The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a history of over 100 years . . . , in which Christians around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity. By annually observing the WPCU, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper "that they all may be one." (cf. John 17:21)
The annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins today (Wednesday, January 18, 2017) and concludes Wednesday, January 25. Let us join other Christian churches in our area as we remember the 2017 theme, Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us (2 Corinthians 5:14-20).
Each day has its own theme:
The text, 2 Corinthians 5:14-20, shapes the reflections of the eight days, which develop some of the theological insights of the individual verses, as follows:
Day 1: One has died for all
Day 2: Live no longer for themselves
Day 3: We regard no one from a human point of view
Day 4: Everything old has passed away
Day 5: Everything has become new
Day 6: God reconciled us to himself
Day 7: The ministry of reconciliation
Day 8: Reconciled to God
The love of Christ compels us beyond our prayers for unity among Christians. Congregations and churches need the gift of God´s reconciliation as a wellspring of life. But above all, they need it for their common witness to the world: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me” (John 17:21).