Today, millions of Christians in the world celebrate the 100th anniversary of the ecumenical Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Posted 1:46pm CT Jan. 18, 2008 in Minneapolis, USA
LONDON 18:46 – JO’BURG 20:46 – MANILA 02:46 1/19 – SYDNEY 05:46 19/1

________________________

“Pray without ceasing”
(1 Thessalonians 5:17 NIV)

“There is one body and one Spirit …
one Lord, one faith, one baptism”
(Ephesians 4:4-5 NIV)

By Gloriscope staff

Today, January 18, millions of Christians throughout the world are starting eight days of collective prayer, marking the 100th anniversary of the ecumenical Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The Week of Prayer will be observed in most countries of the world.

In the northern hemisphere, the Week of Prayer starts on January 18 and ends on January 25, the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle. In the southern hemisphere, the international prayer week is observed at Pentecost, and preparations for the Pentecost prayer 2008 started in October 2007 in London.

The theme for this January’s global prayer week is “Pray Without Ceasing” (in French: “Priez sans cesse”) from Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, verse 5:17.

This Bible verse emphasizes the central role of prayer in the life of every Christian and in the life of the Christian community both locally and globally.

Global prayer for unity glorifies God

Global prayer of Christian believers gives glory to God, because it provides our witness about God the Father, to whom we pray, about Jesus Christ, who gives our prayers access to God, and about the Holy Spirit, who teaches and enables Christians to pray.

The purpose of the Week of Prayer is to pray not only for Christian unity, but also for peace and reconciliation, both within the Church and in the world at large.

Pope Benedict XVI prayer intentions for January 2008 are that the believers would work for full visible unity that better manifests a community of love which reflects the Blessed Trinity.

“Although the week of prayer has been observed since 1908, Christian unity remains an ever-burning issue,” says Rev. Dr. Kjell Nordstokke, director of the Department for Mission and Development of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva, Switzerland.

“The journey of promoting Christian unity is central to Christian identity,” said Bishop Philip Anyolo, the chairman of the Commission for Ecumenism of Kenya’s Episcopal Conference, in his message about this year’s Week of Prayer.

“Every time the baptized come together to pray, it is the Spirit who guides them and teaches them how to pray. It is the same Spirit who builds the Church’s unity,” Bishop Anyolo told the Catholic Information Service for Africa.

But Christian unity is also a willingness by believers to embrace each other and heal old disagreements.

Christian unity “does not depend on verifying who is responsible for our divisions, but begins with prayers in which we entrust ourselves to the Holy Spirit, confessing together ‘one Lord, one faith, one baptism’,” says Monsignor Hyginus Kim Hee-Joong, chairman of the Committee for Promoting Christian Unity of Korea’s Catholic Bishops’ Conference.

Monsignor Kim Hee-Joong says, according to Catholic News Agency: “It is necessary to pray without ceasing, insistently asking God for the great gift of unity among all the Lord’s disciples. May the endless strength of the Holy Spirit move us to a sincere commitment to seek unity, so that all together we may profess that Jesus is the one Savior of the world.”

The themes of this year’s prayer week

The main theme and Bible passage for each year’s global prayer week is chosen jointly by the World Council of Churches in Geneva, Switzerland, and the Vatican headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. This years main theme is “Pray Without ceasing.”

In the United States, the praying guidelines are published by the Graymor Ecumenical Interreligious Institute in Garrison, New York, where the Week of Prayer was inaugurated a hundred years ago.

The 2008 Week of Prayer has the following daily themes, according to a news release from the Vatican:

Friday, Jan. 18 – Pray always – “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

Saturday, Jan. 19 – Pray always, trusting God alone – “Give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).

Sunday, Friday, Jan. 20 – Pray always for the conversion of hearts – “Admonish the idlers, encourage the faint-hearted” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Monday, Jan. 21 – Pray always for justice – “See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all.” (1 Thessalonians 5:15)

Tuesday, Jan. 22 – Pray constantly with a patient heart – “Be patient with all of them” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Wednesday, Jan. 23 – Pray always for grace to work with God – “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:16)

Thursday, Jan. 24 – Pray for what we need – “Help the weak” (1 Thessalonians 5:14)

Friday, Jan. 25 – Pray always that they may be one – “Be at peace” (1 Thessalonians 5:13b).

