{"id":20568,"date":"2023-02-22T21:55:16","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T21:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/?p=20568"},"modified":"2023-03-12T22:03:45","modified_gmt":"2023-03-12T22:03:45","slug":"the-invasion-of-ukraine-one-year-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/the-invasion-of-ukraine-one-year-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The invasion of Ukraine, one year on"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"><strong>A time for prayer and reflection<\/strong><\/span><\/h4>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><em><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Churches are being invited to pray, reflect and respond around the anniversary of Russia\u2019s military assault on Ukraine on 24 February. \u00a0The Revd Fiona Bennett, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, has issued the following statement and prayer:<\/strong><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>\u201cThe anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine is an occasion for lament and sober reflection. Over the last year, Russia\u2019s military action has led to devastation and destruction on a massive scale, and thousands of deaths and casualties among Ukrainian civilians. Nearly eight million Ukrainians have fled the country to seek refuge. The conflict is also taking its toll on people in Russia, as economic sanctions bite, political freedoms and access to information are restricted, and many men have been conscripted to fight. The human cost of war is vast and the legacies of war stretch for generations. Our prayers are with all who suffer and grieve.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Amidst the overwhelming horrors of this war, there are nonetheless glimmers of hope. Ukraine\u2019s people and its leadership have shown remarkable resilience in the face of President Putin\u2019s aggression. The welcome that Ukrainians have found in other countries, including through many in the UK who have opened their homes to strangers, is heartening. We must be mindful that as the war continues, so does the need for generosity in offering hospitality and humanitarian support. So \u2018let us not become weary in doing good\u2019 (Galatians 6:9).<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\"><strong>Ultimately, the suffering will only be ended by dialogue which establishes a just peace that provides security for all. As we express solidarity with the people of Ukraine on this sorry anniversary, we pray that opportunities will soon open up for this to begin.\u201d<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">A prayer<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-20575 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Screenshot-2023-02-22-at-21.26.28-300x180.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"180\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Screenshot-2023-02-22-at-21.26.28-300x180.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Screenshot-2023-02-22-at-21.26.28-150x90.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/Screenshot-2023-02-22-at-21.26.28.jpg 716w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>God of peace and justice<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">With sorrow and lament, we hold the situation in Ukraine before you, a year on from the Russian invasion.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">We long for an end to the conflict and the bloodshed and suffering.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">We remember people in Ukraine living in fear of death and destruction.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">We pray for all who grieve lost lives and opportunities.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">May those who have been displaced find safety and welcome in their new communities.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">We pray that those with authority and influence will work for a just peace which provides security for all.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">As we hold in our prayers all affected by the war,<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">we pray that they may know that they are held in your loving arms.<\/span><\/strong><br \/>\n<strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">In your name we pray,<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"color: #3366ff;\">Amen<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A time for prayer and reflection Churches are being invited to pray, reflect and respond around the anniversary of Russia\u2019s military assault on Ukraine on 24 February. \u00a0The Revd Fiona Bennett, the Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Reformed Church, has issued the following statement and prayer: \u201cThe anniversary of the Russian invasion &hellip; <\/p>\n<div class=\"more-link-wrapper\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/the-invasion-of-ukraine-one-year-on\/\" class=\"button more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;The invasion of Ukraine, one year on&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":20572,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[162,202],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20568","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-prayer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20568","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20568"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20568\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20576,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20568\/revisions\/20576"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20572"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20568"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20568"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.trinitywimbledon.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20568"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}