07.01.2020
‘Unusual Kindness’ – Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020 takes place from January 18 to 25, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul. The theme for 2020 is ‘Unusual Kindness’ and materials have been prepared by the Christian Churches in Malta and Gozo.
During the week Christians come together to pray for their unity. Congregations and parishes all over the world exchange preachers or arrange special ecumenical celebrations and prayer services.
In Dublin & Glendalough the Inaugural Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity takes place on Sunday January 18 at 4pm in the Church of the Assumption, Booterstown Avenue, Booterstown. The preacher will be the Revd Abigail Sines, Dean’s Vicar in Christ Church Cathedral. This service is organised by the Dublin Council of Churches and all are welcome to attend.
The annual interdenominational service organised by Cumann Gaelach na hEaglaise in conjunction with Pobal an Aifrinn will be on Friday January 24 in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin.
Check with your parish for details of services taking place locally.
The theme ‘Unusual Kindness’ is based on Acts 27: 18 – 28: 10. On February 10 many Christians in Malta celebrate the Feast of the Shipwreck of St Paul, marking and giving thanks for the arrival of Christian faith on these islands. The reading from the Acts of the Apostles used for the feast is the text chosen this year.
“Hospitality is a much needed virtue in our search for Christian unity. It calls us to a greater generosity to those in need. The people who showed unusual kindness to Paul and his companions did not yet know Christ, and yet it is through their unusual kindness that a divided people were drawn closer together. Our own Christian unity will be discovered not only through showing hospitality to one another, but also through loving encounters with those who do not share our language, culture or faith,” according to the Irish Council of Churches.
You can download resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity here.