WCC News: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity celebrated in southern hemisphere

The world’s largest prayer gathering—the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity—is being celebrated in the southern hemisphere from 19-26 May, drawing together churches across the globe under the theme "You shall love the Lord your God ... and your neighbour as yourself" (Luke 10:27). Photos: WCC 22 May 2024 The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an international Christian ecumenical observance kept annually on 18-25 January in the northern hemisphere and around Pentecost in the southern hemisphere. Each year, ecumenical partners in a different region are asked to prepare the materials. The materials for the 2024 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity were prepared by an ecumenical team from Burkina Faso facilitated by the local Chemin Neuf Community. Brothers and sisters from the Catholic Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Protestant churches, ecumenical bodies, and the Chemin Neuf Community in Burkina Faso collaborated in drafting the prayers and reflections, and experienced their work together as a real path of ecumenical conversion. WCC offers inspiring resources, from liturgical materials to colorful social media cards. The resources include an ecumenical opening prayer service, biblical reflections and prayers for eight days, and other elements of worship. The materials for 2024 are available in English, French, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian and Arabic. Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 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 352 Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican and other churches representing more than 580 million Christians in over 120 countries, and works cooperatively with the Roman Catholic Church. The WCC general secretary is Rev. Prof. Dr Jerry Pillay from the Uniting Presbyterian Church in Southern Africa. 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