Faithful kneel and bow around an iconographic cross during the Taize prayer service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at the Newman Center in Manoa, Jan. 21, 2016. (HCH file photo)
“Reconciliation – The Love of Christ Compels Us” (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:14-20) is the theme of the 2017 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Jan. 18-25.
Leaders and faithful of local Christian churches are invited to the Newman Center at the University of Hawaii at Manoa on Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. for a Taize Prayer service commemorating the ecumenical initiative.
Bishop Larry Silva is scheduled to attend. This is the fourth consecutive year the Diocese of Honolulu is sponsoring a Taize service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
Taize is a non-denominational prayer developed by Catholic and Protestant religious brothers in its namesake town of France. The prayer — which lasts about an hour — includes chants, prayers, petitions, Scripture readings and periods of meditative silence.
Taize participants also have a chance to kneel and bow at a large iconographic cross, where they can pray for their own personal intentions, for persecuted Christians and for healing of divisions among Christian denominations.
The Newman Center regularly hosts a Taize prayer service on Good Friday.
“It is quite profound,” Newman Center pastor Father Jack Ryan wrote in a reflection to parishioners. “It can be a life-changing experience.”
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity was started in 1908 by the Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute. For more information on the initiative, visit the Graymoor website at www.geii.org
To inquire about the Jan. 19 Taize prayer service at the Newman Center, contact the diocesan Office of Worship at 585-3342, or call the Newman Center at 988-6222.
