Puchong parish organises inter-faith Christian unity week

Feb 14, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR (Herald Malaysia): At least once a year, Christians are reminded of Jesus’ prayer for his disciples that “they may be one so that the world may believe” (see John 17.21). Traditionally the week of prayer for Christian Unity is celebrated January 18-25. The theme for 2018, Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power is inspired by Exodus 15:6. 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 World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

At the Church of Our Lady of Guadalupe, parish priest Fr Albet Arockiasamy and the Parish Ministry of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (PMEIA) team initiated the Christian Unity Week, and invited the various Christian denominations and churches/chapels within the vicinity of Puchong to come together for a day of prayer. The main aim was to welcome people from other denominations to a meeting place to pray for church unity, for peace in the country and the world, and for blessings on one another.

Members from seven churches came together on Jan 28 for a special ecumenical prayer service. The church pastors were given different parts in the liturgical prayer service in which the congregation participated.

The homilies were given by Fr Albet and Pastor Johnson. They touched on the theme Your right hand, O Lord, glorious in power (15:6). The liberation and salvation of God’s people comes through the power of God. He is always victorious over his adversaries as he always protects his own people.

In spite of the determination of Pharaoh, God heard the cry of his people and did not let them perish. The purpose of this redemption was to preserve the Israelites as a people of praise and a sign of God’s steadfast love.

The liberation brought hope and a promise for the people. Hope because a new day had dawned when the people could freely worship their God. It was also a promise: their God would accompany them throughout their journey and no force could destroy God’s purpose for them. We, too, in this age need the liberation and salvation of God in our lives every day.

The aim for the day was achieved as there was a visible sign of unity among the Christian churches. We hope to further work together on common issues and encourage many more to join us in this mission to be united as one people of God.

As Christians pray and work together we discovered just how important this Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is for our world today.

We thank all the participating churches, the congregations and their priests/pastors for making this an eventful and blessed evening.