Last January, during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, hundreds of us gathered at Holy Name Church in West Roxbury for an amazing day of fellowship and learning, and an especially moving prayer service. As Cardinal O’Malley reminded us at that service, “Today we have seen amazing things.”

And we have continued to see amazing things throughout 2017, as the Holy Spirit has been at work throughout greater Boston in many contexts bringing Christians together across many of our historic divisions.

Now we are fast approaching the 2018 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It is our desire to not just repeat an experience this year, but to take a next step in enriching the relational connections that were made last year. It seems that most appropriate one for this year would be to host a meal together where we can get to know one another better and share more of our stories.

The theme for this year’s Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is from Exodus 15:6 – “Your Right Hand, O Lord, Glorious in Power.” It evokes both the justice and the mercy of God’s action toward us. For this shared meal, it captures both the tension and the warmth of gathering together; there are many historic divisions among us that remain unresolved, yet it is good to be with one another and to allow room for God’s love and power to bring healing.

At the gathering, we would like to focus on where each of us have seen God’s powerful hand working in our churches and neighborhoods, in the midst of our divisions. We would like to encourage each person to bring a story or aspect of their faith tradition that they’d like to share with others. At the gathering, we will sit by neighborhood and share a meal together. We will also hear briefly from a few leaders of the various Christian streams about where they have seen God at work to overcome divisions between us.

Here are the details:

Join us for dinner on Saturday, January 20th from 5:00 to 7:30pm at Lion of Judah Church, 20 Reed Street, Boston. The cost for the dinner will be $10, and a portion of the event will go to a local justice-minded organization. Please bring $10 cash to the event.

We wish there was a venue or a format that was large enough to allow everyone from last year to come and to invite a friend. Unfortunately, space will be limited this year, so we encourage you to sign up quickly to reserve your space! Sign up via Eventbrite here.

Please consider how God may be inviting you to participate this year, and please pray for this endeavor – that the love of Christ might overcome all divisions!

P.S. It is our intention in future years to return to the larger liturgical prayer service format in order to make space for all who would like to come.