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Good Morning

During the freezing winter of 1941 to 2 the people of Leningrad were under siege by the German army. They had no heating, no water supply, very little food. The siege ended at the beginning of 1944.  By then, more than a million people had died.

A few miles from Glasgow, there are two towns who’re part of the story of Leningrad.  In 1941, the Airdrie and Coatbridge Housewives’ Organisations wanted to show their support for the women of Leningrad.  So they collected over 6000 signatures from factories, churches, local women’s groups and cooperative societies.  They were put into an album, along with verses from Robert Burns, and a picture of a thistle on the cover. 

The album was presented to the Soviet Embassy in London in December 1941, and somehow it made its way through enemy lines to Leningrad.   What happened next is extraordinary and moving. In the grip of starvation and darkness, the women of Leningrad created their own album to send back to Scotland.    It contained letters, photographs and all kinds of artwork.  ‘Our dear friends,’ began one letter, ‘We have been moved to the depth of our soul by the words of love and greeting from those distanced from us in far-off Scotland’.

Today, that album sits in the Mitchell Library in Glasgow.  A testament to human solidarity, and the kindness of strangers.  

We pray this morning for all people, across the world, who are living in fear and want; or oppressed by war and violence.   Lighten their darkness, Lord, and bless the peacemakers, the food bringers and the comforters.  Amen