Botkins celebrates annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

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BOTKINS — The Botkins Ministerial Association will host an interdenominational Celebration of the Word of God on Sunday, Jan. 21, at 1 p.m., at Immaculate Conception Church, North Main Street, Botkins.

The service will be held as part of the area’s observance of the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Special music will be provided by a choir assembled for the occasion. Fellowship and refreshments will follow the service. All are welcome to attend.

The Botkins Ministerial Association includes Botkins United Methodist Church, Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, Only Believe Ministries Christian Center, St. Lawrence Catholic Church and St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church.

Begun in 1908, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated each year in cities and towns across the country and around the world.

The theme for the 2018 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, “Your Right Hand, O Lord, Glorious in Power,” is taken from the book of Exodus 15:6. The resources for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity have been prepared by the churches of the Caribbean by an ecumenical team of women and men. Organizers write,

Throughout the Biblical narrative of salvation, an unmistakable motif is the unrelenting determination of the Lord to form a people whom He could call His own….The prophets repeatedly remind Israel that their covenant demanded that relationships among its various social groups should be characterized by justice, compassion and mercy. Reconciliation often demands repentance, reparation and healing of memories. Today, the Bible continues to be a source of consolation and liberation, inspiring Christians to address the conditions that currently undermine the Body of Christ. The church, like Israel, is called to be a sign and an active agent of reconciliation.

The theme and text for each year’s observance of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity are chosen and prepared by representatives of the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and representatives of the World Council of Churches. The international texts are developed, adapted and published for use in the USA by the Graymoor Ecumenical & Interreligious Institute.

Staff report

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