Woven Together for Peace

During the two minutes of silence of the UK Remembrance day, I found myself reflecting on the challenges we face as agents of peace and justice across our region. As I prayed silently for nations being destroyed by war, my mind was drawn to real people, real friends and their families whose lives are impacted daily by the disruption of war, of rumours of war, or by violence on their streets.

Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Veterans Day and their international equivalents, reminds us not only of the cost of war, but also of the long and difficult journey towards peace. In the aftermath of World War 2, nations and churches sought new ways to build peace. The United Nations and its agencies were created to encourage international cooperation and security. Across Europe, churches also recognised their responsibility. The European Baptist Federation (EBF) brought together Baptists from nations which had recently been enemies, seeking both practical and relational restoration. Other Christian organisations, including the Conference of European Churches, worked to bridge divides across a continent separated by the Iron Curtain.

Today the EBF family extends beyond Europe into Central Asia and the Middle East. Last year, Baptists from across the region gathered in Jordan to celebrate 75 years of unity in Christ, under the theme “Woven Together for Peace.” Yet the world around us remains deeply troubled.

The full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia in February 2022 shocked the world, and so too the  subsequent devastating five years of war. In 2023, Hamas and allied Palestinian groups launched an attack on Israel in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 hostages were taken. Israel declared war the following day. Since then, over 75,000 Palestinians in Gaza have died, over one million people in Lebanon displaced, and the current phased peace process appears stalled. In 2026, America and Israel escalated the conflict with Iran: today across the Middle East, military strikes continue, diplomatic efforts remain deadlocked and ordinary people across the globe bear the growing cost of instability.

In Jordan, three gunmen opened fire at a Christian funeral, killing nine people and injuring many others. Similarly, Poland mourns the tragic mass shooting in Krakow, as do the nations of France and Germany following similar shootings this year. In Albania, Serbia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium and Bulgaria, significant protests, riots and civil unrest have highlighted concerns about housing shortages, the rising cost of living, underfunded education and, in some places, government corruption.

Reports of espionage, cyber threats and online interference have heightened concerns across the region. Challenges around religious freedom, migration, humanitarian need, political extremism and climate-related crises continue to affect many of our nations.

Faced with such challenges, it is easy to feel overwhelmed or powerless. The church may not have the power to end every conflict, but it does have the calling to bear witness to another way of living together. Throughout our history, Baptist churches have discovered that lasting peace is rarely established by treaties alone. It is woven through relationships, formed through patient acts of service, and sustained by communities committed to the way of Christ. Today churches are serving as signs of hope. Churches continue to feed the hungry, welcome the stranger and build relationships across divisions that politics alone struggles to overcome.

I want to suggest four practices that can shape our response: Prayer, Presence, Partnership and Perseverance. These are not solutions to global conflict, but they are tangible ways in which ordinary Christians can participate in God's work of peace.

Prayer

For almost five years, EBF has hosted monthly prayer gatherings for peace across the region. What began as prayer focused on Ukraine has expanded to include many places marked by conflict and uncertainty.

Following the mass shooting in Jordan, Nabeeh Abassi writes: “Please pray for the families who are grieving the loss of their loved ones, that they would experience God’s comfort and peace.” Pray also that “the church will be a faithful witness to Christ’s love, hope and reconciliation in a region that longs for peace.”

Pastor Peter Serhii Synii who continues to live in Kherson, despite daily bombing, drone attacks and artillery fire, requests: “we want more people to pray for us.”

Even when we struggle to find words, or think that prayer is not enough, we must remember that “the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26).

Presence

It is not always possible to be physically present with those who are suffering, yet presence remains a powerful expression of Christian love. I was inspired by the late Pope Francis, who spoke daily by phone with Christians sheltering in Gaza. Through those conversations he made himself present to them.

In August, a group of ten of us travelled to Ukraine on a pilgrimage of prayer for peace. In every meeting, church members thanked us for coming. While prayer mattered deeply, our presence alongside them was received as an act of solidarity. We discovered that presence brings comfort.

Similarly, after a recent visit by EBF President Charlie Costa, one message from Russia simply said: “So grateful for the wonderful leader, thank you so much for sending him.” In times of hardship, people value knowing they have not been forgotten.

Partnership

Crises create immense humanitarian needs, and partnership enables us to respond together. Following the invasion of Ukraine, there was an unprecedented outpouring of support. As another winter approaches, churches continue to seek assistance to heat buildings and keep the lights on.

Support has also been provided to ministries serving communities in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Iran, Syria and Jordan. Yet partnership is about more than financial aid. It includes shared mission, mutual encouragement and practical collaboration.

One example is the purchase of EBF gifts from a project run by the Zarqa Church in Jordan. New partnerships have also emerged between Baltic Baptist Unions and Polish Baptists as they prepare churches for possible emergency situations.

Perseverance

Many church leaders from Ukraine, the Middle East and elsewhere speak of the need to sustain Christian witness in difficult circumstances and to encourage pastors and believers to remain. In Palestine, Christians now make up around one percent of the population. In Gaza, we believe there is no longer a Baptist presence, despite the fact that Baptists once operated a church, hospital and school there.

May the actions of Ukrainian pastors who have evacuated congregations from the frontline, only to plant new churches with internally displaced people, inspire us. Likewise, Lebanese aid workers who have chosen to remain and serve their communities rather than relocate through second citizenship remind us that perseverance is more than endurance; it is faithfulness.

Peace is rarely achieved through a single dramatic moment. Peace is built through countless small acts of faithfulness, and every prayer offered, every visit made, every partnership formed and every act of perseverance becomes a thread in God's tapestry of peace.

As the Bible teaches, “Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on towards love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” (Hebrews 10:23-25)

I pray that whenever we next observe two minutes of silence in our nations, we will be able to point not only to conflicts that have ended but to churches that have remained faithful, partnerships that have deepened, communities that have been sustained and believers who have discovered that they are not alone, as we continue to follow Christ, the Prince of Peace.

Alan Donaldson - EBF General Secretary

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