Feature story
“Christ’s love moves us to witness” was the theme for this service of morning prayer on Wednesday 7 September at the 11th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC). In addition to words and music, symbolic action illustrated the need to reassemble structures that have been disassembled, to rebuild the ruins. The exploration of such daily themes continue in Bible studies and group discussions later in the assembly’s schedule.
The gospel reading was taken from Matthew 20:20-28, a story of two disciples’ mother asking Jesus for preferment for her sons. She expresses the wish that they be allowed “to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.” Jesus responds with a new understanding of preferment: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. It will not be so among you; but whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave.”
While at prayer, the assembly admitted their disunity but hoped for better: “We are broken. But, with Christ, we are together. As we silently pray together, we witness to our unity as Christians…” A deliberately discordant Kyrie sounded the refrain amid the series of confessions: “We confess that our church structures and our desire for power have led to a lack of unity. May the compassionate Christ lead us to transform our motives and dismantle unjust structures. We confess that our struggles for power and truth stop us from sharing Christ’s body together. May the compassionate Christ lead us to the fulfillment of our unity.”
The Hungarian setting for the psalm, composed by Dániel Gryllus, appeared alongside songs of praise drawn from Indonesia, Fiji, Jamaica, Finland, Armenia, Ivory Coast and Argentina. At the close of their devotions, assembly members moved rhythmically to the Argentine melody as they made their way to the plenary hall.
#WCC assembly - Morning Prayer Video
Livestream of the WCC 11th Assembly in Karlsruhe, Germany
