Scottish Catholic Observer

A healthy congregation including priests, ministers, parishioners and representatives of local Christian communities were present at the Greenock church for the service of evening prayer.

Welcoming all those who had gathered for the service Bishop Tartaglia  said he found it ‘especially appropriate and even moving’ that the official material for the week of prayer this year was prepared for the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and for the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches by a representative group of Christians from various churches and communities present in Jerusalem.

The bishop added that we must remember the difficulties and struggles of the Christians in Jerusalem who are calling us to unity and that we must never lose faith or hope in Christ and in His promises for the church.

“So this evening we must once again commit ourselves to the cause of the unity of the Church of Christ through friendship and dialogue, through unceasing prayer and through cooperation and action for the common good,” he said.

At the end of the celebration, at which a local Protestant minister read the reading from Scripture, Bishop Tartaglia invited ministers of other Christian churches and communities who were present, including the Very Rev Bill Hewitt, former Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, to join him in imparting the blessing.

“I was pleased and surprised at how many people commented favourably on this,” Bishop Tartaglia said. “It is amazing how the little things, courtesies and acts of kindness and consideration, matter so much in fostering good relations between Christian communities. When some of the big issues between the churches still defeat us, we can still show love to one another.”

Following the liturgy of prayer, some generous hospitality was enjoyed in the St Mary’s Church hall.

Bishop’s homily in full:

I want to welcome everyone here to St. Mary’s in Greenock to begin the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. I welcome especially members of the various Christian communities of the local area together with their ministers, elders and leaders. We have come this evening as brothers and sisters in Christ to do what Jesus did: to pray that his followers and disciples will be one.

I found it especially appropriate and even moving that the official material for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity for this year was prepared for the Pontifical Council for Christian Unity and for the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches by a representative group of Christians from the various churches and communities present in Jerusalem.

You don’t have to read far into the material to find yourself uplifted by this spiritual engagement with the Christians of Jerusalem. The text reads: “Two thousand years ago, the first disciples of Christ gathered in Jerusalem experienced the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, and were joined together in unity as the body of Christ. In that event, Christians of every time and place see their origin as a community of the faithful, called together to proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Although that earliest Jerusalem church experienced difficulties, both externally and internally, its members persevered in faithfulness and fellowship, in breaking bread and prayers.”

So the call for unity this year comes to churches all over the world from Jerusalem, the mother church. Of course the church in Jerusalem is not without division herself and, in that sense, is a reflection of the brokenness of the church all over the world. Nonetheless the Christians of Jerusalem call us to rediscover the four elements of the unity of the undivided church which are listed in the text we have read at this evening’s liturgy of prayer: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2,42). These elements – the Word passed on by the Apostles – the fellowship (koinonìa) of the believers – the Eucharist – and constant prayer – were the marks of the unity of the undivided Church, and these marks are the basics of that full communion in faith, in sacrament and in ministry which remains the goal of the ecumenical journey.

In order to realise anew that vision of unity, we are invited to be realistic. When I first engaged in the ecumenical journey in the early 1980’s, it seemed that we were just about to take a great step forward in Christian unity. That great step did not quite materialise, perhaps because the churches became involved in a bruising confrontation with modernity which asked radical questions and raised difficult issues about what the church is and how the church relates to the modern world. These questions have not yet been fully answered and in the meantime the ecumenical momentum has perhaps slowed. But we still cannot and dare not rule out the possibility of a sudden great step forward because the Church is the Lord’s and we are in the ambit of pure grace. The Lord can always surprise us, so we need to be ready and open for everything that the Lord does for his Church.

So realism does not mean pessimism, far from it. It means never losing faith or hope in Christ and in his promises for the church. It means unceasing prayer. It means accepting our responsibilities. It means being prepared to change. It means a readiness to work together for our neighbour, generosity to the poor and a common commitment to justice and peace. So this evening we once again commit ourselves to the cause of the unity of the Church of Christ through friendship and dialogue, through unceasing prayer and through cooperation and action for the common good.

And finally, we remember the difficulties and struggles of the Christians of Jerusalem who are calling us to unity. They appeal to us in these words: The Christians of Jerusalem invite their sisters and brothers around the world to join them in prayer as they struggle for justice, peace and prosperity for all people of the land. In response, we might make this prayer our own: Loving God, hear our prayers for your holy city, Jerusalem. End her suffering and make her whole. Make her your home once again, a city of peace, and a light to all peoples. Foster harmony in the holy city among all her inhabitants. Amen.