WCC NEWS: Mixed feelings as prayer for Christian unity at Pentecost goes virtual again

In the midst of one of the worst public health crises in the world, Christians in Brazil are upholding their tradition of celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the lead up to Pentecost. For the second year, they will be gathering in prayer without physical gatherings though. Poster designed for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2021 in Brazil by Carmelino Antonio Ramires Neto, a philosophy student from the state of Pará. 11 May 2021 The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - celebrated for some around Pentecost and others in January - shows the continued commitment to work toward the visible unity of Christians. The world over, it brings together different Christian traditions, opening eyes, strengthening faith, and reinforcing the conviction of our common Christian roots in a divided world. “The feeling of having to hold the celebrations again in a virtual way is ambiguous,” says Rev. Romi Bencke, general secretary of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC). She is thankful for what she calls the churches’ “testimony of love:” the fact that they are “avoiding crowds and teaching that the church is not the physical space, but the community gathered in prayer wherever people are.” “On the other hand, the feeling is one of sadness, because in Brazil we have no concrete prospects for returning to our activities. There is a very deficient conduct on the part of the federal government in tackling the COVID-19 pandemic. We have no prospect of when we will return to our face-to-face meetings with joy and affection.” The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been jointly organized by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and the WCC since 1968. This year’s theme, “Abide in my love and you shall bear much fruit” comes from the Community of Grandchamp in Switzerland. Its 50 sisters from diverse confessions and countries prepared the international outline of the week drawing on their contemplative life abiding in the love of God. The Amazon Council of Christian Churches adapted the international material for their national context. In Brazil, the prayers for unity therefore reflect the diversity of Creation and people living in the Amazon region. See also: www.oikoumene.org/week-of-prayer CONIC website Prayer published by CONIC for the Week of Prayer of Christian Unity International WPCU brochure available in English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German Pentecost message by the WCC presidents 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

WCC NEWS: In Brazil, “kindness generates kindness” during Week of Prayer

Rev. Inácio Lemke is president of the National Council of Christian Churches of Brazil (CONIC). He is an ordained pastor of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil. This interview is part of a series dedicated to the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.


What was your most memorable experience during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020? What was new during this year's edition?

Rev. Lemke: Probably, the Week of Prayer will remain in my memory for a long time. The closer the week approached, the more doubts were presented to me and the same feeling was also present in the mind and heart of the CONIC Board and its regional representatives. We had to reformulate all of our Week of Prayer preparation because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our seminars and face-to-face study meetings, with such a motivating theme—“kindness generates kindness”—we had to reorganize into virtual seminars. We have accumulated a new experience here, which in principle worked very well. We observed that in the video of the opening celebration of this year’s Week of Prayer, we had more than 17,500 views.


How has your relationship with other Christian communities changed by praying together?

Rev. Lemke: Praying in communion with other Christian communities demonstrates in principle a gesture of trust. Ecumenism enriches and expands our vision of community, a welcoming church where no one loses, but everyone wins. The theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2020, “they showed us unusual kindness,” invited us to reflect on kindness and hospitality to strangers.


How does this resonate in your church's diaconal ministry?

Rev. Lemke: The Week of Prayer text, chosen and prepared by the Churches of Malta and Gozo, came here to our context like a glove. In recent times we find ourselves in a historic moment marked by hatred, between different social, political and ethnic groups. In addition, we find ourselves in isolation because of COVID-19; as if that were not enough, we find ourselves in one of the worst political crises ever faced in the recent history of our country. Daily we are confronted with the news of the death of children, adolescents, young people, women, mostly impoverished and black people, as well as indigenous people. Equally, violence against nature continues in the various biomes with deforestation in the Amazon's forests, deforestation in the Mata Atlântida, expansion of soybean crops as well as cattle raising. The expansion of pollution of rivers and seas also continues.

I think it was clear that we cannot get used to the reality that we are currently facing in this country. It is not part of God's plan for a society divided by hatred, or divided into classes, gender, ethnicities and colors. The topic triggered a process of discussion about tolerance and intolerance.

Discussions were raised to find ways to join forces for the inclusion of all people, in the face of a virus pandemic and political crisis.

