Quakers mark two years of war in Ukraine
‘A similar event last year drew only about twenty new individuals, but there is a new sense of sadness and anger that the war in Ukraine seems to drag on endlessly.'
Friends across the world will mark the two-year anniversary of war in Ukraine with an extended international worship for peace.
The online gatherings were set up by Julie Harlow, a Quaker in Davis, California, on 24 February 2022, almost immediately after hearing about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
‘The war continues,’ Julie Harlow told the Friend. The anniversary will be marked on 23 February with an extended ninety-minute programmed worship, she said, alternating music, periods of reflection and ministry. ‘A similar event last year drew only about twenty new individuals, but there is a new sense of sadness and anger that the war in Ukraine seems to drag on endlessly. And that the atrocities in Gaza and Israel have taken attention away from this other horrific war.’
The daily worship now has an average attendance of twenty to forty, with slightly more from the UK than from the US, along with Friends from a few other nations.
‘I had led peace tours for Quakers and others to the Soviet Union in the 1980s, going through Ukraine many times,’ Julie Harlow said. ‘I thought about the friends we had made, the beautiful churches and historical sites… would any of it be left standing? A comforting call from a Friend who had accompanied me to Ukraine and Russia allowed me to share my sorrow and rage. Then I wondered, who do other Friends have to talk to?... There should be a place where anyone could go, any day, every day, to be heard and supported.’
That night Julie sent emails to as many clerks, Quaker organisations and acquaintances as she could. ‘Over 500 individuals answered, from fifteen different countries. We are now a wonderful community of about fifty who come frequently, among them about twenty-five who come almost every day.’
The Zoom worship starts at 5pm GMT at https://bit.ly/3uCrLXO (ID 4165005614; passcode 182805).
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