January 18 – 25: The week of Prayer for Christian Unity

January 18 – 25: The week of Prayer for Christian Unity

“Do good; seek justice”

This phrase, chosen by the Minnesota Council of Churches as the theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2023, is from the book of the prophet Isaiah (1:17):

“When you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow”.

Just as the prophet denounced injustice, corruption and inequality, so Minnesota denounces some of the nation’s worst racial discrimination, from the largest mass execution of indigenous Dakota people to the recent murder of a young African-American man, George Floyd.

Pope Francis called for prayer and action, “so that among all believers in Christ, the path to full communion may be increasingly affirmed,” and encouraging them to commit themselves “with total dedication and in every environment of life, to be builders of reconciliation and peace.”

CLICK HERE to download the document