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Ecumenical Activities
Octave of Prayer for Christian Unity
‘Abide in my love and you will bear much fruit’ Jn 15:5-9
Please join in the prayer below every afternoon at 3:00pm, from Monday 18th to Monday 25th January. In this way we can be united in prayer though not gathering physically. This will also help us to remember that it is above all through his passion and death that Jesus heals our divisions and all other ills. Let us use this time to pray with faith and determination that the scourge of this pandemic will end soon, and in some way will hasten the fulfilment of Jesus’ wish for Christian unity ‘so that the world may believe’. (Jn 17:21)
‘God our Father, we know you are close to us, you are right here in our midst as we are united in your name. You remain with us every moment of the day, sharing our hopes and joys, successes and achievements, as much as our pain, our worries, anxieties and failures. As we renew our trust in your forgiving and merciful love, we ask you to heal the wound of division among us Christians, and we place our Covid-19 stricken world into your hands. We trust that this night which we are all living through will lead to the dawning of a more just, more peaceful and more united humanity. We ask for your help and run to your embrace, we want to remain in your love, so that we may bring much fruit, the fruit You desire.
Father God, we praise you and thank you for all that has been achieved in our town through the collaborative efforts of our church communities, to help where help was and is needed during these pandemic months. We ask especially that we may draw from your presence among us the energy, strength and the courage we need to continue, to do all we can to alleviate sorrow and grief, poverty, ignorance, hunger and loneliness, to serve others and help keep them safe. We trust that your love for us, your children, will keep us close to you. And we promise that you can trust in us that, abiding in your love, we will be the channels through which your love flows out to our brothers and sisters. Amen.’
In addition, CTBI (Churches Together for Britain and Ireland) have published a beautiful series of services for Unity Week online, available at the following links:
https://ctbi.org.uk/resources-for-week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2021/
