Bishop Robert has filmed a video for chaplaincies and those wishing to share a prayer during their Sunday services, watch it here or download it here.

"Good day to you all and greetings from my home in Brussels. I am Robert Innes and I am the Bishop of the Diocese in Europe.  

We have a vast Diocese. It covers the whole of the European continent and it includes Kyiv in Ukraine and Moscow in Russia. On Thursday, we all awoke to some deeply distressing events - the sickening sights and sounds of war.

War is horrible. It injures, destroys and kills in an often indiscriminate and uncontrollable way. And now, we face war in Europe. The people in our little church in Kiev are at the centre of this crisis. Some have fled the city by car whilst others are still there. These are people, our brothers and sisters. We are very concerned for their well-being and safety.  

In the face of military action and aggression, we feel powerless. What can we do? One thing that we can all do is pray. We can pray in solidarity with those most affected. We can pray that God will, even now, overrule in the hearts and minds of those with power and authority. We can pray that the victims will be few and that the innocent will be protected. We can pray that peace will come through justice and not through the infliction of the will of a stronger party on a weaker. And, I can assure you, that our little community in Kiev is deeply appreciative of your prayers.  

The psalmist writes; “The Lord shall give strength to His people. The Lord shall give his people the blessing of peace (Psalm 29:11)”. So, in some words written by the Dean of Southwark, we pray;  

“God of strength and peace, send your blessing on the people of Ukraine. Sustain them in their struggles, hold them in their fear, protect them from all danger and be for them the hope they desire. For Jesus Christs’ sake, Amen.” 

Full video can be found here.