WCC NEWS: Prayers of lamentation begin Week of Prayer in the Time of COVID-19

The World Council of Churches (WCC) began its Week of Prayer in the Time of the COVID-19 Pandemic on 22 March, with prayers and reflections of lamentation. Candle in the chapel of the Ecumenical Center in Geneva Photo: Ivars Kupcis/WCC 23 March 2021 “Throughout our faith communities, we have mourned as we had to bury our dead while not being able to participate fully in our traditional liturgical and cultural rites,” read a reflection during an online morning prayer for WCC staff and ecumenical organizations based in the Ecumenical Center. “We have struggled for survival as lockdowns have negatively impacted our local economies.” Reflections also acknowledged both physical and mental fatigue. “The sense of being fatigued goes beyond the physical,” read another reflection. “There is also related spiritual fatigue, even for people of faith.” The same prayers and reflections were used by WCC member churches and partner organizations across the world. Together, the ecumenical fellowship lamented the more than 2 million people who have died and the deadly impact of the pandemic on the vulnerable, especially children. People across the world prayed: “Gracious God, may we be reminded that our prayers of lament are never wasted, for even as we empty our tears before you, we know that you look upon us with pity.” Prayers were also said for World Water Day and for the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Follow the week of prayer (Blog post, prayers, publication) Link to the Global Prayer on 26 March See more

The World Council of Churches promotes Christian unity in faith, witness and service for a just and peaceful world. An ecumenical fellowship of churches founded in 1948, today the WCC brings together 350 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 550 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC acting general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca, from the Orthodox Church in Romania. Media contact: +41 79 507 6363; www.oikoumene.org/press Our visiting address is: World Council of Churches 150 route de Ferney Geneve 2 1211 Switzerland