Ukraine Resources Post:
International Agencies supporting refugees and the war torn Ukraine:
International Rescue Committee Ukraine Fund:
Save the Children – Ukraine Link:
UNICEF is supporting health, nutrition, safe drinking water, sanitation, and protection for children and families caught in the conflict in Ukraine.
https://www.unicef.org/eca/emergencies/conflict-ukraine
International Committee of the Red Cross & Red Crescent seeks to help people affected by the conflict and support the work of the Ukrainian Red Cross.
https://www.ifrc.org/emergency/ukraine-and-impacted-countries
Voices of Children is helping to provide psychological and psychosocial support to children affected by the Ukrainian conflict and helps them to overcome the consequences of armed conflict.
Catholic Relief Services:
HIAS Responds to the Crisis in Ukraine
https://www.hias.org/hias-responds-crisis-ukraine
Jewish Family & Community Services: East Bay. JFCS East Bay Prepares to Receive and Aid Ukrainian Refugees
World Union for Progressive Judaism Launches Ukraine Crisis Fund
Another way to donate to Ukraine where they say 100% of the donation goes to programs
https://razomforukraine.org/donate/
How to help Ukrainians today: Organizations providing aid: RNS has compiled a list of verified organizations — many of them religious or religiously affiliated — working to support Ukrainians right now.
Support Ukrainians Here and Abroad (UCC petition)
Local Agencies helping Ukraine:
White Pony Express Needs Your Help Supporting Ukrainian Refugees!
WPE is collecting supplies to make 800 medical kits as part of a medic training program on the Ukrainian border. We are also assembling pallets of medical aid that will be shipped to a warehouse in Lviv and transported to outposts in Ukraine. We anticipate the need for (and are therefore collecting and packing) hygiene kits, warm clothing, shelf-stable food, and other necessities.
The WPE model was created to be responsive in a crisis. WPE – a food and goods rescue organization on a mission to eliminate hunger and poverty – serves on the executive committee of the Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). We are built to be agile and respond to disasters by providing the very best we have to give.
The WPE community and our dedicated volunteers are hosting drives and raising funds to purchase supplies, boxes, and to pay for shipping to send aid to Ukrainian refugees.
Please visit our Support Ukraine webpage for a comprehensive list of items needed: whiteponyexpress.org/supportukraine.
At WPE, the way that items are handled, packed, and delivered is also important as it conveys respect and love for the communities we serve. We are looking for volunteers to (1) host food and clothing drives and (2) help sort, package, organize, and label boxes. To volunteer, visit our website www.whiteponyexpress.org/volunteer or email volunteer@whiteponyexpress.org.
All of us taking care of all of us!
Musical Prayers for Peace:
Prayer for Ukraine by Kyiv Chamber Choir
2015 Mykola Lysenko – Prayer for Ukraine – Молитва за Україну
Hymn: Prayer for Ukraine- the spiritual anthem of Ukraine.
Prayer for Ukraine: Ukrainian Bandurist Chorus.
Ukraine – We pray for peace
Congregational music: We Pray for Peace
FINLANDIA 11.10.11.10.11.10 (“Be Still, My Soul”)
by Rev. Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (Presbyterian)
We pray for peace, O God of love and justice,
as once again, we face a time of war.
The meek and humble try — amid the crisis —
to love and build, to nurture and restore.
May leaders hear the truth the prophets teach us —
that gifts of peace are well worth struggling for.
We pray for peace, O Christ who calmed the waters —
who stilled the storm, who stilled disciples’ fear.
You spoke with love and with amazing power;
be with us now when trouble is so near.
May leaders see the miracle you offer —
that words and deeds can calm the nations here.
We pray for peace, O Spirit here among us;
your love emboldens, judges and restrains.
Take any hate and acts of impulse from us;
make leaders wise, amid competing claims.
May we seek peace, O God of love and justice;
may love and mercy be our highest aims.
Biblical References: Psalm 34:14; Psalm 85:10; Proverbs 12:20; Isaiah 11:6-8; Matthew 5:9; Luke 8:22-25; Luke 19:41; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; Galatians 5:22-23
Tune: Jean Sibelius, 1899 (“Be Still, My Soul”) (MIDI)
Text: Copyright © 2022 by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette. All rights reserved.
Email: carolynshymns@gmail.com New Hymns: www.carolynshymns.com/
See also: PCUSA’s Prayer for International Crisis.
Permission is given for free use of this hymn, including online.
Music Video on YouTube: The Rev. Casey Carbone sings “We Pray for Peace”. Casey gives permission for use of the video. The Rev. Casey Carbone (he/him/his) is Pastor of The First Presbyterian Church of Mahopac, NY and the IT/Communications Facilitator for Hudson River Presbytery in NY.
Background context on the conflict
Next year in Kyiv?: When it comes to Russian Orthodoxy, Kyiv is essentially Jerusalem, and this is a conflict over who will have control of Orthodoxy — Moscow or Constantinople.
https://religionnews.com/2022/02/24/next-year-in-kyiv/
Russian threat to Ukraine exposes fault lines in Eastern Orthodoxy
The Russian Orthodox Church and Ukraine: Putin uses the Baptism of Rus’ as a false pretext for Russian imperialism.
NCC Appeals for Peace for the People of Ukraine
Among Russian Orthodox, glimmers of dissent against the invasion of Ukraine
Putin’s Invasion of Ukraine: What’s Religion Got to Do with It? (Evangelical)
One Ukraine or Two, by Adrian Kuzminski.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/09/one-ukraine-or-two/
US Catholics express solidarity with Ukraine
https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/15094/us-catholics-express-solidarity-with-ukraine
Pope makes personal appeal in remarkable Russia embassy trip
Moscow and Ukrainian Orthodox leaders call for peace—but define it differently: Kirill appealed to a version of history tying Ukraine closely to Russia.
Ukrainian-American Jews pray, anxiously await news from family back home
Pagans and witches offer prayers for peace in Ukraine: Concerned for the people of Ukraine, pagans offered prayers and energy work for peace.
Presbyterian Peace Fellowship Statement On Ukraine: We Oppose All War
Among Russian Orthodox, glimmers of dissent against the invasion of Ukraine: The spiritual dissent exists on a spectrum, ranging from calls for peace to threats of breaking away from the Russian Orthodox Church.
Between Iraq and Ukraine: Progressive Foreign Policy in a Multipolar Age, by Peter Beinart.
