Today marks the final day of the 2006 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Earlier this week the World Council of Churches (WCC) reported:
The marks of ecumenical spirituality are "readiness to rethink and to be converted" and willingness "to bear the otherness of the other, including refugees, people of another colour and other faiths, the old and the poor - all God's people," said Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia yesterday, the first day of the 2006 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Preaching at a service in the French-language church in Switzerland's capital Bern, Kobia recognized that bearing the otherness of the other "is not a simple matter". For this to happen, Christians "must develop the spiritual capacity to hear and see the grace of God in the other, [...] the capacity to feel the pulse of the world around us and to listen to the voices of those far and near".
According to the WCC general secretary, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a "very significant role" to play in such an endeavour. "As we meet, sing, pray and worship together here in Bern in the context of the universality of the world-wide Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, [...] we are one with our brothers and sisters in Bolivia, in Kiribati, in Botswana and, yes, with our Irish brothers and sisters who have prepared the liturgical materials we are using this week."
Kobia gave thanks to God for the "world-wide community" which each year comes "together in spirit to pray for God's energy and guidance in search of unity". "Prayer," Kobia said, "remains at the heart of the unity that we seek." A unity that is "not just for our sake, but also for the sake of the world".
Visit WCC's newly expanded website to learn more about the world-wide ecumenical movement.
Related Post: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity slated Jan. 18-25
