Our Ukrainian friends and students tell us that every prayer, word, and action of solidarity and hope is immensely important and is often a lifeline. 

We held a Vigil at the Chaplaincy on Friday 24 February, marking a year on since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We were joined also by students from other universities and by members of the public, many of whom were Ukrainian or had strong ties with the region.

There were also many other events in Edinburgh that day, including an outdoor vigil in Bristo Square that we supported at the end of the afternoon, organised by the student Ukrainian Society.

On 3rd May 2023 , 1.30-4pm, we are hosting a workshop by playwright Sarah Woods, founder of Artists in Exile, supporting Ukrainian Artists in the UK. All are welcome to the workshop. Please book here: Creativity: Making it work

On 18 May 2023, we will be celebrating the anniversary of the twinning of the University of Edinburgh with the National University of Ukraine, including a cultural community lunch at the Chaplaincy Centre.

We invite people to gather on this day wherever you are in the world, to continue to answer the call to ‘light up our hearts for Ukraine’.

We are committed to on-going acts of solidarity, vigilance and hope. Our website has had over 3,400 visits from over 43 countries. Please continue to share the website link and encourage people to map their support by planting sunflowers on the website map


In support of Ukraine, we call all people to acts of guerrilla peace.

By day, we sow sunflowers; by night, we put lights in our windows. Such round the clock vigilance and hope is invincible. No amount of military force could eradicate the flowers and light that will proliferate around the world in solidarity with Ukraine.

Tatiana, a woman in Ukraine, made a passionate plea on the BBC news: ‘We need the world to light up your hearts for Ukraine and for God.’

As we did with A Light for Aleppo, when that city was besieged: we gathered, lit beacons and lit up our windows, and the path of light went across the world and reached into Aleppo itself. These simple acts of compassion and empathy increased people’s morale there, and helped refugees in Scotland to feel recognised, appreciated, and welcomed.

This, the people of Scotland can do again, and more. Our Capital Cities are twinned: Edinburgh and Kyiv. We can gather, we can recklessly sow seeds of hope, literally doing so with sunflowers that will bloom with audacity as they salute the sun and sky in freedom. We can keep lights shining in our hearts, our lives and our windows, as an invincible display of life against death, insight against tyranny, love against hate.

This we can do whatever our beliefs, and in addition to our actions to provide aid, homes, and practicalities. We unite in aggressive empathy and audacious displays of solidarity, because we are the same; our hopes and fears are the same. Our desire for peace is the same.

Let the light of hope reach Ukraine, and people in all parts of the world affected by conflict, and let the eager and expected welcome be truly felt by all who come to Scotland for refuge.

How this will work

We can start now, with lights in the windows, and the sowing of sunflowers wherever you can.

You can display the logo on social media, and print it out to display in windows. The logo shows the actions we can take by day and by night, so that the vigilance, solidarity and hope never cease. Sow seeds by day, lighten the darkness by night.

We will hold a vigil in George Square, Edinburgh, on 7 April to launch the ‘Light up your hearts’ campaign, as a prelude to a larger event after Easter when communities around the country and the world will have had time to organise and join in a chain of lit up rallies and vigils.

Our thanks to Marta Christiansen, a fourth-year English Language and Literature student, for designing the logo.

Revd Dr Harriet Harris MBE FRSA FRSE
Call to action from the University of Edinburgh Chaplaincy

Plant a Sunflower on the Map

Vigilance

Vigilance

Keeping a vigil involves staying awake in order to watch, keep guard, or wait with others or with a situation, holding them in mind, and often also in prayer.

Solidarity

Solidarity

We show solidarity with the people of Ukraine, by standing by them and with them; having at our heart a deep concern for their lives, freedom and justice.

Hope

Hope

Hope enables us to be wholly real about what is happening in the world, with feet firmly planted on the ground, while tuning into our desire and vision for a better future.

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Chaplaincy Centre, 1 Bristo Square, Edinburgh EH8 9AL

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