Planned events

Here is a list of the planned events for the Week of prayer in some countries and Christian organizations.

CANADA: The Week of Prayer in Canada is co-ordinated by the Commission on Faith and Witness of the Canadian Council of Churches, which comprises the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Anglican Church of Canada, the United Church of Canada, and 17 other church groups.

GREAT BRITAIN: On Friday, January 18 this year, at Westminster Abbey in London, there will be a special Service to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Week of Prayer. The celebration will see the presence of the leaders of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor, the primate of the Armenian Church of Great Britain, Bishop Nathan Hovhannisian, and the leader of the Salvation Army, Commissioner Betty Matear.

On Sunday, January 20, there will be solemn vespers at the Westminster Cathedral. St. Albans Abbey in Hertfordshire and an ecumenical celebration the same day.

ITALY: The week of prayer is observed in all Catholic parishes. On the last day of the Week of Prayer, Pope Benedict XVI will lead an ecumenical vesper service at the Basilica of St. Paul outside-the-Walls (S. Paolo fuori le mura) in Rome.

KENYA: A national observance of the Week of Prayer has been organized by the Kenya’s Episcopal Conference.

LUTHERAN WORLD FEDERATION (LWF): LWF, which has 140 member church denominations in 78 countries of the world and a combined church membership of over 66 million believers, called on young Christians to observe the Week of Prayer through joint prayer, worship and other activities. “The ecumenical movement needs a strong push from young people,” says Rev. Dr. Kjell Nordstokke, director of the Department for Mission and Development of the Lutheran World Federation in Geneva.

SLOVAKIA: The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is observed in the entire country both at by local churches and national church leadership organizations: The first ecumenical celebration throughout Slovakia was held in 2004.

SOUTH KOREA: The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea has organized prayer events for the Week of Prayer.

UNITED STATES: The prayer week will be celebrated by local churches and national church organizations. Many churches will hold ecumenical church services together with churches of various denominations. “Agape meals” are also very popular, gathering Christians of various churches in a given local area.

Rev. Ricky Manalo has composed a song called That All May Be One in Christ, parts of which have been translated into Spanish and Vietnamese.

On Thursday, January 24, the American Bible Society ion New York will hold its second annual Day of Prayer for Christian Unity.

WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES: At the WCC headquarters in Geneva, there will be a round table discussion on Sunday, January 20, with Swiss representatives of various church denominations.

How the Week of Prayer evolved: a 100-year timeline

2008 marks the 100th anniversary of the ecumenical celebration of the Octave Prayer for Christian Unity, which eventually became the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

1898: In Graymoor, Garrison, New York, Lurana White founded a community of Episcopal (Anglican) nuns called the Sisters of Atonement to promote unity among Christians.

1899: In Graymoor, an Episcopal priest, the Very Rev. Paul Watson, founded the male order of Episcopal Friars of Atonement to promote unity among Christians.

1908: White and Watson organized a U.S. national promotion for eight days of nationwide prayer for the Christian unity January 18-25.

1916: Pope Benedict XV encouraged the observance of the Church Unity Octave with prayers throughout the Catholic Church.

1948: Delegates from 147 mainline Christian church denominations from 44 countries formed the World Council of Churches (WCC).

1964: In its Decree on Ecumenism, the Second Vatican Council called prayer “the soul of the ecumenical movement.”

1966: The Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Vatican secretariat for promoting Christian Unity start their co-operation.

1967: Representative from the Roman Catholic Church, the Protestant and Orthodox churches agreed to a joint observance of what they called “the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.”

1968: The World Council of Churches and Vatican’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity started to work together every year to select the annual prayer theme, the relevant Bible quotation, and helpful material to promote prayer for the Christian unity.

2008: The 100th anniversary of the global Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

________________________

TO GOD BE ALL THE GLORY!

Published in the U.S.A. Copyright © 4T4C News Corp. 2008. All rights reserved.