WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY
JANUARY 18–25, 2023

WELCOME: Invitation

Every year, Christian communities and churches join together to pray for the visible unity of the Church, faithfully abiding by the will of Christ, who prayed “that all may be one” (John 17:21) during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. In much of the world, this Week of Prayer is commemorated from January 18-25. In other places, it is celebrated during the eight days preceding Pentecost. The Franciscan Friars and Sisters of the Atonement of Graymoor in Garrison, NY, USA, feel called to invite all Christians to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023.

As we gather throughout our world to pray for the unity of Christians in 2023, we celebrate the theme gifted this year to the Church from Christians gathered together by the Minnesota Council of Churches, “Do good; seek justice” (Isaiah 1:17). This theme was approved by the Joint Committee on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity between the Holy See and the World Council of Churches in late September 2021, in response to calls for equity and justice in the shadow of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.

Our God is a God of reconciliation, requiring justice for all those who are under oppression. We learn to do good when we seek justice. The call of Isaiah for goodness and justice among the Israelites speaks loudly to us today. Affirmed ecumenically, this call can spread to all.

Together then, especially after the upheavals and anguish of the last three years, let us learn to do good and seek justice in Christ’s love to bear the good fruit that can make 2023 a blessing for all. Pray that they all may be one.