But, it is worth saying at the moment, that Brazil is facing a great unknown. We don't know what will happen tomorrow in this country.


What are your plans and hopes for 2021 Week of Prayer?

Rev. Lemke: Despite everything, our challenge is to bring hope. I remember the poet from the Amazon, Thiago de Mello - “It's dark, but I sing!” We need to rescue our songs and poems that speak of pain and struggle, but that also raise hopes. We cannot accommodate or get used to the losses that we are suffering and that the elites are once again imposing on the majority of the population and the entire creation of the Planet.

For 2021, we are in dialogue to expand the inclusion of other churches and institutions that identify themselves in the ecumenical journey.

As CONIC, we are increasingly involved in interreligious dialogues, where we have received invitations from religions of African and indigenous origin. We are invited by different religions to dialogue and build a world of peace. In this dialogue our commitment is guided by the gospel of inclusion.

Read also:

www.oikoumene.org/week-of-prayer

Sisters share wisdom of life rooted in Christ for next week of prayer for unity (WCC news release, 10 June 2020)

Interview with Fr Manuel Barrios, Spain/Belgium/Croatia: “Week of Prayer made me feel deeply the Lord’s desire for our complete unity”

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

WCC NEWS: “Pray at home” an ecumenical call in Brazil

In a time when Brazil has been the arena of somehow conflicting narratives on how to face the COVID-19 pandemic, World Council of Churches (WCC) member churches have been active in supporting health authorities such as the World Health Organization in their efforts to advise people to be away from agglomerations that could increase transmission of the virus.

Rev. João Luiz Furtado, president of the General Assembly of the Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil, issued a public statement on 2 April reaffirming the church’s commitment to following the orientations of the federal ministry of health to flatten the curve of infection by coronavirus in the country.

In his message, Furtado also recommended that all congregations and church members should hold celebrations and services via internet and engage in initiatives to offer food supply for low-income families in their neighborhoods.

Brazilian Methodists are also strongly engaged in reinforcing the orientation from global and national health authorities. The church recently launched a request for prayers for all health workers in Brazil.

“What is our task as Christian people? Follow the guidance of the authorities and avoid agglomerations. Our role and mission is to take care of people,” said Bishop Marisa de Freitas Ferreira, from the Methodist Church of Brazil. “My recommendation as a doctor and as a bishop is that we don't hold services in our churches now. Let's pray at our homes. Nobody will stop worshiping God, but in the temple, for now, we will.”

On 6 April, the leadership of the Evangelical Church of the Lutheran Confession in Brazil released a public message saying that this year the Holy Week will be different, but it will not be less significant or less important. “God is not stuck in a place; not even stuck in time. God is everywhere and at all times. We will have a Holy Week with the presence of the God of life, who in Jesus Christ overcame death to give us full life and to save us.”

The Lutheran headquarters and its 1,800 congregations are in their third week of quarantine, a decision taken jointly by the presidency and the 18 synodal pastors.

“We are aware that the decision not to allow face-to-face meetings will have its consequences, one of which has to do with our sustainability,” reads the letter. “But we are firm in the belief that the important thing at this point is to save lives, reducing the possibility of contagion and allowing public authorities more time to prepare to care for sick people.”

The United Presbyterian Church suspended all prayer services and public gatherings. “It is our duty, as the Church of Christ, to be in constant prayer that God is protecting not only our community, but also the Earth, our common home, especially all those who do not have the necessary resources to overcome this phase,” reads the statement from the church’s Coordinator Council issued on 18 March.

For the leadership of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil, the pandemic is “a major pastoral challenge.” The church’s National Liturgy Commission released some liturgical guidelines with pastoral resources to be followed by the congregations as they invite people to continue to pray at home. The document includes guidelines for prayers and recommendations for funeral services with people affected by the pandemic.

We all hope, pray and work to overcome this pandemic so the world will move on. But how will the “new normal” look? The COVID-19 episode might bring us all together, which would be very positive. But the crisis has also the potential to make the already fragile social cohesion erode. Either way, churches will be part of this new reality.

WCC member churches in  Brazil

"Coping with the Coronavirus" - WCC landing page

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 general secretary is the Rev. Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, from the [Lutheran] Church of Norway.

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