The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ends tomorrow and because of its proximity to Christmas is often overlooked in our Church activities.  This initiative of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity is celebrated between the Feast of the Confession of St Peter (Jan 19;  Matt 16: 15-20) and the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul ( Jan 26; Acts 9: 1-19).  These two feasts represent the two main expressions of how we become aware of our relationship with our Lord.  The material each year is prepared by an ecumenical group in some country, this year by Christians in Armenia.

 

This year’s theme is based on Ephesians 4: 1-7 and is an interesting reflection on how our integrity and Christian virtues, especially peace, bring about the unity that is integral to our Christian Faith.  This integral unity is in the symbols of hope in Jesus Christ and the understanding of “one Lord, one faith, one Baptism, and one God and Father of all”.  This interesting and thoughtful study  is available at  2026 WPCU Resources – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity to download and read.

 

Perhaps in future years we can get together with fellow Christians from the other churches and share our faith together.

 

Somewhere in the material is the phrase “Prayer is the Soul of our unity”.  Prayer is the soul or core of our Christian life.

 

Blessings,

Canon Donald