See also: Kosovo Emergency, Spring 1999

STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) – A United Methodist lay pastor shepherding three congregations in war-torn Kosovo has made contact again with church officials in Switzerland. Bishop Heinrich Bolleter, based in Zurich, told United Methodist News Service he had not heard from Mehmet Sopaj since receiving a handwritten note a month ago. But the bishop, attending the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries annual meeting, was notified Oct. 20 by his secretary that Sopaj had called. Sopaj reported that he and his family had returned to Sallagrazhde and had found their house to be habitable for the winter. "It's not yet clear where the other members of the three congregations are," Bolleter said. The lay pastor told the bishop's secretary that there was a lessening of tension in Kosovo because the Serbian troops have disappeared. However, the Serbian secret police remain. "They are everywhere and we do not know what this means for the future," Sopaj reported. Sopaj had worked as a history professor in the Kosovo capital of Pristina before fleeing to Switzerland during the Yugoslav offensive. When he returned, his job was gone, because the Serbs did not allow teaching in the Albanian language at the university, Bolleter said in an earlier interview. Sopaj formed United Methodist congregations in Pristina, Sallagrazhde and Suhareka. He and the church members sought a diplomatic solution to the war. Through the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), Bolleter has disbursed money to assist refugees in Kosovo, using both Sopaj and a humanitarian aid group called Johaniter, which was to attempt to reach Sopaj's village on Oct. 21 or soon after. Such aid will continue to be needed, according to the bishop. "They have very hard winters there," he added. United Methodists can make donations to UMCOR's International Disaster Response No. 982450-8, earmarked "Kosovo Emergency." Checks can be placed in church collection plates or mailed directly to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Drive, Room 330, New York, NY 10115. Produced by United Methodist News Service, official news agency of the United Methodist Church, with offices in Nashville, Tenn., New York, and Washington. For general questions about The United Methodist Church, please call InfoServ at 1.800.251.8140.