Middle School Meeting for Worship Reflects on the Ukraine War

To mark the one-year start of the war in Ukraine, on February 22 a group of 8th Grade Middle School students led Middle School’s Meeting for Worship, with a short presentation and query. Before they began, the Middle School String Ensemble performed the Ukrainian National Anthem.

Here is an excerpt from their presentation:

“This week commemorates the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

We have been studying the war in history class. We have come to see the complex causes of the conflict along with the intense human suffering it has caused.

As you heard in the lyrics of the national anthem and as we learned in class, Ukrainians have long had to fight for their identity as a nation.

We’d like to use the silence of this Meeting for Worship to honor those affected by the war and to call our community’s attention to the cause of supporting Ukrainians’ struggles for sovereignty, freedom, and democratic self-determination.”

Queries:

-What is at stake in this conflict?
-How can we use our ability to learn to shine the world’s spotlight on injustice and suffering?
-What can you do to promote peace– in our community and around the world?