Service for Christian Unity,
Thursday, September, 29th, 2021
Meditation
To evangelize is to find a prophetic language
“Transmitting the faith, in other words evangelizing, supposes that one explores the ground to discover the values and counter-values that it conceals. We are in the presence of a vacant and shifting ground which is disabling. Why Because, until now, evangelizing has functioned according to two dimensions: place and setting. Now a third dimension appears: that of atomized worlds, that of mobility.
Also, to evangelize is not to try to get followers by appealing to them or by lowering the standards.
To evangelize is to rediscover the prophetic language, to go straight to the point, by not wrapping the truth in glittering paper. That is to remember that the Gospel ask Christians to be like others but at the same time totally different.
This is the dynamic of any evangelization: to strive to show how the paschal mystery can be credible in the world […].”
By Metropolitan Bishop Emilianos Timiadis
Intercessions
Prepared by our brothers and sisters from Reims
To adapt according to the place of worship
1/ “It is not obvious for everyone to associate the missionary process with the concern for the unity of Christians. And yet don’t the Church’s missionary commitment and her ecumenical commitment go hand in hand? Because of our baptism, we are already one boy and we are called to live in communion. God made us brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ.”
Lord, we entrust to you all our missions, so that through the Holy Spirit, we can witness not to our divisions, but to the love you have for each individual. We entrust to you in particular the missionary week from October 17 to 23 in the Parish of St Vincent de Paul in Reims.
2/ The Second Vatican Council affirms that the Scriptures are “a distinguished instrument in the mighty hands of God to reach unity.” Everything should be done to encourage Christians to read the Scriptures together. Indeed, it strengthens the bond of unity that already unites them, opens them to the unifying of God, and strengthens the common witness given to the Word of God.
Lord, we entrust to you all ecumenical Bible reading groups, especially the ones that bring together Christians from the United Protestant Church of Reims and the Catholic Church. We pray for ecumenical training, in particular at the Centre Sèvres, at the Institute of Theology of Dombes, at the Ecumenical Institute Tantur in Jerusalem.
3/ On the occasion of the Symposium on “Communication for Social Justice in the Digital Age”, co-organized by the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the World Association for Christian Communication on September 13-15 2021, the participants, theologians, religious leaders, politicians, students, journalist, or communication professionals reflected together on the issue of digital justice.
Lord, we entrust to you these digital technologies which offer both opportunities and challenges. We pray that through them all Christians can proclaim your Gospel in peace, and work together for the unity and growth of your Body.