Peace Liturgy: Prayers for Ukraine

March 13, 2022 Jeremy Duncan

Liturgy curated by Scott Wall

Gathering

Leader : O God, who called all life into being,

ALL : THE EARTH, SEA, AND SKY ARE
YOURS.

Leader : Your presence is all around us,

ALL : EVERY ATOM IS FULL OF YOUR
ENERGY.

Leader : Your Spirit enlivens all who walk the
earth,

ALL : WITH HER WE YEARN FOR JUSTICE
TO BE DONE.

Leader : For creation to be freed from
bondage,

ALL : FOR THE HUNGRY TO BE FED.

Leader : For captives to be released,

ALL : FOR ALL WARS TO CEASE.

Leader : For the sake of the innocent, the
combatant, the displaced, and
the refugee,

ALL : LET YOUR KINGDOM OF PEACE
COME ON EARTH.

[Adapted from the Iona Abbey’s Service of Prayer for Justice and Peace]

Prayer of Confession

O God, gladly we live and move and have our being in you.

Yet always in the midst of this creation-glory,

We see sin’s shadow and feel death’s darkness:

Around us in the earth, sea and sky, the abuse of matter;

Beside us in the broken, the hungry and the poor,

The betrayal of one another;

And often, deep within us, a striving against your Spirit.

O Trinity of love,

Forgive us that we may forgive one another,

Heal us that we may be people of healing,

And renew us that we also may be makers of peace.

[moment of silence]

ALL:

Lord, have mercy

Christ, have mercy

Lord, have mercy

Prayer for Courage
[from the Corrymeela Community]

Courage comes from the heart

and we are always welcomed by God,

the Croí [Irish: heart] of all being.

We bear witness to our faith,

knowing that we are called

to live lives of courage,

love and reconciliation

in the ordinary and extraordinary

moments of each day.

We bear witness, too, to our failures

and our complicity in the fractures of our world.

May we be courageous today.

May we learn today.

May we love today.

Amen.

Scripture Reading

Why, Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the
weak, who are caught in the schemes he
devises.

He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”

His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.

He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;

His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.

Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.

…you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.

Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his
wickedness that would not otherwise be
found out.

You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their
cry,

defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

Psalm 10:1-2, 6-8, 10, 12, 14-15, 17-18 NIV 11

Affirmation of Trust

Leader : In the midst of hunger and war,

ALL : WE HOLD THE PROMISE OF PLENTY
AND PEACE.

Leader : In the midst of oppression and tyranny,

ALL : WE HOLD THE PROMISE OF SERVICE
AND FREEDOM.

Leader : In the midst of doubt and despair,

ALL : WE HOLD THE PROMISE OF FAITH
AND HOPE.

Leader : In the midst of fear and betrayal,

ALL : WE HOLD THE PROMISE OF JOY AND
LOYALTY.

Leader : In the midst of hatred and death,

ALL : WE HOLD THE PROMISE OF LOVE
AND LIFE.

Leader : In the midst of sin and decay,

ALL : WE CELEBRATE THE PROMISE OF
SALVATION AND RENEWAL.

Leader : In the midst of death on every side,

ALL : WE HOLD THE PROMISE OF THE
LIVING CHRIST.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father,

Who art in heaven,

Hallowed be thy Name.

Thy Kingdom come,

Thy will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread

And forgive us our trespasses,

As we forgive those

Who trespass against us.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.

For thine is the kingdom,

The power and the glory,

For ever and ever.

Amen.

Response

There is a long history of Christians holding vigil —
setting aside normal routines, rhythms, and rest to be watchful.
To be observant.
To be aware.

So, as Russian forces continue to press into Ukraine.
As injustice and violence spread.
As innocent lives are lost —

Tonight we hold this vigil space as a community.

We invite you to participate in the brief liturgy at 7pm, 8pm, and again at 9pm when we close —

And then we encourage you to respond.

You are welcome to stay and use the prayer prompts from the following pages.
You can spend some time in silence and reflection.
We invite you to light a candle as a symbol of your prayer and solidarity.
You are welcome to come and go as you can.

