"The fast-moving and escalating events in Ukraine not only pose a real threat to the region but to global peace. We are calling upon the World Evangelical Alliance global family to pray for this crisis situation. We would urge all the parties involved to seek a peaceful resolution to this conflict. We fully support the following statement issued by the the European Evangelical Alliance”
Dr. Geoff Tunnicliffe
Secretary General / CEO
World Evangelical Alliance
European Evangelical Alliance: Ukraine has suffered enough
Ukrainian Christians are urging the worldwide Christian community to continue to stand with them in prayer and fasting. Ukraine has suffered enough. People died and countless numbers were injured in the protests. And now there is the possibility of invasion, occupation, civil war and a divided country.
It was never going to be easy for the interim government to stabilise the nation and its economy and to set solid foundations for fair elections in May. Sadly, the Russian government’s actions have made the task so much harder.
Crimea is the one Ukrainian region where a majority of the population are ethnic Russians. It is also the home of Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet. It was part of Russia until 1954. Crimea has always been a special case. But there was no reason to think that the Ukrainian government did not understand this and would not continue to work well with Russia to ensure a harmonious continuation of cooperation that everyone needed.
There is a tiny glimmer of hope. The vast majority of Ukrainians do not want war or a divided nation. The Kiev protests were peaceful for months and only a minority turned to violence in the last days. Most knew that peace was the only answer, and many also knew that prayer was crucial. As the situation becomes increasingly dangerous, most Ukrainians know that effort is needed to ensure that all of Ukraine’s citizens feel safe and respected. When the Ukrainian Parliament declared last week that Russian was no longer an official language, the mayor of western facing Lviv declared that the city will speak Russian for a day in solidarity with Russian speaking Ukrainians. Apparently, some Russian speakers in Donetsk said they would speak Ukrainian for a day.
EEA calls on Christians to keep praying.
- Please pray for courageous peace makers to stand strong across the whole country: politicians, journalists, security officials and ordinary people.
- Pray that Christians would continue to be agents of reconciliation, peace and hope.
- Pray for the protection of all who work for peace.
- Pray for people’s eyes to be opened to the truth and to what horror could be unleashed if people choose to move further towards conflict.
- Pray for a miracle to happen, that Russia and Ukraine would be able to be good neighbours again, without fear.
- And please pray that Ukraine can move forward again to become a stable nation with fair and honest government.
Please find here more information about Crimea and how to pray from Christian leaders in the region.
Thank you.
European Evangelical Alliance 3rd March 2014
The European Evangelical Alliance (www.europeanea.org) brings together both the national Evangelical Alliances of Europe and a large number of pan-European mission agencies. It has existed as a regional group since the 1950′s, but traces its roots to the 1846 conference at which the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) was established. It is the European section of the WEA.
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