As churches in the southern hemisphere closed the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 28 May, they brought final reflections to this year’s theme of “Do good; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17).”
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated in the southern hemisphere from 21-28 May. Below, Rev. Canon Michael Wallace, vicar for the Dunedin North Anglican Parish Te Pāriha o Ōtepoti ki te Raki, reflects on his hopes for observing the special week in Aotearoa New Zealand.
Churches in the southern hemisphere will observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 21-28 May, the week between Ascension and Pentecost. This year’s theme is “Do good; seek justice (Isaiah 1:17).”
In a webinar hosted by the World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order, speakers and participants explored the question: What does it mean to be the church within the contemporary context of world Christianity?
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order is convening for the last time with its current composition before a new commission takes its place.
I am writing this report just after the celebration of Easter in the West, and I have both a sense of rejoicing that Christ is risen, defeating death and treading down evil, but also a pang of sorrow that we are not yet united in celebrating Easter together.
I remember hearing about “Faith and Order” for the first time. I was a freshman in theology reading Fr Georges Florovsky’s biography, and the phrase stuck in my mind.
The World Council of Churches (WCC) Commission on Faith and Order will convene for the last time with its current composition before the new commission takes its place.
Rev. Dr Kuzipa Nalwamba, World Council of Churches programme director for Unity and Mission, reflects below on mission, theology, and the making of a better world.
Rev. Dr Odair Pedroso Mateus began to teach at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in 2004 and joined the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 2007. Most recently he served as WCC interim deputy general secretary and Faith and Order director. Below, he reflects on his fondest memories, accomplishments, and hopes.
The new St Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church in New York City hosted a special Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service in a church that was previously destroyed by terrorist attacks on 11 Sept. 2001.
At an ecumenical service hosted at St Paul’s Anglican Church by the Barbados Christian Council, those gathered prayerfully explored the symbols of stones and water as “the beginning of a decolonized spiritual practice.”
In a service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, representatives from 25 churches in Geneva drew together in the World Council of Churches chapel on 18 January.
Christians in New York City opened the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on 18 January by participating in a worship service at the Interchurch Center, an office building that houses many church-related organizations and many others focused on intercultural and religious exchange. The service was infused with themes of justice and unity, both from a perspective of African-American history and the urging of Christians today to put their faith into action.
As Christians in Africa joined the celebrations to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a Roman Catholic priest who is involved in ecumenism, stressed the unity of the churches as central to building a concrete response to poor people’s need for justice in the continent.
Aa the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity opened on 18 January, the World Council of Churches staff and partners gathered in a spirit of unity to “Do good; seek justice,” the theme of this year’s special week.
Rev. Dr Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-chief executive officer of the Minnesota Council of Churches, helped convene the team of authors for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity materials. Below, he reflects on the challenges and hopes the team brought to the table as they composed the text.
Days before the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins, many across the world are getting ready by accessing the resources prepared by the Minnesota Council of Churches, based in the USA.