February 2025 Update | The Initiative

Thanks so much for reading this month‘s news from The Initiative, a community committed to “walking in deeper friendship with Jesus and his followers, so that the love of Christ might exceed all divisions.” We do this primarily through prayer, sharing of our lives, and proactive work for greater unity.

This month, we’re looking back at some of the powerful Week of Prayer for Christian Unity services that happened in January, reflecting a little on the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed, anticipating our national gathering in June – and remembering a dear sister who passed away at the end of last week.

A Wonderful Week of Prayer

Many thanks to those of you who were participating in or praying daily during last month’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. We tracked lots of downloads of our daily prayer guide and litany and know that several churches and parishes distributed them to their congregants. And we heard lots of stories of meaningful prayer liturgies, meal encounters and conversational dialogues that took place from Massachusetts to California and lots of places in between.

Members and friends of The Initiative helped plan and participated in some of those events. Above is a sampling of pictures from (starting top left and going clockwise) Hyde Park IL, Darien CT, Hopkinton MA, the Boston Archdiocese, and Wheaton IL. You can see more pictures on the Week of Prayer page on our website and even find some links to the recorded livestreams of a couple of them.
Join us in praying that the seeds of friendship, trust and cooperation that were sown during the week will continue to grow and bear fruit.

Elizabeth Woodard (Catholic theologian and Initiative Leadership Council member) shared a reflection on the Nicene Creed with our friends at UniteBoston during the Week of Prayer. 2025 is the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea and the creed that came from that Council has been affirmed and used in worship by Christians throughout the intervening centuries.

Registration is open for our summer gathering!

The Initiative’s annual gathering for prayer, growing friendship across difference & division, and discerning greater unity in Christ’s Church is happening again this coming June.

Please consider joining us for these two days to experience encounter across difference, to examine the core “way” and practices of The Initiative, and to discern what deeper experiences into the way of love and unity God may be inviting you personally and us together. This gathering will also be the collaborative engine that will help us nurture the growth of “love greater than division.”

Click on the picture above to access the registration page. If you have any questions or want more information about the gathering or the available scholarships, reply to this email or reach out to info(at)the initiative(dot)org.

Remembering Doris Haugen

Just as I was preparing this newsletter to go out, I received word that one of our dearest Initiative friends and former Leadership Council member had passed away last Friday. Doris was a part of the original Leadership Council starting in 2019. Her commitment to prayer and her wisdom grown from decades of following Jesus and building friendships were a key part of helping us move through and out of our early days in the pandemic.

When I was looking for a picture of Doris to include, I came across several screen shots that were taken during some of our virtual prayer gatherings. This one is most fitting because it exemplifies how she was a gift to us: on Zoom, with a smile, ready to pray!

In a way, it’s also fitting that she entered her eternal life on Valentine’s Day, since her life here was full of Jesus-shaped, self-giving love. Please do hold her husband Doug and family in your prayers as they grieve.

Thanks again to all of you who read these updates, pray, and partner with us in this work. May the Lord sustain you in the month ahead, and give you courage and love to walk in deeper friendship with Jesus and with all his followers.