heks

Interchurch aid, as we know it today in the form of welfare work and church partnerships, has its origins in post-war aid. The main beneficiaries were civil parishes where the aid was directed to their work in support of the needy, in the first instance in the countries directly bordering on Switzerland, but extending to other countries in the south and east of Europe as early as the beginning of the nineteen-fifties.

Up until the political shift in 1989 HEKS entertained friendly relations with European churches and organisations to co-finance many pastoral and charitable initiatives - mainly in Eastern, Central and South-Eastern Europe. HEKS also set up church partnerships and meetings despite the Iron Curtain - initiatives which proved indispensable to the life, and sometimes to the survival, of the churches in the socialist countries in their struggle under ideological pressure.

Interchurch aid is a mutual expression of ecumenical fellowship of church communities and church bodies. The aims of the projects promoting interchurch aid, numbering some 35 in all, have remained the same throughout the years, namely to support partner churches and outreach work, and to be there for people in the spirit of the Gospels – irrespective of their denomination – because need knows no bounds, not even confessional ones.

Interchurch aid is genuine and tangible service to others and church partnership which we shall attempt to illustrate with examples from Hungary, the Ukraine, Romania and the Czech Republic:

In Berekfürdö, Hungary, HEKS has been supporting the “House of Reconciliation” retreat centre for over a decade. One contribution funded necessary renovations. In Beregszász in the Ukraine the small Reformed church of the Hungarian minority runs a welfare point with a soup kitchen, clothes bank, clinic, and resource centre for humanitarian operations. In Transylvania in Romania church co-workers organise advanced training courses in counselling and support for those seeking help and advice. In Prague refurbishment work is underway on a property belonging to the Protestant Church of the Bohemian Brothers. It is hoped that, once the work has been finished, the rental income will allow the church to cover some of its administration expenses.