Traditionally, the week of prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated between 18th and 25th January, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul.
According to the World Council of Churches, “Today Caribbean Christians of many different traditions see the hand of God active in the ending of enslavement. It is a uniting experience of the saving action of God which brings freedom. For this reason the choice of the song of Moses and Miriam (Ex 15:1-21), as the motif of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2018 was considered a most appropriate one.”
The following prayer is among those prepared by the organisers for all those participating in this week.
Barrier-breaking God,
You embrace all cultures and lands,
But keep a special place in your heart
For the stranger, the widow and the orphan.
Grant us the gift of your Spirit
That we may become as You are,
Welcoming all as brothers and sisters,
Your cherished children,
Citizens together in Christ’s kingdom of justice and peace.
Amen
The Sisters of St John of God invite you to pray this prayer with us. It can be both a prayer for this week and a prayer for each day of the year. Around the world racial, political and economic divisions are forming walls between peoples and there is need for healing and hope.
This year, let us be “artisans of peace” (Pope Francis) and bridge builders, turning ‘a contemplative gaze that recognizes that all of us “belong to one family, migrants and the local populations that welcome them, and all have the same right to enjoy the goods of the earth’ (Pope Francis)
