Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Image from the Archdiocese of Malta webpage

Many of you may know that I have recently returned home from a month long trip in Germany to visit my brother James.  I have lots of thoughts about that trip which I look forward to sharing with you.  However, I'm not going to do that right now, though this post may, in a way, be an introduction to those thoughts.

My new desk-top calendar from PTS tells me that today is the "Day of Prayer for Christian Unity," and I decided to try to find out more about it (despite the fact that Wikipedia is down today in protest of the current anti-piracy bills before Congress).  It turns out today is the first day of a whole WEEK of prayer for Christian unity (Jan 18-25).  If you're curious, check out the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute for more info about it, and for study/reflection/worship resources visit the World Council of Churches page and download a copy of the "brochure" in the language of your choice.

I have felt the need for Christian unity very deeply in the last several months - particularly in my own denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA).  In the summer of 2010, our most comprehensive governing body made a decision on a controversial topic, that of course many feel strongly about.  And, because we're Presbyterian and develop momentum slowly (somewhat similarly, I suppose, to a reaction to poison oak or ivy), the implications, reactions, and responses have been emerging and picking up steam gradually since then.  Which means that I, as a theologically moderate Presbyterian, have had plenty of agonizing time to watch, seemingly helplessly, as the denomination I love and have been preparing to serve drifts deliberately into ever increasingly distant factions and devolves toward schism.