Ukrainian Methodists Amidst Mass Election Protests
United Methodists are close to the action as mass protests broke out in Ukraine against “falsified” Nov. 21 presidential run-off election between Russian-backed Prime Minister Viktor F. Yanukovych and a challenger from the western part of the country, Viktor A. Yushchenko. For youths who were taught Christian values of truth and justice, it was a chance to transform beliefs into action.
“I was thrilled and so proud of our people for standing up for justice,” he said. Tishkovets, 21, is active in a UMC youth program in Lviv, Ukraine. About 40 youth are served through the outreach ministry of United Methodist missionaries Fred and Stacy Vanderwerf in Lviv, some 340 miles west of Kiev.
Hundreds of thousands are gathered in the streets peacefully.
The Rev. William Lovelace, superintendent of the United Methodist Church’s Ukraine Southern District, said there are 15 established United Methodist congregations throughout the country. Youths and others from the congregations have become involved in these protests, which are spurred on by UMC’s accurate news reports, which circumvent the government’s control on the media.
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“Though we live in the Ukrainian-speaking west, I, with the help of students, composed a letter in the Russian language to all of our UM Ukrainian pastors,” Fred Vanderwerf said in a Nov. 27 newsletter. “We wanted them to be encouraged to stand for truth and democracy. Many of them are in areas of Ukraine where news (controlled by the government) is not being reported accurately.”
On December 3, the Ukraine Supreme Court ruled that the run-off election was invalid and that it should be held again by Dec. 26, Associated Press reported.
The election controversy reflects Ukraine’s deepening cultural divide, said Vladimir Shaporenko, a native of Ukraine and on the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
For example, the country’s western regions have a more European outlook, while the east is largely industrial and economically tied to the former USSR. Also, the Russian language and the Russian Orthodox Church are more prevalent in the east, while those in the west speak Ukrainian.
While the election is still seen by many as a contest between eastern and western ways of life, Shaporenko said he thinks the more crucial test is whether the country can develop a trustworthy political system. However the election may mean a battle of east and west within Ukraine, the important thing is “to have a fair election,” he said.
