Wilmington church dedicates prayer service to Ukraine

A Wilmington church is dedicating a regular prayer service to the war-torn nation of Ukraine.

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — A Wilmington church is dedicating a regular prayer service to the war-torn nation of Ukraine.

St. Jude’s Metropolitan Community Church holds a community-centering prayer and meditation service every Wednesday. Pastor John McLaughlin says it gives people the opportunity to pray and meditate together about what’s going on in the world.

“I think prayer works two ways. One, it certainly works in the cosmos and universe and helps to get things done in the world, but it also changes us,” McLaughlin said. “There’s a wonderful quote by Pope Francis that says ‘first we pray for the hungry and then we feed them.’ I thought this would be a perfect way for us to get out our grievances and lamentations before God and continue to do what we can to help.”

This week, the church dedicated the meditation session to the people of Ukraine with the goal of building a stronger sense of community.

“Knowing that while we may not be able to fly over and do anything on the ground right now, we can at least be together here,” McLaughlin said.

The church holds a prayer and meditation service every Wednesday at 6 pm.