“To pray is to revolt.
The one who prays is not saying, that’s the way it is and that’s that!
The one who prays is saying, that’s the way it is, but it should not be that way!”

— Dorothee Sölle [theologian, advocate for nuclear disarmament]

Prayer is our peaceable revolt —

Pray that hostilities in Ukraine would end.

Pray that civilians would be free to leave areas of conflict.

Pray for a cease-fire agreement to be established.

“We know the results of great wars…Statistics count up the numbers of dead and wounded in tens and hundreds of thousands, if not in millions; statistics tell us of incredible material impoverishment, of billions blown up in the air, sent to the bottom of the sea, burned, destroyed, annihilated.

There is also…the brutalization of nations, the lowering of the cultural level, the loss of creative ability — the decadence of souls…

Enough, enough.

Right now, at this moment, I know that hundreds of people are face to face with what is most serious, with Seriousness itself — with death; I know that thousands and thousands of people are waiting their turn.”

— Maria Skobtsova [Russian-born nun, advocate in France under German occupation]

Hold silence for the innocent lives lost.

Pray for those holding on to life tonight.

Pray for those who have left their homes and communities.

Pray for families who have been separated.

Pray for those who have been scarred by violence and trauma in this conflict.

Pray for vulnerable populations now being impacted by economic sanctions.

“Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness, and pride of power…and with its apologia for the weak.”

— Dietrich Bonhoeffer [theologian, pastor, critic of the Third Reich]

Pray for the Church in Ukraine.

Pray for the safety of local Christians who are trying to help, all while being displaced and terrorized themselves.

Pray for access to food, water, and medicine needed for refugees and displaced peoples in Ukraine, and neighbouring countries like Moldova and Poland.

Pray for church leaders and volunteers who are opening their homes and churches, providing comfort, and supporting victims of violence.

Pray for increased collaboration and coordination between local churches.

“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts.”

— Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn [Russian critic of Stalin, political prisoner, philosopher]

War makes victims of us all.

Pray for Russian military combatants.

Pray for Belarusian military combatants.

Pray for vigilante combatants.

Pray for military contractors who are in Ukraine.

Pray for Ukrainians protecting their homes, communities, and loved ones.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

“Does God have a set way of prayer, a way that he expects each of us to follow? I doubt it.

I believe some people - lots of people - pray through the witness of their lives, through the work they do, the friendships they have, the love they offer people and receive from people. Since when are words the only acceptable form of prayer?”

— Dorothy Day [Catholic activist, advocate for the poor and marginalized]

Many are living their prayers right now.

Pray for civilians helping and assisting their neighbours in distress

Pray for physicians working in adverse conditions, with little sleep, confronting profound need with limited resources.

Pray for all those whose hearts and bodies are broken by the evil they’ve confronted.

Pray for local police and emergency workers assisting with evacuation.

Pray for nurses caring for the elderly.

Pray for local politicians and advocates doing everything they can to confront insurmountable odds.

Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
    to the temple of the God of Jacob…
[God] will judge between the nations
    and will settle disputes for many peoples.
They will beat their swords into plowshares
    and their spears into pruning hooks.
Nation will not take up sword against nation,
    nor will they train for war anymore.

— Isaiah 2:3a, 4 NIV 11

In 1986, there were roughly 70,000 active nuclear warheads in the world.

In 2022, there are between 13,000-15,000.

So - while the number of nuclear weapons is decreasing, our entire planet still lives under the threat of utter destruction.

Pray for political leaders to be committed to disarmament.

Pray for political leaders to use restraint.

Pray for political leaders to remain committed to nuclear agreements and treaties.

Pray for a peaceful end to this conflict without the use of nuclear weapons.

Pray for an end to political posturing that stirs fear and mistrust.

Ukraine is not the only active war-zone today.

The International Crisis Group has identified several other areas of violence and sustained conflict in 2022 — along with a number of situations that could escalate.

Pray for peace.