Church Welcomes Ukraine Family, KBC’s First Camp & Women in the Military Draft

Pavlo Romaniuk considers it an understatement to say he and his family received a warm welcome to the United States from members of First Baptist Church in Hallsville.

The Hallsville congregation sponsored Pavlo and Larina Romaniuk and their three children – 6-year-old Emilee and 4-year-old twins Deniel and Olivia – as part of the Uniting for Ukraine humanitarian parole program.

The Romaniuk family decided to leave their home in Vinnytsia in Central Ukraine, southwest of Kyiv, eight days after Russia began its assault on their homeland.

The couple cited the safety of their children as their reason to leave their homeland.

For a week, the family endured frequent bombing, as the Russian military targeted nearby television towers, an airport and other strategic sites near their home.

Once they crossed into Moldova, the family began a 2,500-mile journey that took them westward across Europe – first to Romania, then through Hungary, Slovenia, Italy, France and eventually to Spain, where they lived temporarily with Pavlo’s cousin in Barcelona.

They lived in Spain more than three months. Then they heard President Biden’s announcement the United States would receive 100,000 refugees from Ukraine.

Sixty students from Kentucky and several other states gathered on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and Boyce College this week for the Kentucky Baptist Convention’s first Student Worship Camp.

Organizers said inspiration for the camp was sparked by the drastic changes in church worship in recent years – with guitars, drums and keyboards replacing the traditional organ and choir in many churches.

For one week, students were immersed in the world of worship – learning to improve their vocal and instrumental skills.

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A renewed effort to include women in the military draft is making its way through the Senate with conservatives voicing their opposition.

When a provision to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was introduced in June 2016 for women to become eligible for the draft, Southern Baptists responded at that year’s annual meeting in St. Louis by adopting a resolution opposing the step. Messengers again stated their opposition at the 2019 gathering with a resolution on expanding the Selective Service to include women.

The provision in the 2016 was removed at the last moment in favor. It was added and then removed last year.

The current version once again includes an amendment that requires the registration of women for Selective Service.