Dear Editor,

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) is observed each year on January 18-25 in the northern hemisphere. During this observance, churches of all faiths are called together to form a vibrant and prayerful witness for Christian Unity by heeding Jesus’s prayer “that they all may be one” (John 17:23).

The WPCU is therefore one expression of adherence to the call to deeper commitment to and serious and deliberate action towards the realisation of unity.

The theme for this year is ‘Unusual Kindness’, which finds its origins in Acts 28:2. Unity is God’s gift to us. We really and profoundly have this gift from God. It defines our relationship with each other. We are united in Christ, through Christ and because of Christ. God is the chief actor in our ecumenical life and not us. It is both God’s demand and desire for us.

Unity, however, is also our task. Our brokenness has given expressions to beliefs, attitudes and actions which are contrary to the unity which we have in God. It is our business therefore to work towards that unity which God has already provided.

This year we are called upon to pray and act around the theme of hospitality. Our unity will be shown in the ways that we lovingly and kindly relate to each other, both as churches and as individuals.

The Jamaica Council of Churches therefore calls on all Christians to use the opportunity of the WPCU to faithfully (re)examine our relationships with each other. Let us heed this call to robust and (dis)passionate critique of our life as churches and Christians and to take the actions which deepen our commitment to and attainment of visible unity through kindness.

Let us pray therefore, because prayer, as a “tool”, is a means and an avenue which brings us together. Let us pray together also, because prayer is a part of the process of “becoming”. We are transformed by God’s grace when we pray. In praying together, we are affirming our willingness to yield to and be led by the Holy Spirit to ways in which we can remove the divisions between us and embody the unity we already have as God’s gift. We pray together because we are willing to hear God’s word and challenge again, to move us from conviction to commitment. We pray together because prayer transforms us.

Let us pray together again for a kinder Jamaica, a kinder world. Let us pray together again and unceasingly that God will make us one through our acts of unusual kindness.

Rev Gary Harriott

General Secretary

Jamaica Council of Churches

Kingston 20

gensec.jcc@gmail.com