With more than 100 years of history, this annual observance involves Christian communities throughout the world.

At least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” John 17.21. Hearts are touched and 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. The event that touches off this special experience is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU).

Traditionally the week of prayer is celebrated between 18-25 January, between the feasts of St Peter and St Paul. In the southern hemisphere, where January is a vacation time, churches often find other days to celebrate it, for example around Pentecost, which is also a symbolic date for unity.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a history of over 100 years , in which Christians around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity.  By annually observing the WPCU, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper “that they all may be one.”  (cf. John 17:21)

In preparation for the WPCU, ecumenical partners in a particular region were asked to prepare a basic text on a biblical theme. Then an international group organized through the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity edited this text, which was jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and WCC, through their Commission on Faith and Order.  The WCC accompanied the entire production process of the text. The final material was sent to member churches and Roman Catholic dioceses, and they were invited to translate the text and contextualize it for their own use.

Further promotional and preparatory materials for the 2021 WPCU can be found through the World Council of Churches and the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute websites, including:

• Suggestions for observing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
• Thematic poster art, music, and prayer cards (English/Spanish)
• Scripture readings, commentaries and questions for reflection
• Ecumenical prayer service model
• Historical and contextual information

A journey of prayer

• Day 1: Called by God: “You did not choose me but I chose you” (Jn 15:16a)
• Day 2: Maturing internally: “Abide in me as I abide in you” (Jn 15:4a)
• Day 3: Forming one body: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12b)
• Day 4: Praying together: “I do not call you servants any longer … but I have called you friends” (Jn 15:15)
• Day 5: Letting oneself be transformed by the Word: “You have already been pruned by the word…” (Jn 15:3)
• Day 6: Welcoming others: “Go and bear fruit, fruit that will last” (Jn 15:16b)
• Day 7: Growing in unity: “I am the vine, you are the branches” (Jn 15:5a)
• Day 8: Reconciling with all of creation: “So that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete” (Jn 15:11)

ECWA USA Church buildings around the US will be closed starting Sunday, March 15, and all in-person classes and worship activities are canceled. As a church community, we want to be prayerful, vigilant, faithful, and grateful for each of you in this time of crisis. We invite you to worship together as a family or alone from wherever you are. We thank you for your wisdom, your thoughtful reflection, your leadership, and your care for your community. Again, we strongly encourage those over 60 years old and/or are members of other vulnerable populations to follow the guidelines set before us. We can’t wait to see you again soon!

Reliable online sources on the new coronavirus and COVID-19

While no one source of information is perfect, some are undeniably better than others! It’s best to look for sites that:

• rely on experts who use well-accepted scientific analyses and publish their results in reputable medical journals
• have a mission to inform and protect the public, such as the CDC, WHO, and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), which recently added a myth busters page to its information on the virus
• are not promoting or selling a product related to the information provided.

Other good online sources of information on the virus include:

• Medline Plus, from the US National Library of Medicine
• the UK’s National Health Service
• the US Food and Drug Administration
• major news outlets with deep expertise in health reporting, such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe’s STAT News.

While gathering information online may be your easiest initial option, isolate yourself and contact your doctor if you have symptoms of an infection, such as fever, cough, or shortness of breath. (If you don’t have a doctor, call the nearest clinic for advice.) If necessary, a doctor may recommend that you see a specialist at an academic medical center (such as a hospital affiliated with a major medical school) who is likely to have the most recent information about a previously unknown infectious illness like this one.

Can you imagine what our situation would have been today if not for the gift of God’s Son – Jesus Christ? Our response then must be to love and live for Christ alone as we are commanded in 2 Corth. 5:14-15.

In Jesus Christ are summed up everything we can know about God and His eternal purposes. In Christ we see the riches of God’s glory, wisdom and grace (Rom. 9:23; 11:33; Eph. 1:7, 18; 2:7; 3:16; Phil. 4:19). “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  The grandest mystery of all Paul tells us is, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ in me creates the “hope of glory.”

Christ’s presence in us is definitely the hope of glory, and of His glorious riches.

ECWA Theme for 2021: Christ in you, the hope of glory. Colosians 1:27