2010 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: You are witness of these things

Since 1908 the Church has called upon us to join in prayer with
other Christians around the world during the Week of Prayer for Christian
Unity. We do this work of prayer as an education in hope for spiritual and actual Christian unity realizing that the Holy Spirit is the only one capable of bring unity among various groups of Christians. The proposal for a week of prayer was initiated in the USA by Franciscans of the Atonement Father Paul
Wattson and it is held from January 18 – 25. Today the observance is international in scope.

It is generally held that the 1910
World Mission Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland, marked the beginnings of the
modern ecumenical movement.

In tribute, the promoters of the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity, the Commission on Faith and Order and the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity, invited the Scottish churches to prepare this year’s
theme.  They suggested: “You are
witnesses of these things” (Luke 24:48).

The 2010 theme is a reminder that as the
community of faith those reconciled with God and in Christ, “You are witness of
these things“–witness to the truth of the power of salvation in Jesus Christ
who will also make real his prayer, 
“That all may be one…so the world may believe.” *Witness gives praise
to the Presence who gives us the gift of life and resurrection; by knowing how
to share the story of our faith with others; by recognizing that God is at work
in our lives; by giving thanks for the faith we have received; by confessing
Christ’s victory over all suffering; by seeking to always be more faithful to
the Word of God; by growing in faith, hope and love; and by offering
hospitality and knowing how to receive it when it is offered to us.

Materials
to observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are available from the
Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, a ministry of the Franciscan Friars
of the Atonement.

For more information visit www.geii.org