The theme of this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “Justice, Only Justice, You Shall Pursue.” (Deuteronomy 16:18-20). According to Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute (GEII). . . , Christian communities “become newly aware of their unity as they join in a common concern and a common response to an unjust reality. At the same time, confronted by these injustices, we are obliged, as Christians, to examine the ways in which we are complicit. Only by heeding Jesus’s prayer ‘that they all may be one’ can we witness to living unity in diversity. It is through our unity in Christ that we will be able to combat injustice and serve the needs of its victims.” To purchase materials for your worship community for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a history of over 100 years . . . , in which Christians around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity. By annually observing the WPCU, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper “that they all may be one.” (cf. John 17:21)

In preparation for the WPCU, ecumenical partners in a particular region were asked to prepare a basic text on a biblical theme. Then an international group organized through the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity edited this text, which was jointly published by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. . . and WCC, through their Commission on Faith and Order. . . . The WCC accompanied the entire production process of the text. The final material was sent to member churches and Roman Catholic dioceses, and they were invited to translate the text and contextualize it for their own use.

Further promotional and preparatory materials for the 2019 can be found through:

1. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

2. Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity
3. World Council of Churches

Please pray for unity among Christians.