Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2010

(May 16 – May 23)    ‘You are witnesses of these things’ (Luke 24:48)

In 2010, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will be marked between May 16 – May 23, concluding on Pentecost Sunday.  During this time we have a wonderful opportunity to renew and deepen our relationships in the one God in whom we share together through Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. This year's theme is ‘You are witnesses of these things’ (Luke 24:48) and a variety of resources and links can be found below to assist Australians in joining more effectively in that great wave of prayer begun by Jesus himself when he prayed 'that they may all be one... so that the world may believe' (John 17:21).

The 2010 resources, adapted for use in Australia, are grounded in the experience of the
churches in Scotland and are also designed to help mark the 100th anniversary of the 1910 Edinburgh World Mission Conference, such a great landmark in the development of the ecumenical movement. In the 2010 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity we are therefore encouraged to reflect each day on chapter 24 of Luke's gospel stopping at the questions Jesus' asks to his disciples and those they ask of Jesus.  Each of these questions highlights a particular way of witnessing to the Risen One, and invites us to think about church division and about how, concretely, we can remedy that.  The materials were produced jointly by the WCC & the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, drawing on Scottish churches’ experience.  Adapted here for Australia, they seek to deepen our unity in Christ.

Link these resources into daily and weekly prayers, and with other special occasions (such as the World Day of Prayer on March 6) and such prayer will be indeed strengthen God's hand for mission and unity. For the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2010 is also an opportunity to reflect further on the vital importance of sharing in the mission of God (missio dei) in our own age.

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