Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Writing and Animation Team

I really think we put a smile on God’s face when we come together during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The more people do it, the better understanding we will have of one another as we truly are – as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Frank Malick of Christians on a Journey, a local ecumenical fellowship group in Burlington, ON, that grew out of the WPCU Tweet

About the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an annual global ecumenical celebration (traditionally held January 18 – 25 in the northern hemisphere). Christians around the world are invited to pray for the unity of all Christians, to reflect on scripture together, to participate in jointly organized ecumenical services, and to share fellowship.

As mandated by the Commission on Faith and Witness, the purpose of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Writing and Animation Team is:

To produce yearly resources, based on the international material created by the World Council of Churches, which reflect a specifically Canadian context.
To encourage local, regional, and national communities across Canada to celebrate the WPCU, and
To promote the WPCU as a point of encouragement for dialogue, relationship, and witness to ecumenical work throughout the year.

Along with stories and photos from Canadian celebrations of WPCU, each year’s helpful resources are housed on the dedicated Week of Prayer for Christian Unity website which is maintained in partnership among The Canadian Council of Churches, The Canadian Centre for Ecumenism and The Prairie Centre for Ecumenism.

Current Program Priorities (2024-27)

2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Every year, Christians from a different host country choose the theme and prepare draft texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU).

The 2025 theme for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (WPCU) chosen by the community of Bose, an ecumenical monastery of brothers and sisters in northern Italy is, “Do you believe this?”

Based on John 11:26, the international theme and materials call Christians to reflect on their common faith, and, while awaiting Christ’s return, to witness together to this faith in the resurrection, which is for them the source of hope and joy, to be shared with all peoples.

Producing Yearly Original Canadian WPCU Resources

Every year, the World Council of Churches creates international resources for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and chooses a theme in collaboration with an ecumenical group in a different host country each year.

Drawing on these resources, the Writing and Animation Team aims to make the international WPCU theme, worship service, and Bible study resources relevant and accessible to church communities in the Canadian context. They also produce original resources, such as instructions for how to plan a WPCU service, and resources for university ministries, and activities for children and youth.

WPCU as a Focus for Canadian Ecumenical Work

In producing Canadian resources each year for the WPCU, the Writing and Animation Team aims to create meaningful celebrations and services for local, regional, and national Canadian communities, which are relevant to their context and provide the basis for ecumenical work and dialogue across churches.

Churches across Canada have found unique ways to express the WPCU in their communities, with the Canadian resources as their foundation. Many of them are highlighted on the Canadian Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Website: https://www.weekofprayer.ca/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-in-canada/

WPCU as a Tool for Emerging Ecumenical Leaders

The WPCU has always been an important point of formation and inspiration for ecumenical leaders, and as the need arises for more leaders – both lay and ordained – the WPCU provides an opportunity for students of theological schools to engage in an ecumenical context which encourages students to have conversations and learn from one another’s various Christian traditions, on a variety of topics, be it pastoral ministry, chaplaincy, worship, theology, or social justice work.

Recommended Resources

Resources for 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

Download a full package of international and Canadian resources for 2025 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, including tips for organizing an ecumenical celebration, Eight Days of Prayer Bible Study, and resources for Campus Ministry.

Download

Liturgies for Christian Unity: The First Hundred Years, 1908-2008

To commemorate the centenary of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in 2008, the Commission on Faith and Witness of the CCC sponsored the preparation and publication of Liturgies for Christian Unity: The First Hundred Years, 1908-2008, with prayers and texts from WPCU over the past 100 years, and ideas for ecumenical liturgies and prayer gatherings of all forms and sizes. To find out more about this resource, send an email to wpcu-spuc@councilofchurches.ca!

Christians in Hamilton gather at MacNeil Baptist Church in Hamilton to celebrate the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (holding candles as part of the central ritual of the celebration: sharing of light) (Hamilton, ON).

The band GATE47 performs at Funny in a Good Way's 2025 WPCU celebration at Pembroke Pentecostal Tabernacle (Pembroke, ON).

For the first time since the pandemic, the United, Anglican, Evangelical Orthodox, and Presbyterian churches participate in their tradition of morning prayer services and breakfast. (Saskatoon, SK).

Members of the WPCU Writing and Animation Team

Rev. Elly Boersma – Christian Reformed Church in North America
Rev. Andrea Budgey – Anglican Church of Canada
Rev. Roberta Howey – United Church of Canada, chair
Dr. Bernardine Ketelaars – Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops