A congregation in Illinois has made and distributed hundreds of wooden crosses for people to place in their yards to remind them to think and pray for Ukrainians suffering under the Russian invasion.

Sterling United Methodist Church of East Jordan began making 18-inch-high, 12-inch-wide white crosses in late February when Russia launched its invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

Pastor Jim Miller of East Jordan UMC told the Christian Post that his church had distributed just over 700 crosses and was making even more.

“Everyone in the country, if they have a heart, wants to do something,” Miller said. “We don’t have the means to go there and help. Most people would be too afraid to go there, but if we are really Christians, then we believe that God will help them.”

Miller said the church decided to make crosses that could be planted outside because he believes that, given the invasion, Ukrainians would not be safe doing it themselves.

“Ukraine is great as a Christian nation, but it is persecuted,” he continued. “So we decided that since they couldn’t plant a cross, we would.”

When completed, the small crosses are placed under a two-sided marquee on church property, where people can park their cars, walk out, and take one home.

Miller considers the response to the church’s cross-ministry to be “astonishing”. He noted that many people told him “why they do it, who they do it for”.

“The biggest problem we see in our human condition in this nation and for the world is that every morning you turn on the news and you get a new crisis and our interest and focus on the previous crisis wanes and fades away,” he said. said Miller. .

“I hope putting the crosses will remind people of those poor people who are suffering. Just because we can turn it off in our minds doesn’t mean we can’t turn off their needs. So that’s like the main reason for which we are I do.”

East Jordan UMC also offers a special offering every Sunday on behalf of Ukrainians and holds a prayer meeting every Wednesday.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24, with Russian President Vladimir Putin claiming it was on behalf of pro-Russian separatists living in eastern Ukraine.

Although Russia was expected to achieve an easy victory over its smaller Eastern European neighbor, the Ukrainian population continues to mount fierce resistance.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded 11,544 civilian casualties in Ukraine as of July 11, including 5,024 killed and 6,520 injured.

The death toll includes at least 141 girls, 161 boys and 41 children whose gender is still unknown.

“Most of the recorded civilian casualties were caused by the use of explosive weapons with a wide area of ​​effect, including bombardments from heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems, and air and missile strikes” , reports the agency.

“OHCHR believes that the actual figures are considerably higher, as receipt of information from some locations where intense hostilities took place has been delayed and many reports are still awaiting confirmation.”

Some scholars have compared the current conflict to the Crimean War of the 1850s in which Tsarist Russia unsuccessfully attempted to acquire territory along the Black Sea despite its large army.

“There are very distinct parallels,” said British historian and author Orlando Figes in an interview with National Public Radio. “And I think Putin probably outdid himself the same way Nicholas I did.”