The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from the 18th to the 25th January – the octave of St. Peter and St. Paul.
This year we reflect on the topic of “Unusual Kindness”. In spite of the turbulence of the world at the present time, we also discover acts of kindness, of love, forgiveness and hospitality in places or from people we did not expect. As in the natural world, there are still places where the water of life seeps into the mainstream and brings colour and joy and offers a hopeful future.
Our prayer for Christian unity is deeply rooted in the Bible. We pray for unity because Jesus prayed that His disciples would be one, that the world might believe ( John 17:20-21). St Paul also urged the churches to which he wrote to recognise their unity in Christ, even though there was much diversity within them (1 Corinthians 12:12-27).
The organisation Churches Together in Britain and Ireland have published some resources to help us reflect on Christian Unity this week.
