Prayers for Peace – Third Anniversary of Ukraine War

People were invited to join cathedrals and pray for peace for all people in all lands last weekend to mark the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine.

Prayers for peace for all people as we marked the third anniversary of invasion of Ukraine.

Monday 24 February 2025 marked three years since Russian military forces launched a full-scale invasion, which has since left thousands dead and millions displaced.

Little Hope Gallery – Ukrainian children’s artwork in Portsmouth Cathedral

Ukrainian children’s artwork in Portsmouth Cathedral will mark the third anniversary of war in Ukraine.

Portsmouth has welcomed the Little Hope Gallery set up to help heal traumatized, injured, orphaned, and displaced Ukrainian children through their own art work.

This is part of an international programme of exhibitions created and supported by volunteers who have served in Ukraine since Russia first invaded in 2022.

In a statement the Little Hope Gallery described the work: Each piece of art is a piece of a child’s soul, and nothing stands between a child’s heart and the paintbrush.

“The children paint with joy, hope, resilience, and in the brightest colours.

“By bearing witness to their art, you become part of their programme of healing, because the children know that through you, they are seen, and their stories are told, and their hearts will be lifted.

On Monday 24 February – the anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, there will be a special evensong to mark the exhibition and to offer prayers for peace in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian community choir Two Colours will sing at Evensong with the Portsmouth Cathedral Choir.  Everyone is welcome to the reception in the Nave with music from Two Colours after the service.

Little Hope Gallery is in Portsmouth Cathedral until 2 March

Southwark Cathedral welcomes Icons On Ammunition boxes and Songs for Ukraine Chorus for third anniversary.

Icons painted on ammunition boxes from war zones across Ukraine will be on display at Southwark Cathedral until 27 February, serving as silent witnesses to the wars raging around the world, but especially in Ukraine as we approach the third anniversary of the full-scale invasion.

On Tuesday 25 February, Southwark will host a concert by The Songs for Ukraine Chorus for the third anniversary.

Ukraine Stands: Songs of Courage and Resilience will feature works by classical and contemporary Ukrainian composers, performed by the Chorus. Sasha Grynyuk, a talented Ukrainian pianist, along with other musicians, will also perform on the night.

Originally founded by the Royal Ballet and Opera two years ago, the Chorus comprises over 100 Ukrainians, ranging from professional singers to newcomers – many of them displaced by war.

Icons on Ammo boxes is the conceptual project of Ukrainian artists Sofiia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko which started in 2014 to raise funds for medical supplies.

This project is currently cared for in the UK by the Rotary Clubs of Guildford Chantries and Kyiv-Capital and Ukrainian Charity Foundation ‘Peli can live’.

Guildford Cathedral welcomes back Icons on Ammunition boxes 

And from Wednesday 5 March – Monday 21 April, Guildford Cathedral welcomes back more Icons on Ammunition Boxes which highlights religious icons painted on reclaimed ammunition boxes from Ukraine’s war zones.

The project is about transforming the death that ammo boxes carry into the life that the icons symbolise.

The funds raised from the sale of the icons and charitable donations are used to purchase vehicles and medical supplies for medical units that save lives on the frontline.

Over the course of the project, more than £64,000 has been raised in the UK thanks to British donors, which have made it possible to purchase:

• A refrigerated vehicle to transport fallen soldiers from the battlefield,
• An ambulance vehicle to evacuate the wounded from the battlefield and to transport wounded soldiers and civilians to a stabilisation medical centre:
• Bronze vehicle
• Mitsubishi vehicle

Since the beginning of 2024, the Rotary Club of Guildford Chantry has been the main financial partner of the project.