenges faced by refugees and asylum seekers, and on responding to them. It was run by ICN, an excellent Christian charity who are used by BCP Council (Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole) and Dorset Council, as part of their response.

Jonathan said the church is considering, at the request of the visiting community, assisting in creating a Ukrainian Hub, and participating in a Ukrainian Independence day act of worship.