Dedication – John Bradley
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity material for 2016 was dedicated to the memory of the Revd John Bradley who passed away in December 2015. John was for many years the Field Officer at Churches Together in England and had served as a member of the CTBI Writers Group for the Week of Prayer. During his service on the group, John made an enormous contribution and his creativity and colleagueship will be greatly missed.
Dates
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is traditionally observed from the 18th to the 25th January – the octave of St. Peter and St. Paul. However, some areas observe it at Pentecost or some other time.
Introduction
The 2016 material was prepared for worldwide use by the Christians of Latvia, and adapted by the Britain and Ireland writers group, based around the verses 1 Peter 2:9-10. Peter’s first letter is an encouragement to the newly baptised to live holy lives and to answer the calling shared by all the baptised to proclaim the mighty acts of the Lord.
Today, Latvia is a crossroads where Roman Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox regions meet. Because of this unique location, it is home to Christians of many different traditions, but no single one of them is dominant. Gathered together by the Archbishop of Rīga, members of a variety of church communities and projects in Latvia were asked to reflect on the chosen theme and the experience of their work.
The main service is inspired by the verses from Peter’s letter and Jesus’ metaphors of salt and light which are important cultural themes for Latvia. Each of the days has been prepared by one of the diverse Church communities. The 8 Days are linked principally by the experience of being a Christian in Latvia.
To find out more on Latvian culture and history see the International resources.
Christian Aid
As usual, Christian Aid provided the Go and Do action points for each of the daily reflections – linking into the important work of Christian Aid in the relief of poverty and advocacy of justice.
Resources
The resources for 2016 are available as downloads. There is also an order form to purchase the material in a published format or they can be purchased online through Church House Bookshop.
Order or download resources
