Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Begins January 17th

“Where two or three are gathered in my name...”

The theme of the 2006 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in the United States , chosen after much discussion by a group of Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Reform and Roman Catholic ecumenists, comes from the text of Matthew 18:15-22. The group purposely left the verse unfinished, challenging the reader to add the words of Jesus, “I am there among them.”

Gathering, community, and fellowship in the name of Jesus have a power not only to see Jesus in our midst, but also by the grace of that presence a power and command to reconcile, to unite and to build up the kingdom of God on earth. The chapter provided the early Christian community with clear instructions from Jesus that building up community is not something about which they could be indifferent. The community which gathers around the words and person of Jesus must do all it can to ensure that it lives in harmony. It is in this context that the Lord invites his hearers to trust in the power of common prayer, and ultimately, in His abiding presence within the community.

That will be the focus when the 2006 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is observed locally during the third week of January, according to Father Philip A. Altavilla, Diocesan director of ecumenism and interfaith affairs.

The observance begins Tuesday, Jan. 17, when Bishop Joseph F. Martino will host a luncheon in the St. Peter Cathedral Rectory for local Orthodox, Eastern Catholic and Latin Rite Catholic clergy.

On Wednesday, Jan. 18, representatives from the various Christian faith traditions will gather for an ecumenical prayer service at 10:30 a.m. in the Cathedral. The public is invited to participate.

The regularly scheduled 12:10 Mass will follow. CTV: Catholic Television will air live broadcasts of both the prayer service and Mass.

The homilist for the prayer service will be the Rev. Martin L. Cox, Jr., pastor of Hawley United Methodist Church since 1981. He previously was pastor of the Hawley / Lakeville Charge United Methodist Church and two churches in Illinois . He also was a faculty member of the Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and the Theological School at Drew University .

Rev. Cox has chaired the Worship Committee of the United Methodist Wyoming Annual Conference and the conference’s Board on Ordained Ministry, and is a representative of the Wyoming Annual Conference to the Christian Communities Gathering of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

Liturgical music for the prayer service will be provided by the students of St. Anthony of Padua Catholic School , Dunmore , under the direction of Joseph Moffitt, the parish director of music.

The local observance will conclude on Thursday, Jan. 19, with a luncheon in the Cathedral Rectory with Polish National Catholic and Roman Catholic hierarchy and clergy.