• Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 18-25 January 2024

Bishops considered the report on the Irish Inter-Church Meeting of 19-20 October.  This marked the 50^th anniversary of the Ballymascanlan Talks in 1973, an event that led to the formation of the IICM, the mechanism through which the Irish Episcopal Conference dialogues with other Churches in Ireland.
 

In addition, bishops also received a report from the Council for Ecumenism on the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity which will place 18-15 January 2024, on the theme, ‘You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbour as yourself’ (Lk 10:27).  Resources for the Week of Prayer have been compiled by the Holy See Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and ecumenical bodies in Burkina Faso.  These resources are being forwarded to dioceses and parishes and they are also available on ctbi.org.uk.  Bishops encourage dioceses and parish communities to participate in this Week of Prayer.

Introduction

The parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the best-known passages of Scripture, yet one that never seems to lose its power to challenge indifference to suffering and to inspire solidarity. It is a story about crossing boundaries that calls our attention to the bonds that unite the whole human family.

In choosing this passage of Scripture for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, the churches of Burkina Faso have invited us to join them in a process of self-reflection as they consider what it means to love our neighbor amid a security crisis. Communities in the British-Irish context may be less vulnerable to acts of mass violence than in Burkina Faso, but there are still many living with the memory and/or the threat of serious violence, centered on issues of identity and belonging. There are also groups within communities, including people from ethnic minority backgrounds and people seeking asylum, who feel particularly vulnerable to violence or being displaced by the threat of violence.

Download the service below.