VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS)-The world relief ministry of the American Baptist Churches - One Great Hour of Sharing - has given $5,000 to the Union of Baptists in Serbia for flooding in parts of the country.
According to published reports, heavy rains in late April caused several rivers, including the Danube, to exceed their banks and flood the Vojvodina province which is a northern part of Serbia. The Serbian Red Cross estimates that more than 7,000 families have been affected by landslides and/or floods in 30 municipalities and the Serbian government is estimating the total damage at $45 to $50 million. To date, other regions of the country have also been affected.
Avram Dega, a leader in the Union, contacted Rev. Reid Trulson of International Ministries (IM) on April 22, to make the organization aware that Baptists and others have been affected in several areas, including Novi Sad. Trulson is an area director, responsible for IM's personnel and partners in Europe and the Middle East. Dega, who pastors Home for All Nations Baptist Church near the Serbian/Romanian border, said that critical short-term needs included water pumps, drinking water, and food and clothing for displaced residents.
The area of Novi Sad is important to Baptist history because the first known Baptist work in Serbia began in 1875, when Heinrich Meyer baptized four Germans in Novi Sad. Work began among the Serbs in 1925. After many changes, what is today the Union of Baptists of Serbia was founded March 21, 1992. As of 2005, the Union has 52 churches with 2,200 members.
In 1950, several American Protestant denominations merged their campaigns for relief to create what is now known as the One Great Hour of Sharing (OGHS). ABCUSA joined this effort in 1973. The collective effort raises about $20 million annually for development aid, disaster relief and refugee resettlement assistance in more than 70 countries around the world. ABCUSA raises about $2.5 million annually, according to the denomination's world relief officer, Lisa Rothenberger.
Andrew C. Jayne American Baptist Churches, USA Mission Resource Development http://www.abc-usa.org/