"Hello. This is Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski. I’m the Ukrainian Catholic Bishop of the Holy Family of London.
Today I’m speaking to you again, asking and thanking you all for your prayers for peace in Ukraine, as echoed by Pope Francis and also Patriarch Sviatoslav, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church in the world.
We are seeing the escalation of a war that has been waged for the last eight years in Ukraine, and we need prayers, we need calm and we need support.
I know that the Ukrainian community here in Great Britain is very appreciative of that solidarity. And as we communicate this solidarity to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine, who are, of course, very concerned and worried at this time, it’s much appreciated.
So I ask you to continue to hold Ukraine in your prayers so that no more families have to mourn the loss of their sons and daughters in this war, both from the Ukrainian side and, of course, from the Russian side as well.
Thank you again, and may God bless all of you."
On this sad day for our Ukrainian and Russian brothers and sisters - and for the whole world, our colleague, Teri recalls travelling to Ukraine in 2011 to conduct palliative care training for Ministry of Health workers and training for faith-based drug rehabilitation workers in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Romania and Moldova.
These are some of the gifts given to her by the lovely people she worked with.
A message from Mildmay's chaplain, Bernie Devine SP.:
It is with great sadness that I write to contribute to our “Thought for the Week” as the conflict, escalated by Russian military aggression and ordered by their President, seems to be well underway.
Many Church leaders like Archbishop Welby, Pope Francis and Patriarch Sviatoslav, Head of the Ukrainian Greek Church, have appealed to every one of goodwill to participate in prayer for peace in Ukraine on Friday 26th January. At Mildmay Mission Hospital I wrote this letter to our staff:
“At 10 55am today you are invited to the chapel to spend 2-3 minutes, in silence and in solidarity with each other, to remember, to reflect with peaceful thoughts or/and to pray for the people of Ukraine and Russia.
This comes to you by way of an invitation, in between your 10 am and 11 am sessions. Please come and go as you wish”.
We invite you too to find space and time in your busy lives to do the same, albeit at a different time. You may like to know that the special Prayer Service held at the London Ukrainian Cathedral in London, 24th February will be part of a 12-hour marathon of prayer in Ukrainian Cathedrals and parishes throughout the world.
Let us remember the people of Ukraine and Russia
Image by David Mark from Pixabay
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