May in Russia many lost fathers, brothers and sons will, sadly, be mourned.
The ‘Merry Month of May’ is traditionally celebrated in Europe as northern hemisphere countries welcome spring. Maypoles, bonfires, flowers and fertility rites date back many years, some to pagan times. In recent centuries, May holidays highlighted workers’ rights. An annual parade in Moscow celebrated overcoming the Nazis in ‘the Great Patriotic War’. On May 9 2021 there were 12,000 troops, followed by hosts of tanks, missile launchers and 76 jets and helicopters. We hope for ‘peace in our time’, and pray for it, but this
Certainly no merry May holiday for their neighbours in Ukraine and the thousands who have fled from there. Scripture Union Scotland has links with Ukraine. Workers here, with the help of volunteers, visit schools and run holidays. They share Bible knowledge and the love of Jesus. A similar organisation in Ukraine, whose title translates as Open Bible has exchanged personnel, so they are known in Scotland. The names of their workers, and an emailed photograph of them worshiping in their basement sheltering from explosions on the first Sunday of hostilities, put flesh on the bones of my first prayers
for that country. As I write, I do not know if they are still safe. It was heartening to see BBC’s Clive Myrie take a break from reporting in a Kyiv basement to visit an Orthodox Church and comment on the people’s sustaining ‘religious faith’. A brave young couple interviewed after their guestless wedding in a registry office, close to the sound of shelling, said in limited English: ‘We are Christians. We pray to God for protection.’ They echoed Psalm 27v.3 ‘Even if a whole army surrounds me, I will not be afraid; even if enemies attack me I will still trust in God.’ There is nothing good about war, but as we pray for and support the victims of this one, we could also echo that Psalm: ‘Trust in the Lord, have faith, do not despair’.
A fun treasure hunt around a course in sunny Glen Nevis. Photograph: Iain Ferguson, The Write Image.
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