In Prayer and Solidarity with the People of Ukraine

Four years after the outbreak of full-scale war in Ukraine, the sound of prayer will rise in place of gunfire as we gather with the wider community in our sanctuary for an ecumenical service dedicated to peace, remembrance and steadfast hope. 

We held our first service of Prayer for Ukraine in 2023 during our regularly scheduled worship service, and continued this practice in 2024 and 2025. This year, we are flinging the doors open wider and have invited our ecumenical siblings to join us. Pastors and members from Ukrainian Greek Catholic, Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran and the United churches will participate in the service. 

In coming together in this way we show that we united in our our collective commitment to peace which transcends doctrinal differences. As Scripture reminds us, we are all one in Christ. 

Our world often feels like it is crushing under the weight of prejudice, oppression, and injustice. Despair nips at the edges of our hope. In such a world, gathering in community to pray for peace becomes an act of defiance against hatred. It is a way of asserting together, that love and goodness are more powerful that fear and hate.

As we pray for peace in Ukraine and throughout the world,  prayer also cultivates our own inner peace which can then radiate outward to our families, neighbourhoods and our wider and community. 

Prayer, too, can move us beyond words. Gathering intentionally for prayer often awakens us to further concrete actions—supporting humanitarian aid, standing alongside refugees, and advocating for peace wherever violence desecrates the bonds of our common humanity. 

And finally, although the service will take place within the four walls of our church, I encourage you not to think of it as only  a local event. Rather, see it as spiritual bridge connecting us with millions of people around the world who are praying, remembering and standing in solidarity with the people of Ukraine. 

I invite you to join us for this service of prayer—whether you come carrying grief, hope, questions, or simply a longing to stand with others in silence and song. Your presence matters. In gathering together, we become part of the prayer itself, bearing witness to the peace God, the presence of divine harmony, or Shalom .