Prayers for Ukraine – St. Mark's Episcopal Church

Sanctify a fast,
call a solemn assembly.
Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land
to the house of the Lord your God.

– Joel 1:14

The leaders of the Episcopal Church declared a day of fasting and prayer for the people of Ukraine on Ash Wednesday, March 2nd. These are some of the prayers we shared throughout the day:

We pray for peace, but maybe we don’t have the words.
We pray for a just peace, but maybe we don’t have the words.
We pray that the lives of innocents and the lives of any human child of God will be spared.
We pray that our leaders will find a diplomatic way, a nonviolent way of solution.
But we don’t know how to pray as we are.
So, the Spirit must intercede for us at this time.

– The Most. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

God of timelessness,
From chaos and disorder you brought forth the beauty of creation;
From the chaos of war and violence;
Bring forth the beauty of peace.

God of compassion,
You saw the humanity of the outcast and the stranger;
Help us to see the evils of our hatreds and suspicions
and to turn them into the embrace of your Beloved Community.

God of peace,
Through your love on the cross
You overcame the power of violence and death;
Turn us away from the love of power
That we may transform a warring world
through the power of your love. Amen.

– The Rt. Rev Mark Edington, Bishop of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe

God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine this day.
We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons.
We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow,
that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them.
We pray for those with power over war or peace,
for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions.
Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at risk and in fear,
that you would hold and protect them.
We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

The Most Rev. Justin Welby, Lord Archbishop of Canterbury &
The Most Rev. Steven Cottrell SCP, Lord Archbishop of York
Primates of the Church of England

Eternal God, in whose perfect kingdom no sword is drawn but the sword of righteousness, no strength known but the strength of love: So mightily spread abroad your Spirit, that all peoples may be gathered under the banner of the Prince of Peace, as children of one Father; to whom be dominion and glory, now and for ever. Amen.

– Book of Common Prayer p.815

Stay with us, Great Spirit, for the skies are dark with more than winter. Once again we watch the vain march of ego, the power of the great man, exercised in the field of innocent lives. And where one goes, other will follow. A history filled with the bluster of small men who have suddenly become great men, not for what they have achieved, but for fear of what they might do. The shadow of the bully cast long across the playground of time. The once and future king of all political persuasions. Stay with us, Spirit, for while we may have seen it before, we never want to see it again.

– The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, Retired Bishop of Alaska & Choctaw Elder

You enter the desert to face the hardest truth:
we live in self-deception.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

You offer the bread that gives true life;
we consume what leaves us craving more.
Christ, have mercy. Christ, have mercy.

You refuse to worship empty power;
we let greed rule our world.
Lord, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.

He will not command legions of angels
nor ride the machine of holy war;
He will become a slave,
take our hate into his heart
and win us with forgiveness
for he is God’s unexpected peace. Amen.

– From Prayers for an Inclusive Church by Steven Shakespeare

Lord, it is night.The night is for stillness.
Let us be still in the presence of God.

It is night after a long day.
What has been done has been done;
what has not been done has not been done;
let it be.

The night is dark.
Let our fears of the darkness of the world and of our own lives rest in you.

The night is quiet.
Let the quietness of your peace enfold us,

all dear to us,
and all who have no peace.

The night heralds the dawn.
Let us look expectantly to a new day,
new joys,
new possibilities.

In your name we pray. Amen.

– From A New Zealand Prayer Book