Light fills the sky with hope, and the prayers of Friends today are for peace, freedom, and justice, the highest law of conscience that protects constitutional democracy in Ukraine and throughout the world. The sanctity of life cannot be protected by violence, humanity must learn the lessons of love.
Introduction:
Friends, good Lord’s Day. We will center down in silence for half an hour to feel the presence of Christ among us. We will listen and share ministries and publish a recording of the meeting for worship, announcing the Divine Truth to people.
Yurii Sheliazhenko:
Friends, tonight Russian missiles have once again invaded the Ukrainian sky, but we will not be afraid and will praise the Lord. The Most High over all the earth protects the souls of His faithful, delivers them from the hand of the wicked, the heavens proclaim His righteousness, and all peoples see His glory (Psalm 97).
The heavenly Father says: I will put My laws in the minds of men, and on their hearts I will write them (Hebrews 8:10). Yesterday we celebrated the Day of Constitution of Ukraine, preamble of which states that this basic law of our state was adopted being “aware of responsibility before God, to our own conscience, to previous, present, and future generations.” The Constitution is not just an agreement between people on how to live in peace with themselves and others, but it is also a covenant with God, an experience of communication with the Lord through the light in the conscience of people from generation to generation. The Constitution could not be imposed by force but only complied with voluntarily, because it shows the way how to make true the best aspirations of people and warns against unscrupulous behavior that harms not only others, but also ourselves.
Today in Ukraine, believers are imprisoned and tortured for refusing to take up arms and kill people at war. For speaking out in favor of a just peace and human rights, you can be put on trial.
By the way, the next hearing in my case in the Pechersk District Court of Kyiv is scheduled for 3rd July, I ask you to hold me in the Light.
We see many threats to the constitutional liberty and happiness of Ukrainians every day, and not only from the aggressor state, but also because of the fragility and vulnerability of our democracy and the rule of law, because of the ignorance and hatred of some in power, who even allow themselves to publicly express contempt for international law and the United Nations, whose Charter is a constitution for the peaceful governance of all humankind on this common planet.
And yet, there is a hope that with God’s help, the Constitution of Ukraine and international law will be enacted and empowered. I am glad that the Supreme Court seems to be starting to take steps towards legal recognition of the right to conscientious objection to military service and that President Zelenskyy has appointed a judge to the Constitutional Court, unblocking function of this institution, that gives hope for fair judgments in the cases of conscientious objectors Dmytro Zelinsky and Vitalii Alekseienko. Let’s see if there will be any steps towards the release of prisoners of conscience.
People will not abandon their conscience, the state must take a step towards human conscience. As Zelenskyy rightly said, Ukrainians are capable of protecting what we believe in, and we have inalienable right to live in peace.
And also, I am surprised by the hypocrisy of men who, by their own choice, wage senseless bloody wars, but deny women the choice to have an abortion. The Ivano-Frankivsk City Council proposes to the parliament to change the Constitution to protect human life from conception, which is a good idea in principle, and the proposed payments at the birth of a child and other measures of economic support for families deserve attention. A ban on abortions and severe punishment is a completely different matter. Justice cannot be achieved through violence. To preserve life, love and care are needed. Yes, this is a thorny path, and if men often choose the easy path of sin, it would be unfair to oppress women for the same. Two-thirds of the deputies of the Ivano-Frankivsk City Council are men. It would be better for them to think not about prohibitions, but about how to create an atmosphere of Christ’s love in their city and in our country. In Faith and Practice (22.57) of the Quakers in Britain there is a story of a nurse who changed her job because she had chosen not to participate in abortion, the deliberate taking of potential life, but having achieved respect for her choice, she also made a decision for herself to respect the choice of other women to have an abortion with compassion and understanding of their pain, if changing that painful choice does not seem possible. In the words of William Penn, love is the hardest lesson in Christianity, but, for that reason, it should be most our care to learn it.
Conclusion:
Friends, as Psalm 97 says, light is sown in the righteous, and joy on the upright in heart. And may the peace of God guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:7). So let us pray for peace in Ukraine and throughout the world, justice and freedom for all peaceful people. See you at the next meeting for worship.