Responding to the war in Ukraine

Support spiritually

Friends World Committee for Consultation (FWCC), the global Quaker body, has issued a unifying Christian call for peace. Anyone who agrees with its message can endorse it on FWCC's website and share it.

There are online meetings for worship about Ukraine:

• Friends House Moscow runs daily meetings on Zoom, at 17:00 BST.
• FWCC-Europe & Middle East Section runs regular meetings for worship. Full details can be found on FWCC's event calender (offsite link).

Churches Together in Britain and Ireland (CTBI) is joining with churches and faith-based organisations across Britain and Ireland to invite Christians to join together in prayer on 3 April (offsite link).

Give money

Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) is one of the main organisers of the humanitarian assistance. Christian Aid is part of DEC; it is the churches' relief agency of which Quakers in Britain is a sponsoring church.

The Bearr Trust , which supports grassroots health and welfare charities in Eastern Europe and has worked with Friends House Moscow, has issued a Ukraine appeal.

The Ukrainian Institute London has compiled a list of humanitarian charities which people can donate to. Some of the links from the Institute's webpages are to military sources, which we do not endorse.

Friends World Committee for Consultation – Europe and Middle East Section have in partnership with the British Friends of QCEA and the Central European Gathering (of Quakers) set up a mechanism for Friends to donate money for Quaker work with Ukrainians. You can find more information about it here.

Support refugees

The government has announced a 'Homes for Ukraine' sponsorship scheme where members of the public can offer to host Ukrainian refugees in their own homes . There isn't a single Quaker view on whether or not to participate: the Quaker Asylum and Refugee Network is compiling different Friends' perspectives on its website.

Our Ukraine forced migration page details all the information we have about the Homes for Ukraine scheme and offers some other ways we can support those fleeing violent conflict.

Support work for peace

Some ideas for peace action were outlined in a blog on our website. For example, Friends could consider:

• promoting peaceful alternatives on social media, by writing to your local newspaper, and/or by phoning talk radio stations (you may want to practice your responses to questions in advance with someone)
• organising a local meeting on the peace testimony, or a community-based conversation about building sustainable peace and security. Contact Peace Lead Daniel Jakopovich at danielj@quaker.org.uk if you need help with finding a speaker or facilitator. Our partners at Rethinking Security have produced a resource pack (offsite link) that discusses some steps needed to organise a community-based discussion involving a broad range of people.
• taking part in citizen diplomacy to promote peace, good will and friendship with Russian people
• highlighting examples of peaceful or compassionate actions around the war, sharing them with your family and networks

Together with our partners, Quakers in Britain are continuing to promote alternatives to militarism and helping to build a culture of peace and nonviolence. Our partners in this work include:

• Quaker United Nations Office
• Rethinking Security
• Global Campaign on Military Spending UK
• Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Header photo by Max Kukurudziak on Unsplash