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press release
FROM CHURCHES TOGETHER IN BRITAIN AND IRELAND
PRESS RELEASE
6 OCTOBER 2006
FOR IMMEDIATE USE
Face to Face with each other and the world in the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity
Churches around the world mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity traditionally from 18-25 January between the feasts of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Each year, a different country is invited to write the initial worship material, which can be adapted for local use. In 2009, the Churches of Korea have written the material and the CTBI Writers Group has adapted it.
The theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2009 is "Reconcile your people", and is based on a text from Ezekiel chapter 37.
The General Secretary of CTBI, the Revd Bob Fyffe, comments on this year's theme: "The Churches in Korea have found that this passage in Ezekiel resonates with their own sense of sadness over the division of their own country since the Korean War, and have brought some of the insights they have gained to the worship for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity."
The 2009 material contains a liturgy for public worship, study material for the eight days of the octave, and additional resources, all of which are available via the CTBI website. The main liturgy is available both as a booklet, which can be purchased from CTBI, and as a free download.
Each day during the week of prayer for unity, Christians will be "Face to face with ..." issues that divide, including violence, poverty, prejudice and pain. Such topics can seem overwhelming, so the final day's subject for study and prayer is hope. "Hope," the resource book says, "is fundamental to a resurrection faith, where all is made new and the chaos of conflict, division and separation is contradicted and healed, but it is hope born out of brokenness."
Resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are available at www.ctbi.org.uk/CGL/330, or can be bought in hard copy from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland, 3rd Floor, Bastille Court, 2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND.
CTBI contact: The Revd Peter Colwell, Secretary for Church Life and Inter Faith Relations, tel: 020 7654 7216.
Notes for editors
*Churches Together in Britain and Ireland helps the Churches to think, work and pray together. It is the official ecumenical body that brings together Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Protestant and Pentecostal traditions, and is the direct successor to the British Council of Churches. Its work includes racial justice, inter faith relations, international affairs, global mission, faith, unity and spirituality. Churches Together in Britain and Ireland works closely with the "Churches Together" bodies that focus separately on England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. See www.ctbi.org.uk.
*This press release is distributed on behalf of Churches Together in Britain and Ireland by The Newburys, Communications Consultants, Hirbrysg, Llangurig, Powys, SY18 6SL. Email: newburys@pc-q.net; Tel: 01686 440 203; Mobile: 0798 246 4770.
