Vigil for Ukraine - Two Years On 2024
SAWBRIDGEWORTH HOMES FOR UKRAINE SUPPORT GROUP
The SAWBRIDGEWORTH HOMES FOR UKRAINE SUPPORT GROUP organised a vigil on Saturday 24 February in Sayesbury Manor, next to the Town Council, to mark the unwelcome second anniversary of the war in Ukraine. Around 50 people attended, including some of our guests from Ukraine and their children, their hosts, our group of English teachers, residents and town councillors (the Mayor, Cllr Ruth Buckmaster, and Cllrs Eric Buckmaster and John Rider).
The Sawbridgeworth Evangelical and Congregational Church minister, Gary Hanson, read a prayer, which Anna Kasimova also read in Ukrainian. We sang the Ukrainian National anthem and Chervona Kolyna (the red viburnum, which has become a symbol of freedom and resilience, a song of resistance), lit tea lights and laid them next to the beacon (also alight). We finished with a period of quiet reflection and the opportunity to talk to each other.
We’d like to thank the Town and Council and Town Ranger for their support.
Gary Hanson reminded us that we now have a permanent connection with Ukraine, and we are starting to think about how and where to best remember that connection in our town.
David Royle 250224
