With more than 100 years of history, this annual observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, involves Christian communities throughout the world, between 18-25 January. During this week, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one” from the Gospel of John Chapter 17 verse 21 in The Holy Bible.
During this week Christians come together to pray for their unity. Congregations and parishes all over the world exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical (inter-denominational) celebrations and prayer services.
In order to prepare for the annual celebration, ecumenical partners in a particular region are invited to produce a basic liturgical text on a biblical theme. Materials for 2023 have been prepared by the churches of Minneapolis to explore how the work of Christian unity can contribute to the promotion of racial justice across all levels of society.
In a statement Churches Together in Britain & Ireland said, “As we join with other Christians around the world for the Week of Prayer we pray that our hearts will be open to see and hear the many ways in which racism continues to destroy lives, and to discern the steps we can take as individuals and communities to heal the hurts and build a better future for everyone.”
In Luton, Deans and Heads of different denominations got together and invited Christians to reflect together on the theme – What is Interfaith and why should Christians be involved with this? Guest Speaker Revd Dr Richard Sudworth, Secretary for Inter Religious Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury and National Inter Religious Affairs Adviser for the Church of England shared a wealth of reflections from his experiences of interfaith community engagement.
He called Christians to engage with and witness to all those of different faiths and none, without denigrating another religion or belief. In fact, this applies to everyone. He also encouraged by saying that it takes time to create a culture of dialogue and cooperation. As we deliberately and persistently seek to work together with others for the common good, we also learn to love each other better and that is what matters the most.
Long may we continue to strive for the unity of humankind; unity in diversity.
Revd Dr Richard Sudworth, Secretary for Inter Religious Affairs to the Archbishop of Canterbury and National Inter Religious Affairs Adviser for the Church of England with Christians from different denominations at the Luton Week of Prayer for Christian Unity event held on 24th Jan 2023.