The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was first proposed in 1908 as an observance within the Roman Catholic Church by Fr Paul Wattson, founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Graymoor, New York. In November of 2014, the US Conference of Catholic Bishops endorsed the cause for Fr Wattson’s canonization.
Since the founding of the World Council of Churches in 1948, many other Christian denominations around the world have come to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and since 1968, the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity have collaborated to produce materials for use over this eight-day period. Every year, the Commission on Faith and Witness of the Canadian Council of Churches assembles an ecumenical writing team to adapt these materials for the Canadian context, and to create additional planning resources.
This year’s resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by an ecumenical team in Latvia, representing various churches and religious organizations. They have chosen as their theme “Called to proclaim the mighty acts of God”, inspired by 1 Peter 2:9 – “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” They invite Christians around the world to reflect on what it means to be the people of God, and how we are called both to proclaim and to respond to the acts of God in the world.
Source: Text: Conseil Canadien des Églises; Image: GEII – Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute Image