The United Church of Christ observes a "Week of Prayer for Christian Unity" from January 18-25 each year. Here is a prayer I wrote for worship at St. Nicolai for January 20, 2006.
Scripture: John 17:20-26
God of love, who expresses and experiences
unity in the heart of your own being, we confess that we lack the passion for
unity that you demonstrated through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus
the Christ, through whom you have reconciled all things.
The full expression of the unity you
desire has not been achieved in our lives or in the world around us. And, we find that we are often resistant to a
full expression of unity, even with brothers and sisters who have experienced
your life-changing generosity and seek to live in intimacy with you.
Forgive us when we assume that only we,
and others like us, have a clear grasp of what you desire from us. Forgive us when we define others as outside
of the scope of your care. Forgive us
when we erect barriers to unity with people who seem different or somehow
unacceptable to us. Forgive us when we
let our individual preferences take priority over your challenging call upon
our lives.
Root out any obstacles to unity that lie
within our individual hearts and in the experiences and practices of this
congregation. Take our hands and lead us
toward the fullness of the unity that you desire for all people and all of
creation. Give us courage for obedience
to your desire and for acceptance of your provision for unity. Amen.
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