Dear Saints,
History teaches us that violent takeovers and coercion are not gospel values — though Christians have been complicit with such expressions. Our prayers and intentional thoughts surround the people and all creation in Ukraine as this manifest plague of coercion debilitates the life and safety of many.
Let us pray:
Oh gracious, God of peace and agency.
We cry with the people and all creation in Ukraine to bring this violent war to a quick end.
We pray for global leaders to intervene and nip this culture of bullying in the bud. Please help us to disallow such tendencies when we witness their manifestations near or far from us. May we never be bystanders of indifference and hate!
You are the source of all that is good and holy, and we ask for your deep and abiding presence to hold these, our dear siblings, close to yourself.
Please help us be peacemakers where we are and help us put away tactics of devaluing the God-given dignity of others and their spaces.
In your Holy Name, we pray. Amen.
Yours faithfully,
The Rt. Rev. Prince G. Singh
Bishop Provisional
The Episcopal Dioceses of Eastern & Western Michigan