Recently, many of our chaplaincies have been participating in the Diocese in Europe Lent Course. We caught up with Christina Laschenko from our chaplaincy in Kyiv recently and asked her to share something of their experience.  These are her reflections and responses: 

Why did you personally decide to undertake the Diocese' Lent Course? 

My motivation to undertake the Lent Course was in attempt to bring people of our chaplaincy together after the services, and to distract them from continuous concerns about the security situation in Ukraine and in Kyiv, from grave consequences of intensive nightly shellings,  and to turn their minds towards eternal and therefore more comforting themes of theology and Christian spirituality. And the course sessions proved to be a rather efficient mind comforter, that was mentioned by several participants. I experienced that myself. 

Roughly how many people attended the course? 

The number of attendees fluctuated at each session. It started with 5 people at the first session, then kept growing steadily to drop back to 6 attendees at the last session on Palm Sunday; the biggest attendance was at the 4^th session when we welcomed 9 people.  

The following are quotations from the responses to feedback questionnaire completed by attendees: 

What did you enjoy the most about the course? 

“I enjoyed discussions and frankness with which they were conducted, with ‘no right answers’”. 

“I enjoyed the final sessions as it felt very close to our lives as normal human beings.” 

“The course was very informative, especially about the history of the Nicene Creed” 

“I got the answers to my questions about the NC” 

What new have you learned, or in another words, what were you surprised to learn during the course (session)? 

“Biggest surprise for me was that Jesus ‘did not die’ according to the first version of the Creed.” 

“The two versions of the Creed and what the differences were”. 

“I was impressed with the fact that after NC the Arianism had not been giving up for another 60 years”. 

Do you see any connection between the words of the Creed and your day-to-day life?  

“For me the Creed is a reminder of everything that God has done and continues to do; and it is a motivator (for me) to do something in response.” 

“The words of the Creed for me are a reminder of what God has done in various forms for me which I’m ever in-debted and grateful for.” 

“I see this connection in a prayer”. 

Is there something that you want to know more about?  

The history of the Anglican church and its doctrine. 

We are so grateful to Christina and the community in Kyiv for taking the time to send us their thoughts.  We would love to know about your own experiences of the Lent Course in your chaplaincy.  Please contact us at communications@europe.anglican.org