We worshipped for a just peace with wise words of Bible and Hryhoriy Skovoroda, and also in singing. We enjoyed the news that President Zelensky received a Gospel as a gift. In spiritual movement, the Meeting asked the Care Committee to promote legislative solutions to ensure alternative nonmilitary service during the war, and media committee to care about communication of Quakers in messengers and social media.
Introduction:
Good day, Friends. We will worship during half an hour in a joyful presence of Christ, and our meeting for worship will be recorded and published because the Gospel says that the light must shine in darkness (John 1:5). When the spirit leads you to share your inward light, simply turn on the microphone and start your ministry. God hears every voice, and the voice of Jesus speaks to every heart. We connect with God directly, the inward light in every soul is the primary source of truth. So let’s worship together in silence to hear the tiny quiet voice of the Holy Spirit within us.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Friends, during the World Plenary Meeting I witnessed how people are singing during the meeting for worship. And now I want to sing words of simple ministry.
God makes me an instrument of peace, an instrument of peace.
God makes me an instrument of peace, an instrument of peace.
Friends, Ukrainian philosopher Hryhoriy Skovoroda wrote: how we owe our mother the Bible, which carefully brings the higher spirit into our ears, using the words Parent, Lord, other man, light, joy, pleasure, peace, etc. The Bible shouts to you: the spirit of God lives in you (Romans 8:9), the other man is the Lord from heaven (1 Corinthians 15:47). This is what it means to proclaim peace, to proclaim the path of happiness, to open the gates to success.
Such good news from Gospel is especially important in the current turbulent time, full of tragedies, when Russian aggression exhausts us, and we remain steadfast thanks to faith and conscientious peaceful work and refusal to kill, setting a good example for others, so that conscience forbids killing to every person, so that the life of Ukrainians and all brothers and sisters of our common planet Earth may be sacred and filled with the holy spirit.
You cannot kill a person, because Jesus lives in every person.
When everyone understands this, there will be the will of God both in heaven and on earth, there will be a just peace and there will be no wars and no oppression, dictatorship, occupation and enslavement.
To help everyone understand the sanctity of life, it is necessary to speak the truth publicly, and we rejoice in the courage of human rights defenders and civil society activists who are not afraid to speak the truth, we rejoice when representatives of churches and other faithful people respond to the cruel policies of those in power with calls for mercy.
It is a miracle when, amidst pain and despair, we are led by the spirit and find the strength within ourselves to sing a song of hope for great changes for the better, hope for peace created by our own hands.
God makes me an instrument of peace, an instrument of peace.
God makes me an instrument of peace, an instrument of peace.
Serhii Yamkovenko:
Friends, I want to make an announcement. On December 27 of last year, as the head of the Croatian national minority, I had a meeting with the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and was able to present him the Gospel. Our Croatian community has an old tradition: we present the Gospel to all potential partners, colleagues, and important people, because, in our opinion, it carries the light of peace.
Yurii sang the song “God makes me an instrument of peace.” The First Epistle of the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians 14:33 says that God is not a God of disorder, but of peace. Disorder is the Greek word akatastasis (ἀκαταστασία), which means complete disorder, disintegration, conflict. That is, it can contain a lot of meanings. But the word “peace” is the word “airene” (ειρήνη), also Greek. It means both peace and grace and is an analogue of the Hebrew word “Shalom”.
I would also like to inform you that now there is an opportunity – and we should take advantage of it – to offer the Ukrainian Government a good model of alternative service for conscientious objectors. After the UN report, at least at the level of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Human Rights Commissioner, they are ready to talk to us. I know that you, Yurii, have some experience. There is even a UN document that sets a kind of standard. For example, how to evaluate beliefs when there is a doubt that a person is cheating.
Because we, Friends, Quakers, are against cheating. We do not want anyone to make claims based on false pretence. We need to offer all this for them so they could start a dialogue with us. I will need your help here as experts. If our international friends join as experts who have vast experience, that would also be good.
