wfn.org | Week of Prayer for Christian Unity: Jan. 18-25

["NCC News" <pjenks@ncccusa.org>]

'Wherever two or three are gathered in my name . . .'
Week of Prayer for Christian Unity slated Jan. 18-25 

New York, January 9, 2006 -- The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a
bellwether of the ecumenical movement since 1908, will be celebrated across
the globe January 18-25, 2006.

The week of prayer, which has inspired members of most Christian traditions
for 98 years, will be observed in ecumenical councils, communion
headquarters, dioceses and local congregations in both hemispheres. The theme
of this year's observance is, "Where two or three are gathered in my name,"
invoking Jesus' promise in Matthew 18:20 that when Christians gather, "I am
there among them."

Resources for Christian Unity worship services and other activities can be
obtained from the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, 475
Riverside Drive, New York, N.Y., 212-870-2330.

The theme and text for each year's observance of the Week of Prayer are
chosen and prepared by representatives of the Pontifical Council for
Promoting Christian Unity and representatives of the World Council of
Churches. The international texts are developed, adapted and published for
use in the USA by Graymoor.

The Faith and Order Commission of the National Council of Churches USA
promotes the week among the NCC's 35 member communions.

According to Sister Lorelei F. Fuchs, S.A., associate director of the
Graymoor Institute, the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity began in
the Episcopal Church in 1908 at Graymoor, in New York's Hudson Valley.
 
Ten years earlier Paul James Wattson, a priest of the Episcopal Church,
co-founded the Franciscan religious congregations comprising the Society of
the Atonement at Graymoor with Lurana Mary White, also an Episcopalian.
Wattson was a vigorous advocate of Anglican and Roman Catholic reunion, and
he emphasized the role of the papacy in the reunion of Christians.

With the Second Vatican Council, 1962-1965, Sister Lorelei reports, an
increasing number of Roman Catholics joined other Christians each year in
January for common prayer for unity. The council's Decree on Ecumenism,
promulgated in 1964, called prayer the soul of the ecumenical movement and
encouraged the observance of what is now known as the Week of Prayer for
Christian Unity.
 
In 1966, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and
the Vatican Secretariat (now Council) for Promoting Christian Unity began
collaborating on a common international text for worldwide usage. Since 1968
these international texts, which are based on themes proposed by ecumenical
groups throughout the world, have been developed, adapted and published for
use in the United States Graymoor.  To assist in this endeavor, the GEII
invites contributions from ecumenists and church leaders in America.

In 1983, the National Council of Churches' Governing Board urged their member
communions to designate an "Ecumenical Sunday" for prayer for Christian
unity. Eventually, conversations among organizers of the Week of Prayer and
representatives of the NCC and local councils led to placing Ecumenical
Sunday within the Week of Prayer context.

Contact NCC News: Philip E. Jenks, 212-870-2252, pjenks@ncccusa.org  or
Leslie Tune, 202-544-2350, ltune@ncccusa.org