Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2014
This year's theme: Is Christ divided?
Is Christian disunity a scandal before God? Or is it something we have grown accustomed to, as though it were a creaky door that we never seem to get around to fixing? St Paul's words challenge us as we reflect upon this question. To suggest that disunity is something acceptable is declaring that Christ himself is divided - and that really is a scandal!
2013 was the year in which churches from all inhabited continents of the world gathered in Korea for the 10th General Assembly of the World Council of Churches. We gathered for no other reason than to declare to the world that our disunity is a scandal and that we will go on praying for and working for that unity which is God's gift to the church and to the world.
The Churches of French Canada have chosen for us a key biblical text of the ecumenical movement and have invited us to think about what our divisions say to the world and to each other about the Christian faith. They have also suggested that we use the Millennium Goals as a focus for our prayers for the world.
Dates
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from the 18 to the 25 January - the octave of St Peter and St Paul.
Local Events for Christian Unity Week
This year's Ecumenical Prayer Service in Dungannon will take place in St Patrick's (Catholic) Church, Dungannon on Thursday 23 January at 7.30pm, followed by refreshments in the the FE College afterwards.
This year's diocesan Ecumenical Service will take place in St Patrick's Anglican Cathedral, Armagh on Wednesday 22 January beginning at 7.30pm. The guest speaker will be Archbishop Charles Brown, Apostolic Nuncio to Ireland.
