Social work

6 January 2010

The church conducts a string of social projects, which are carried out in a close cooperation and partnership with the state and the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations in Ukraine:

1. Together with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine the church is labouring to prevent abortions. A church representative is a member of the “Abortion Prevention Concept” task group, which is also working on a number of other similar projects.

2. Such issues as private schools under church patronage, state-likened certificates for the graduates of spiritual educational institutions are being resolved in a cooperation with the Ministry of Education of Ukraine. Church representatives also take part in scientific conferences, with one of them being the International scientific conference on the prospects of the educational development in Ukraine.

3. The church is also involved in social projects of Social ministry committee of the All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organisations in Ukraine, in combating the HIV/AIDS epidemic in particular.

The All-Ukrainian Council of Churches and Religious Organizations concluded an agreement with the Ministry of Health of Ukraine within the framework of the current agreement on cooperation in the field of life protection. The cooperation agreement was signed by Leonid Padun, the Senior Bishop of the Ukrainian Christian Evangelical Church, and Vasyl Knyazevich, the Minister of the Health Department of Ukraine on 13 July 2009. By signing this agreement the two parties demonstrated their willingness to co-work in the social domain and to apply the spiritual potential and social work experience of the church.

First and foremost, the agreement stipulates the development of the dialogue between the sides. The Church and Ministry’s representatives are due to jointly work in the following fields:

● Promoting universal human values and ideals; promoting highly-moral, responsible, socially-beneficial and healthy way of life;

● Providing medical care and offering necessary social, psychological and spiritual assistance to the sick, both at home and in hospitals, with the knowledge of the Ministry of Health;

● Creating in a legally prescribed way conditions for spiritual and psychological help for the sick in health-care institutions, including providing and equipping the premises in question if those are available;

● Partaking in public discussions of the statutory acts drafts on medical help, biomedical ethics, abortions prevention, HIV/AIDS, alcoholism, drug-abuse, other psychoactive substance addictions;

● Cooperation in the charity and fund-raising sphere;

● Implementing general incentive distinctions.

For the provisions of this cooperation agreement to be implemented, the parties defined the forms of cooperation. An intrinsic part of the Church work is conducting conferences, scientific, practical and other spiritually and morally edifying events on the basis of Christianity and religious traditions for employees, students and patients of health-care institutions.

Also the agreement stipulates cooperation on regional and local levels, signing additional agreements with health care organizations etc.

The conclusion of this agreement manifests a positive and constructive dialogue between the churches and the state, and establishing cooperation for the sake of changing the lives of people for the better. The Ukrainian Health Minister Vasyl Knyazevytch mentioned that he is expecting both parties to take active action and make definite efforts for the implementation of the agreement. In addition, the minister noted that his ministry is open to collaborate with various churches to improve the people’s health.

The sides voiced confidence that a long-lasting and fruitful cooperation would spring out of this agreement in the sphere of health care.