Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
January 18-24, 2024

The Initiative and its members worldwide participated in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. On this page are mementos of this week of liturgies. We welcome your comments and contributions. To add your photos, please email Scott Brill, Executive Director.

Day Morning Prayer Evening Prayer
Thursday (The Confes­sion of St. Peter) The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity begins today. Pray that we will be united in confessing the one faith so that the world may know of God’s great love for all peo­ple. Pray for reconcilia­tion among Chris­tians—that we will listen to one another, learnfrom one another, & love one another as sisters & brothers in Christ. Pray for all the prayer services happening this week!
Friday Pray for the network of Messianic Jewish churches and fellowships of believers. Pray for God to continue to bring healing in the original division of the Church – between Gentiles & Jews Pray for the Orthodox churches throughout the world and for EcumenicalPatriarch Bartholomew. Pray for God to bring reconciliation between Eastern and Western churches first divided in 1054.
Saturday Pray for all ministries that work for Christian unity, including The Initia­tive. Pray for a radical increase in love in the whole body of Christ! Pray for the emerging generations of youth and children — all over the world — & all who minister to them. Pray for their desire for a future world of peace and love.
The Lord’s Day (3 Epiph­any) Pray for the Roman Catholic Church, for Pope Francis, and for all bishops in that Church. Pray that God will continue to bring back together the Western church, which began splintering in 1517. Pray for growing unity among all evangeli­cal Chris­tians (properly defined), particu­larly for the work of the World Evan­gelical Alli­ance & the global Lausanne Move­ment.
Monday Pray for unity among all the churches of the Reformation (Lu­theran, Angli­can, Reformed). Pray for Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Can­ter­bury. Pray for the unity of believers in many communities expressed in acts of service and advocacy for justice. Pray for the local leaders who organize and facilitate that work.
Tuesday Pray for our brothers & sisters in Pentecostal churches and the Pentecostal World Fellowship. Pray that the Holy Spirit may bring renewal and revival through the love and oneness of His people. Pray that all Christians would be united in ministering to a world in pain. Pray espe­cially for ministries to the poor, the home­less, the hungry, the perse­cuted, & all the suffering. Pray especially for the people of Ukraine, Gaza, & Israel.
Wednesday Thank God for all the ways that He has been at work this week. Pray for concrete next steps of unity. Pray for the whole mission of the whole church. Pray espe­cially for those who serve cross-culturally bearing witness to Jesus.
Thursday (The Conver­sion of St. Paul) Pray you, and every follower of Jesus, would grow in Christ-like love, so that the manifestation of that love would be greater than all divisions. Our Lord prayed that all those who follow him might be one; may this be more visibly true. May there be one flock under one Shepherd!

Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one: Grant that your church, being bound together in love and obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Litany for Christian Unity

That we may lift our voices as one. *
Come, Holy Spirit.
That we may live as a global communion. *
Come, Holy Spirit.
That we may be a community bound together in love. *
Come, Holy Spirit.

Across all our barriers of language, race, and nationality, *
unite us, Jesus.
Across all our mutual ignorance, prejudice, and hostility, *
unite us, Jesus.
Across all our differences of thought, outlook, and denominational allegiance, *
unite us, Jesus.

O God, for your greater glory, *
gather together your separated people.
O God, for the triumph of goodness and truth, *
gather together your separated people.
O God, that there may be one flock and one shepherd,
gather together your separated people.
O God, to confound the pride of Satan and his assaults, *
gather together your separated people.
O God, that peace may reign in the world at last, *
gather together your separated people.
That we may hear each other as we cry out to you, *
gather together your separated people.
O God, for the greater joy of the heart of your Son, *
gather together your separated people.

O God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, our only Savior, the Prince of Peace: Give us grace seriously to lay to heart the great dangers we are in by our unhappy divisions; take away all hatred and prejudice, and what­ever else may hinder us from godly union and concord; that, as there is but one Body and one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of us all, so we may be all of one heart and one soul, united in one holy bond of truth and peace, of faith and charity, and may with one mind and one mouth, glorify you; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Here are some of the dates, times, locations and livestream links for WPCU prayer services that members and friends of The Initiative were part of (in chronological order):

  • High Point/Greensboro, NC – took place Thursday, 1/18. Reach out here if you want to connect to folks in that area.
  • Greater New York City (Sat 1/20) – 5:00pm Eastern; St Mary’s Antiochian Orthodox Church 192 81st Street, Brooklyn, NY. Great Vespers, followed by potluck dinner.
  • Southside Chicago (Sat 1/20) – 7:00pm Central; St. Josephine Bakhita
    Parish, 2132 E 72nd St, Chicago. Fellowship following.
  • Northside Chicago (Sun 1/21) – 10:30am Central; St. Nicolai United Church of Christ, 3000 N. Kedzie, Chicago IL; service in Spanish and English, followed by a potluck luncheon
  • Greater Boston (Sun 1/21) – 2:30-4:30pm Eastern; Our Lady of the Annunciation Melkite Catholic Cathedral, 7 VFW Parkway, West
    Roxbury, MA. An afternoon of prayer & conversation.
  • Greater Los Angeles (Sun 1/21) – 2:30pm Pacific; Hollywood Church of Christ, 600 N. Rossmore Avenue, Los Angeles, CA. Livestream
  • Chicago Suburbs (Sun 1/21) – 7:00pm Central; New Jerusalem House of Prayer, 610 E. North Avenue, Carol Stream, IL. Fellowship following.
  • St. Louis (Sun 1/21) – 7:00pm Central; St. John Bosco Catholic Parish, 12934 Marine Avenue Creve Coeur MO.
  • Atlanta (Wed 1/24) – 7:00-8:30pm Eastern; Holy Spirit Catholic Church, 4465 Northside Drive, NW, Atlanta, Georgia.
  • Downtown Boston (Thur 1/25) – 7:00pm Eastern; Paulist Center, 5
    Park Street, Boston. Prayer liturgy.

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