1. God of grace, send upon us today your Holy Spirit

as you poured out the Spirit upon the Apostles on the day of Pentecost.

2. May your Holy Spirit ignite in us a passionate desire for unity.

C: We wish to be one, so that the world may believe.

3. When your church unites people with Christ, in the power of the Spirit and

manifests communion in prayer and action;

4. when your church affirms the sanctity of life and proclaims unity, just peace and reconciliation,

5. when your church provides healing and overcomes divisions of race, gender, age

and culture,

6. We give thanks and praise, 0 God.

C: As we draw closer to Christ, we draw closer to each other.

7. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free,

8. there is no longer male and female, for all are one in Christ Jesus.

C: In Him all nations shall be blessed.

9. Many people will come from East and West, from North and South, and will eat with Abraham and Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven

C: The nations will walk by in the light of the Lamb.

10. Because God's purpose is to gather the whole creation under the Lordship of Jesus

Christ;

11. because the church is to unite people with Christ in the power of the Spirit, to

promote life, justice and peace;

12. because the church is a foretaste of the koinonia (community), which God wills.

C: We give thanks and praise, 0 God.

And may God bless us with life forever; may Christ Jesus breathe his Spirit and peace into us; may the Holy Spirit kindle our hearts with love and undying hope; and may the Blessed Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, preserve us in unity and help us to discover joy in walking together as part of Christ's body.

Amen.

A contribution from the Anglican Church of Southern Africa to the WCC's 70th anniversary.