Air-raid sirens cut through the everyday sounds of life. A warning app lights up on mobile phones, urging people to seek shelter. For Ukrainians, this has become part of daily routine. For three European United Methodist bishops visiting western Ukraine in late March, it was a stark reminder that war is not an abstract headline but a lived reality.
Bishops Stefan Zürcher (Central and Southern Europe), Werner Philipp (Germany) and Knut Refsdal (Northern Europe, Baltic States and Ukraine) traveled to Transcarpathia and the city of Lviv. Their purpose was to stand alongside United Methodist congregations and those displaced by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and to make one message unmistakably clear: You are not alone, you have not been forgotten.
Bishops’ Visit Show Ministries We Care
The visit itself was a deliberate sign of solidarity. While United Methodist churches across Europe have supported Ukraine since the beginning of the war in 2022 — through humanitarian aid, prayer and hosting refugees — this journey was about presence.
At a meeting in the fall of 2025, Refsdal told the others about his plans to visit, and they realized the solidarity they could show if they all went together.
“Since the beginning of the war, United Methodists in these countries have both accompanied refugees and supported the work in Ukraine through humanitarian aid deliveries,” said Zürcher, whose episcopal area includes The United Methodist Church in Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania.
Traveling with Ukraine and Moldova District Superintendent the Rev. Oleg Starodubets and his wife, the Rev. Yulia Starodubets, the bishops visited ministries in Uzhhorod and Lviv. Their stops included youth centers, refugee shelters, worship services, celebrations and discussions with refugees.
“There is a difference between reading the news every day and actually being here,” Philipp said.
In Lviv the War Became Personal
In Lviv, the bishops met a lively young congregation. On a Friday evening, they were there for meetings and a simple worship service. Zürcher said there were 25 to 30 young people there. Some of them had grown up in Lviv and the surrounding area, others had fled from eastern Ukraine to the comparative safety of the west.
Life in Lviv seems almost normal at first glance. Nevertheless, traces of the war are omnipresent: destroyed houses, military cemeteries, memorial plaques.
“The cafés are full, the streets are lively,” Zürcher said. “We saw a house that had been hit by a drone just days before. The windows of the neighboring church were broken. But everything had already been cleaned up.”
For Refsdal, visiting the military cemetery was deeply moving. “It was touching to see the graves of so many men and women, and to know that these are only those who have fallen from this region,” he said.
For Philipp, this was also a moment when the brutality of the war could truly be felt.
“When it is no longer just numbers, but names and faces, the war becomes tangible,” he said. “Here, the war becomes personal. These are not statistics. These are people whose families are standing right there.”
“One woman said, ‘The fact that the Methodists are here and giving us this opportunity to stay is, for me, proof that God exists,’” Zürcher added.
“The visit showed us how important a physical presence is,” Zürcher said. “The people there felt it: We are not forgotten. The fact that we came as bishops was a sign of solidarity for them.”\
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excerpt from a story by Michael Löffler and Sigmar Friedrich, Löffler is theological director of the church office in the Germany Regional Conference and assistant to the bishop. Friedrich is communication officer of The United Methodist Church in Switzerland.
This story shows the impact of the Episcopal Fund—one of seven apportionment funds of The United Methodist Church—to sustain the leadership and oversight of bishops who guide our shared mission. Through this fund, the Church provides fair compensation, support, and accountability for episcopal leadership across the connection. Together, we ensure that every conference has the guidance needed to carry out ministry effectively and faithfully.
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