Recently, during prayer – for us Pentecostals, this is a very important prayer – the spirit told me that I should work on this issue and that I should be brave. I hope you will support me in this effort.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
I will add a bit from myself. If we talk about international standards, then, of course, the state has the right to create a fair process for verifying the validity of conscientious objection claims in accordance with the standards of procedural fairness.
And it is very important that not only believers are honest, but also that the State treats them honestly.
A fair process should serve protection and promotion, not denial, of the human right to conscientious objection to military service.
There are relevant reports of the UN OHCHR, and I will be happy to help find them, and I will also introduce you to the practice of the European Court of Human Rights.
A large array of documents on international standards and best practices for the implementation and support of the human right to conscientious objection to military service has already been translated into Ukrainian and published on the FREE CIVILIANS website, a lot of effort has been spent on this. But, to put it briefly somewhere, I will be happy to help, especially if there is a specifically formulated question.
But I would also like to add that, among other things, the international standards recommend to follow a good practice that exists, in particular, in Switzerland, Norway, and Austria, of accepting conscientious objection claims without inquiries. That is, a person’s statement of conscientious objection is considered genuine if there is no evidence to the contrary. Of course, given our difficult situation, some legal safeguards can be thought of here.
It would be a pleasure and an honor for me to help in the development of legislation on alternative non-military service in times of war, if the Government is open to considering this issue. I will contact Serhii in the near future.
Artem Denysov:
I would like to suggest that you and Serhii discuss at the Care Committee the tools that we can offer the State if they want to check something after a person’s statement. For example, if a person spent a part of life in prison, or is regularly stopped by the police, consumes too much alcohol, there are facts of some bad behavior in the family and at this time the person tries to cover himself up with faith, the State needs to check this at the State level, make inquiries to its institutions and services like the police and then find out there. Because if a person comes who tries to cover himself up with faith or religion, we are not a State service and we cannot find out about all aspects of a person’s life. But we can suggest to the State what needs attention in such a case.
Serhii Yamkovenko:
Artem, I really agree that this issue should be brought to the Care Committee. I simply made a statement today that it is possible and that we need to work on it.
Artem Denysov:
Also, Friends, we have created a group of Quakers, Friends of Ukraine on Facebook. If anyone uses Facebook, you are welcomed to join if you wish.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
As far as I know, this group is an initiative of the members of the Media Committee. I did not know about this initiative, but I like having an unofficial discussion group on Facebook.
Serhii Yamkovenko:
Friends, I also suggested creating a community on WhatsApp so that we could communicate there.
Artem Denysov:
This will also be created because most people confirm that they have WhatsApp, at least use it from time to time. Because there are plans for several groups where basic information about Quakers will be distributed in Ukrainian and English, so that people in Ukraine can see, read and learn new things about us.
Serhii Yamkovenko:
I also have a request to Yuri as our clerk to help me to find contacts of Quakers, Religious Society of Friends in Croatia. I want to explore national opportunities, because I am Croatian by origin.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Okay.
So we discern the sense of the meeting and record, that (1) we ask the Care Committee to work on supporting efforts for making legislation for provisions of alternative nonmilitary service during the war in Ukraine, and (2) we ask the media committee to take care of better Quaker communication on Facebook and WhatsApp.
Kristen Richardson:
I would also like to say that I have some Friends who have experience in the whole matter of conscientious objection and have a sort of archive, how it progressed in the United States. It is now today far different than it was during the Second World War, but they may have some suggestions or perspectives to share. So, I will gather that up and send it to you, when I can. Although every context is different, there are some core beliefs and practices that may be of use to you. So, I will do my best to gather that information for you.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Thank you, Kristen. We can benefit from such theoretical and practical, historical and organizational information about the experience of the United States, how alternative service has evolved. Your materials can be useful to us in human rights work to help our authorities to protect human right to conscientious objection to military service.
One more point, since considerations were voiced regarding certain checks of a person’s personal life, using the data that the State possesses about a person, and so on.
