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Week of Prayer
for Christian
Unity
Today we are right in the middle of a week designated for an annual ecumenical celebration. Through prayer, reflection, and fellowship, Christians around the world are invited to come together to honour unity within our diversity.

This year there is a powerful reflection coming from Rev. Dr. Rima Nasrallah in Lebanon. You may recall the deadly event in the Beirut sea port on August 4, 2020, when 2,700 tons of ammonium nitrate exploded killing at least 218 people and injuring at least 7,000. Rima Nasrallah’s own church was demolished in that explosion. She shares that, “With masks on our faces and aches in our hearts, we came together from different church families in Lebanon and the region, and we composed a prayer, and proposed a theme, so that the world would pray with us for unity and for the church worldwide.”

They were longing for God’s gentle presence in the midst of their pain. Out of their experience, this year’s theme, “We saw the star in the East, and we came to worship him” came into being. The story of the Magi joins a political challenge with a humble worship of a newborn baby.

This week we are all invited to remember the different contexts of Christians around the world. There is much diversity, and there are still many challenges in our stories, country to country. Perhaps sometime in the next day or two, you can take some time to light a candle in honour of this Week of Prayer For Christian Unity. Let’s give thanks for the many ways this Christian faith of ours offers light and hope in different ways to so many.

Peace and joy,

Nancy