The World Council of Churches, together with its member churches around the world, urgently appeals for peace for the nation of Ukraine.

In a special statement issued by the acting general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Ioan Saucy, we read:

“As we follow reports of the frantic progress toward war, we advocate a logic other than one based on geopolitical rivalries that accepts the death and suffering that armed conflict will inevitably bring to Ukrainian children, women and men.

We pray for a transformation of hearts and minds, for de-escalation, for dialogue instead of threats. God’s people and members of the ecumenical community – are on both sides of the current confrontation.

However, our God is a God of peace, not of war and bloodshed. While the things that contribute to peace may be hidden from the eyes of those who march toward war, we pray that they may yet be opened and that peace may yet prevail.”

The statement from the World Council of Churches, the world’s largest ecumenical organization (it currently has 349 churches with a membership of more than 580 million Christians from more than 120 countries) is directed not only to governments and politicians. Its purpose is also a call to prayer.

As the EWST community, we encourage you to pray and do whatever you can for peace in Ukraine.