The Bishop of Tewkesbury, the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, has written a prayer as part of a week promoting Christian unity.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which runs until Sunday (25 January), is an international movement which involves Christian communities across the world and from almost every denomination.
In his prayer, Bishop Martyn calls for the church to show God’s love in action, through schemes such as the Street Pastors, food banks and credit unions.
Bishop Martyn will also be speaking to Christians from a range of denominations at The Filling Station at the Royal Agricultural College in Cirencester tomorrow evening (Wednesday 21 January). The Filling Station is a national ecumenical celebration, held in a non-church venue once a month. There are 50 venues across the UK, along with five others in France, Canada and South Africa.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated over eight days between 18 and 25 January. It was started in 1908 by American Episcopalian clergyman Paul Wattson, and the Revd Spencer Jones, vicar of Moreton-in-Marsh. It is supported in the UK by Christians Together in Britain and Ireland.
Prayer of Christian Unity by the Rt Revd Martyn Snow, Bishop of Tewkesbury
Gracious God,
you created this world and filled it with such beauty and diversity,
and you call your Church to to be a place of reconciliation and unity.
We pray for your Church in its many local expressions;
we pray for Street Pastors and for Food Banks, Credit Unions
and the many other demonstrations of church unity;
strengthen us to work together to share the good news of Jesus Christ
in word and in deed,
for we ask this in the name of our one Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ.
Amen
