FERGUS – In a year filled with violence, destruction and uncertainty from a war in mainland Europe, a small group gathered outside a Fergus church to pray for it to end.
A few members of the public and ministers from various churches in Elora and Fergus offered their prayers to Ukraine at noon on Friday on the first anniversary of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Ministers took turns leading the group in prayer for different people and the ways the were impacted at a snow-filled garden on the side of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Fergus.
Rev. Lynda Goy-Flint, from Fergus’ Melville United Church, prayed for the injured, the many lives lost during the year-long conflict and those grieving their loss.
“I had no thought that we would still be needing prayers at this point and it seems the least we can do is to pray for an end to the violence and pray for all the people who have experienced such upheaval in the meantime,” Goy-Flint said after the prayer.
St. John’s minister Rev. Paul Walker offered a prayer for those who have lost their home in the war and those who find themselves as refugees.
“We ask mercy for all of the people who are seeking a place to live, who are processing and marking the pain and suffering of leaving places they call their home, we pray for those who are separated from their families and friends,” Walker said in his prayer.
And Ukrainian refugees aren’t far, Rev. Greg Smith-Young of Hope Springs United Church said a member of his congregation has taken in a family of five who fled Ukraine. He noted the family was heartened to hear that people are praying for them.
“Throughout this year it’s been heavy on my heart and it’s unbelievable but I’m also mindful that it’s not the only place in the world that’s living under this sort of thing,” Smith-Young said after the prayer. “I believe prayer matters, prayer makes a difference so we entrust our prayers to god.”
Local religious officials held a similar prayer 11 months earlier at the Elora Cenotaph.
Rev. Peter Bush said in his view people should continue to pray for Ukraine because he doesn’t see an end to the war coming any time soon.
“The experts think this is going to go on for a long time,” Bush said. “May we continue to pray for peace because that’s the only way it’s going to come.”
