Bishop Larry Silva has invited about 100 Hawaii Christian church leaders to join him in the Taize Prayer around the Cross, 7:30 p.m., Jan. 22, at the Newman Center at the University to Hawaii-Manoa to celebrate the 2015 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.
The prayer — an hour of chants, prayers, petitions, Scripture readings, periods of silence and reverencing of the cross — comes from an international ecumenical community of Catholic and Protestant religious brothers in Taize, France.
The bishop’s invitation to the Taize Prayer described the week as a “privileged moment for prayer, encounter and dialogue.”
“It is an opportunity to recognize the richness and value that are present in the other, the different, and to ask God for the gift of unity,” it said.
This is the second year the Diocese of Honolulu is sponsoring the Taize Prayer to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. The public is invited.
At the prayer around the cross, a large icon cross is laid horizontally on stools in the center of the chapel and, with the lights dimmed and candles burning, participants come forward about a half dozen at a time to kneel around the cross, touching it with their heads or hands while the congregation prays and sings.
Besides prayers for Christian unity, participants also pray for persecuted Christians, for the revival of Christian churches and for those who suffer injustice. The Newman Center hosts a Taize Prayer around the Cross every Good Friday.
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has been observed for more than 100 years, working toward the fulfillment of Jesus’ prayer at the Last Supper “that they all may be one.” Each year, an international group organized through the World Council of Churches and The Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity prepares text material for the week based on a theme.
This year’s theme is “Jesus said to her: “Give me to drink” (John 4:7),” taken from the biblical account of the encounter at the well between Jesus and the Samaritan woman.
The Taize monastery, which has about 100 members, attracts thousands of mostly young pilgrims from around the world. It also sponsors international ecumenical gatherings.