Of course, it is important to have complete information about a person from that person’s statements, from fellow believers, from other sources.
But it is also very important according to international standards that if conscientious objection claims are subjected to official inquiry to verify a person’s statements about anti-war beliefs, there should be no excessive interference into the person’s private life and that conscientious objection claims should never be automatically rejected on the basis of any information, in particular biographical information.
Moreover, according to international standards, it is considered best practice to accept statements of conscientious objection without checks.
Artem Denysov:
I would suggest that this point be discussed in more detail at the Care Committee. It may be that a person once served in the army, for example, and then years passed and the person becomes one of the members of our Friends’ Meeting. Over time, he realized that the army was not for him and he no longer wants to return to it, and, of course, this should not be a reason for rejecting the statement of conscientious objection, if you once served in the army, that you were sworn in at 18, and now you are 40-50 years old and for you this loophole is an automatic rejection of the application for alternative service. Of course, this should be discussed and taken into account, because we mean the time when the person already came to faith and lives faithfully, for example, the last 10 or 20 years. There should be logic. We should discuss this.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Artem, this is indeed one of the examples where automatic disqualification is absurd: they say, if you served in the army, then you cannot be a conscientious objector. But it may be that a person’s own experience has shown and God has revealed to him that it is sinful to kill people.
There were even more absurd things. In South Korea, for example, they announced: if a person has ever played games that contain violence, – think about it! – he can no longer declare his anti-war beliefs and cannot be sent to alternative service. But a person can play games to get acquainted with a world that is alien to him, to understand others better, and, accordingly, to be able to communicate better with others later and, using the example of the very games, explain why real life does not have to be as terrible as these games, to seek mutual understanding and preach non-violence.
This is a very controversial issue, whether anyone could even be the judge of another person’s conscience.
And that is why the best practice is to accept conscientious objection claims without inquiries.
But, of course, in times of difficulty and turbulence, in times of war and democratic transformation, controversial matters acquire special importance in society and need to be discussed.
Farooq Javed:
I heard on TV news two days ago that Donald Trump is going to play a good role in stopping this war that Russia wages against Ukraine.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
There is a Ukrainian proverb: God bless our calf to eat the wolf. But Trump is not a calf and even less a lamb. Since he is a Republican, and Republicans are “elephants”, the question is whose strength is stronger, of elephant or of wolf. Just kidding.
Artem Denysov:
We also hope for the end of this bloody war, which was not started by our country, but honestly, we do not know what role Trump will play in this war, because at first he promised to stop it in 24 hours, then in a month, then in six months. We do not know what will happen. We can only pray and non-violently resist Russian aggression and help our country in the ways that our faith and our conscience allow us.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Trump talks about peace through strength, but he is already oppressing weak people, such as migrants, for example, by encroaching on their rights, wanting to throw them out of the USA. I am inspired by the courage of a woman, a bishop, who during Trump’s inauguration called on him to have mercy. This is a great example! It would be so cool if more Russian priests reminded Mr. Putin of mercy. I am convinced that we believe in peace through faith, through conscience.
Serhii Yamkovenko:
My brother called me. He is in the hospital now. He has pneumonia. He asked us to pray for him, to hold him in the light, so that he recovers quickly. I think the Meeting will support this.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
We hold your brother in the light.
Kristen Richardson:
I would also like to say that I find it hard to believe that it has been a whole week since I left Ukraine, because part of me is still there. I feel as though I have one foot each in two countries, one foot in the United States and one foot in Ukraine, and I hope, although it is a little disorienting, I hope it continues. I miss you all, and feel very grateful for the chance to worship with you in person, those who were able to attend and to foster our connection.
Conclusion:
Friends, thank you, it was a great joy to worship together for peace in Ukraine and in the world. Let’s hold in the light all those who suffer from wars and other injustices. I wish everyone a joyful and peaceful week, clear skies. We will meet for worship next Sunday at 14:30 Kyiv time.