Every year, the week of January 18–25, Christians around the world observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Throughout this week, followers of Jesus Christ gather to pray together for the visible unity of the Church. Christians recognize the scandal of the ways that we have divided Christ’s Church and the ways that our divisions compromise the gospel of Jesus Christ. Right before Jesus was arrested and crucified He prayed that those who believed in him would “be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” We believe that it is the Will of Christ that his followers accept the unity that we all have in Christ and that we proclaim the gospel and live our faith accordingly.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was begun in the Episcopal Church in 1908 at Graymoor, in New York’s Hudson Valley, by Fr. Paul James Wattson, and advocate of Anglican and Roman Catholic reunion. The week-long observance grew out of a recommendation by one of his few supporters that a day of prayer for Christian unity be observed throughout the world every year on the Feast of St. Peter (June 29). Fr.Wattson liked the idea, but recommended a “Church Unity Week” beginning on the Feast of the Chair of Peter (January) 18 and ending on the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul (January 25). Before too long, the movement grew and common Christian prayer for unity continued to grow throughout the world.

Each year the theme and texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are initially prepared by an international group whose members are appointed by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. The theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2004 is ‘My peace I give to you . . . not as the world gives . . . let not your hearts be troubled’, (John 14: 23–31).

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has always affirmed that it is a part of “The Church universal (that) consists of all persons in every nation, together with their children, who profess faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and commit themselves to live in a fellowship under his rule” (Book of Order, G-4.0101). Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also believe that “Visible oneness, by which a diversity of persons, gifts, and understandings is brought together, is an important sign of the unity of God’s people. It is also a means by which that unity is achieved. Further, while divisions into different denominations do not destroy this unity, they do obscure it for both the Church and the world. The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), affirming its historical continuity with the whole Church of Jesus Christ, is committed to the reduction of that obscurity and is willing to seek and to maintain communion and community with all other branches of the one, catholic Church” (Book of Order, G-4.0203). Observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is one way that Presbyterian Christians can bear witness to our belief that through our Lord, we are indeed united with Christians everywhere through our common faith.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) seeks to make the unity of the Body of Christ more visible “. . . so that the world may believe . . .” through our membership in ecumenical councils such as the World Council of Churches, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Members of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) also express their commitment to the visible unity of the Body of Christ through their leadership in local, regional and State ecumenical organizations.

Recently, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) moved closer to affirming our understanding that Christian unity is a gift from God and that Christians are being faithful to God’s will for the Church when we bear witness to the unity of the Church by entering into full communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Reformed Church in America and the United Church of Christ. Through the full communion agreement, where these four churches recognize each other as churches in which the gospel is rightly preached and the sacraments rightly administered according to the word of God,(1 it has become easier for the ministers from these four churches to be called to serve other full communion congregations. Also, congregations of these churches are encouraged to worship together, celebrate the sacraments together and be more intentional about engaging in mission together.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has also made a commitment to be an active member of the Churches Uniting in Christ, along with the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church, the Episcopal Church, the International Council of Community Churches, the United Church of Christ and the United Methodist Church. These churches have agreed to bear witness to the unity of the Body of Christ, through worshiping together, through celebrating the sacraments together and through being more intentional about engaging in Christ’s mission together on a regular and intentional basis, especially a shared mission to combat racism.

As you seek to bear witness to the visible unity of the Body of Christ in your community, plan to observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18–25, 2004. Invite your congregation to join Christians throughout the world by:

• Praying for the visible unity of the Church and for other churches by name.
• Inviting pastors and congregations from the other churches in your neighborhood to join you in planning an ecumenical worship service during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18–25. Encourage the members of your congregation to attend.
• Planning to observe the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday, which often falls during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, ecumenically.
• Hosting an ecumenical Bible Study, reflecting on the theme, ‘My peace I give to you . . . not as the world gives . . . let not your hearts be troubled.’ (John 14:23–31).
• Making arrangements to have your youth group worship with a non-Protestant congregation, ie: Lutheran, Episcopal, Catholic, Orthodox, Pentecostal, followed by a discussion about similarities and differences.

Kathy Reeves, the writer, is the Associate for Ecumenical Programming. For more information about the 2004 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, call the Ecumenical and Mission Partnerships office at (888) 728-7228, ext. 8185.

Information about the history of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is from an article prepared by Sister Lorelei F. Fuchs, SA, Associate Director, Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute, New York, NY.