🕊️As conflict and hostility continue to rise across the world, it's clear the arms race isn’t making us safer.

💬“These weapons, in actual fact, do not make the world more secure: they make the world feel more insecure. So much so that we are spending more money on 'deterrents'... more money on these weapons of mass destruction.” - Archbishop William Nolan, Faslane Naval Base - Christian Peace Vigil 2024

✝️Will you join us at Faslane this year in an act of Christian public witness in opposition to nuclear weapons? Free transport is provided from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

🗓Sat 2nd August
🕥10.30am
📍HMNB Clyde, South Gate, Maidstone Road

🚌FREE bus provided by Justice & Peace Scotland and the Church of Scotland.
🔹Edinburgh pick-up: Waterloo Place (beside Waverley Station), departing 7.45am
🔹Glasgow pick-up: Gordon Street (outside Central Station), departing 9.15am
📩Message us today to reserve your spot!

📸TOGETHER FOR SANCTUARY

⛪ Last night many gathered at The Immaculate Conception Church in Maryhill for Together for Sanctuary, a moving ecumenical worship service as part of Refugee Festival Scotland.

Organised by (SFAR) and co-hosted by Justice & Peace Scotland, the evening brought together people from many Christian traditions and cultures to stand in solidarity with those who seek sanctuary.

🙏 The evening began with an ecumenical prayer and worship service during which we prayed for peace and intentions for countries close to the hearts of those present: Afghanistan, Ukraine, Congo, El Salvador, Palestine, Nigeria, Sudan, Israel, Pakistan, Syria, Iran, America, Scotland and many more.

🕊️Through prayer, music, reflection and powerful testimonies from people with lived experience of displacement, we were reminded of our shared call to welcome the stranger and build communities of justice, compassion and hope.

💬 Two parishioners from Immaculate Conception, Ruth and Rita, courageously shared their own stories of their journeys to finding sanctuary, security and welcome here in Scotland. Fr Andriy Chornenko of the Ukrainian Catholic Parish in Glasgow offered a powerful reflection after the Gospel of the Good Samaritan reminding us of Jesus’ call to “go and do likewise” for the stranger in our midst.

🍲 After the service we shared food prepared by community members and shared dishes from places such as El Salvador and the Philippines, celebrating the richness and diversity of the Church as one family in Christ.

Thank you to everyone who contributed, participated, and joined us in this beautiful expression of faith, hospitality and solidarity and for coming together to "go and do likewise".

🕯️JOIN US IN AN URGENT PRAYER FOR PEACE

In these past days and weeks, the world has witnessed the terrifying escalation of warfare and its devastating consequences in too many places.

🇮🇱🇮🇷Rising tensions between Israel and Iran threaten to ignite further regional conflict. In the past 72 hours civilian deaths have be confirmed in both countries following ongoing missile strikes, including among the children and the elderly.

🇵🇸The suffering in Gaza worsens daily, with lives lost both to violence and to the disastrous humanitarian situation in the region. 94% of all hospitals are damaged or destroyed according to the WHO.

🇺🇦In Ukraine, intensified fighting continues to devastate cities and communities. A recent Russian drone attack struck a maternity hospital in Odessa. UNICEF reports that over 2500 children have been killed or injured since the war began.

🇸🇩In Sudan, where famine has now been confirmed in some regions, the suffering of millions, especially children, is unimaginable. The more than two-year-old civil war there has spread hunger and disease and destroyed most health facilities.

Across all these conflicts, we see again and again the brutal consequences of war: violence against civilians, grave war crimes, widespread hunger and displacement, and the disregard for human dignity through loss of lives on all sides.

🕊It is clearer than ever: warfare is not a solution. The only path to a just and lasting peace is through diplomacy, dialogue, and an end to hostilities.

🙏We offer an urgent prayer for peace, asking Jesus to give us all but most especially those who wield the power and make the decisions, the courage and the heart of a peacemaker:

Lord Jesus Christ,
You are our peace.
You calmed the storm, healed the wounded, and taught us to love our enemies.
We come to You now, heartbroken by the violence tearing our world apart.

Jesus, Son of God,
Turn the hearts of those who wage war to the path of dialogue and respect for human life. Help them to realise that war is a victory for no one.
Convert the minds of leaders to seek the good of all, not the power of the few.
Strengthen those who work for peace, often in silence and in dangerous situations.

Lord of Life,
Comfort the wounded, console the mourning, shelter the displaced, feed the hungry, strengthen the weary.
Give courage to all who dare to hope that another way is possible and who strive to make it a reality.

Teach us to live as the peacemakers you called us to be:
To resist indifference, to speak truth with love, to seek justice for all,
to defend human dignity,
And to build a world where every life is protected and every nation chooses the way of peace.
We ask this in Your holy name,
Amen.