Let peace and happiness come everywhere, into every soul; let the end come to all sufferings and injustices, the end of wars, armies and weapons. With this prayer, the Meeting of Friends of Ukraine supported everyone who refuse to kill, all peaceful people, deprived of life, health and liberty because of aggression and occupation, and expressed solidarity with Quakers in Britain, sharing determination of the Friends to stand for justice and a better future on a peaceful planet, sharing concerns regarding climate and Gaza. The partially saved icon on the wall of the church in Kharkiv, which was damaged by the explosion of a Russian drone, symbolizes our hope that faith will survive all trials and will help to build a just peace.
Introduction:
Friends, good day.
We are glad to welcome at our Meeting today and worship together with a new member Ivan Kokhan.
The next half an hour we will enjoy a silent worship, that will be recorded and the record will be published, because peace among Friends must be a common blessing.
In the words of William Penn, true silence is nourishment and refreshment to the spirit.
If you feel inspired, turn on your microphone and say your good ministry with love.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Friends, I hope that this spring there will be flowers and a sweet spirit in the air.
But for now we have been covered with a dirty bloody stream of bad news.
Kharkiv, where icons with marks of explosions cry on the walls of damaged churches, Dnipro, Kherson, other cities – Russian aggression steals human lives, and from Moscow in response to all calls to cease fire, only threats and ultimatums are heard.
Drones fly like locusts and explode every night.
It was expected that the obedient Putin’s Duma would hurry to turn people into cannon fodder for the next offensive, but I hardly expected that the Ukrainian parliament would not have enough courage to listen to the Ombudsman’s report on human rights violations due to military mobilization.
There are attempts to turn into soldiers even Christians, faithful to the commandment “thou shalt not kill” and commandments of love.
This is a diabolical invasion of war into the sacred space of the church.
And this is not only a spiritual, but also a physical invasion. Recently, the London police broke into the Quaker Meeting House in Westminster and arrested several young people who had a meeting there over concerns about climate change and the war in Gaza. We hold in the light the Quakers in Britain and share determination of the Friends to stand for justice and a better future on a peaceful planet.
Today, as two hundred years ago, this message of the London Yearly Meeting remain relevant: “Most, if not all, people admit the transcendent excellency of peace… And we can serve our country in no way more availingly, than by contributing, all that in us lies, to increase the number of meek, humble, and self-denying Christians. Guard against placing your dependence on fleets and armies; be peaceable yourselves, in words and actions, and pray to the Father of the Universe that he would breathe the spirit of reconciliation into the hearts.”
Thy kingdom come (Luke 11:2).
Kristen Richardson:
Friends, this morning at the dawn I hear song of birds. I pray for the people of Ukraine, hoping that the deadly Russian missile attacks will cease, that no more horrific explosions will be heard, and that Ukraine will enjoy peaceful dawns and the singing of birds.
Artem Denysov:
Friends, I am very glad that Oleksiy has joined us today. He is my old friend and part of my family for more than 20 years. He became my godfather when I was baptized as an adult, and I am also the godfather of his eldest son. Currently, because of the war, Oleksiy has been living with his family in Germany for two years, near the border with France. He has learned German very well, and now he has finally got the opportunity to work. Oleksiy would like to learn a little more about the Quakers. I hope that he will stay with us and, perhaps, he will become one of the bridges of communication between the Quakers in Ukraine and in Germany.
Ivan Kokhan:
Friends, thank you very much for the worship together. It is very pleasant and very joyful to my heart to join the Quaker community, and I will be very happy to continue praying with you in future. Thank you.
Vadym Korzh:
Good afternoon, Friends!
Conclusion:
We are happy to welcome Oleksiy at our meeting for worship. Please join our mailing list to receive information materials and announcements about our meetings for worship, to study Quaker faith and practice. There are Quaker Meetings in Germany, we can help you to find a Meeting to worship with Friends offline. Till Geiger, a German Quaker, published an article in “The Friends Quarterly” about the Peace Testimony of Quakers in the current conditions of Russia’s brutal attack against Ukraine. A very interesting article in English, we can send it to anyone among Ukrainian Friends and Seekers who wants to read it, but please do not distribute it further due to copyright.
Dear Friends, what a lovely time was to have this Meeting for Worship together.
We are ending with prayer: let be peace and happiness everywhere, in every soul, let the end come to all sufferings and injustices, the end of wars, armies and weapons.
At the request of our Friend Serhii Vedmediv, we will pray for those who are deprived of their freedom, those suffering from the Russian occupation.
We will also keep in our prayers all those who are forced to participate in bloodshed against their conscience.
Have a good week everyone, and we will gather again at the Meeting for Worship next Sunday.
Also, thanks to Artem, we could attend the private Meetings for Worship on Wednesdays.
We are grateful to Kristen Richardson for her invitation to worship online with the Chatham Summit Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends in New Jersey, United States of America. We will definitely attend this Meeting for Worship today.
Goodbye, everyone, have a good day.