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09041
January 21, 2009
2009 Week Of Prayer For Christian Unity is Jan. 18-25
Focus this year is on Korea
by Jerry L. Van Marter
Presbyterian News Service
with information provided by the World Council of Churches
LOUISVILLE ― Inspired by the witness of churches on the divided Korean peninsula, Christians around the world will be praying “that they may become one in God’s hand” during this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU).
The materials for the 2009 week of prayer are rooted in the experience of the churches in Korea. In their context of national division they have turned for inspiration to the prophet Ezekiel, who also lived in a tragically divided nation and longed for the unity of his people.
Traditionally celebrated between Jan. 18 and 25 in the northern hemisphere or at Pentecost in the southern hemisphere, the WPCU mobilizes countless congregations and parishes the world over.
During the week, Christians from different confessional families get together and ― at least on that occasion ― pray together in special ecumenical celebrations.
Production of the liturgical and biblical material for the WPCU has been jointly coordinated since 1968 by the World Council of Churches’ Faith and Order Commission and the Roman Catholic Church’s Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.
This year, a group of representatives from the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Korea and the National Council of Churches in Korea chose as the text for the WPCU the vision of Ezekiel (Ezek. 37:15-28).
The passage depicts two pieces of wood, symbolizing the two kingdoms into which Israel had been divided. The Korean Christians found it offered some compelling parallels to their own situation within a divided country and to a divided Christendom.
Resources for the week include an introduction to the theme; a suggested ecumenical celebration which local churches are encouraged to adapt for their own particular liturgical, social and cultural contexts; biblical reflections and prayers for the “eight days”; and an overview of the ecumenical situation in Korea and additional prayers from Korean churches.
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