Conference supports Christmas truce in Ukraine 

Nov 22, 2022

British soldiers probably couldn’t believe their ears on Christmas Eve 1914 as the sound of Christmas carols wafted across the battlefield from the German trenches. Soon, the two sides were shouting messages back and forth, and the next day British and German soldiers met in no-man’s land, where they exchanged gifts and played soccer. The truce didn’t take hold everywhere along the Western front that first Christmas of World War I, and never was repeated on a similar scale. Yet it revealed a deep yearning for peace amid the most savage conflict the world had known to that point. 

Now, drawing on the spirit of the 1914 Christmas truce, a group of faith leaders and organizations have issued a statement appealing for a Christmas ceasefire in Ukraine, urging the U.S. government to take a leading role in ending the bloodshed through a negotiated settlement. Conference Minister Franz Rigert has signed the statement on behalf of the Wisconsin Conference UCC. Click to learn more and to sign the statement.