Area religious leaders gathered Jan. 22 for an ecumenical prayer service at St. Bernadette Church in Springfield, for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, a global ecumenical observance traditionally celebrated between Jan. 18 and Jan. 25 in the northern hemisphere, the octave of St. Peter and St. Paul.
Gathering faith leaders helps them to get to know each other better and forge individual friendships, said Father Donald J. Rooney, pastor of St. Bernadette Church, and director of the diocesan Office of Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs. Father Rooney organized the prayer service led by Bishop Michael F. Burbidge; Bishop Phyllis Blair Milton, Virginia Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Bishop Leila M. Ortiz, of the Metropolitan Washington, D.C., Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Elder Eric Baxter, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Several saints including Popes John XXIII, Paul VI and John Paul II believed Christian unity is a priority for the church, said Father Rooney.
“It’s essential to who we are,” Father Rooney said. “You can’t just make it an extracurricular activity.”
He cited the Gospel of John 17:21, “so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.”
“Our purpose is not advocacy, it’s not social justice, it’s not issues,” he added, “as long as Christians are divided, we do not have a convincing message.”
He said this year’s event was the best attended so far. Bishop Burbidge is very supportive of these efforts, according to Father Rooney.
“Ecumenical work is an essential ministry within our diocese,” said Bishop Burbidge. “Gathering together in faith, united, praying together is just a step forward, and we have to continue to make those steps forward. How can we do that unless we come together?” He said he was very happy to see so many people from different denominations present.
Readers during the service included Ryan S. Ware, Virginia Conference, United Methodist Church; Pastor Terrie Sternberg, Virginia Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Rev. Linda Patterson, St. James United Methodist Church. Two lectors also participated, Rev. Tony Cupit, former senior pastor of McLean Baptist Church, and Rev. Carey Connors, St. Christopher Episcopal Church.
This year marked the first time the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints took part in the event. “Any time we can work with other faith groups, trying to do good things for our neighbors, we try to do so,” said Shawn Cooper, local Latter-day Saints public affairs and communications director. In an age marked by so much division, “It’s wonderful we can bring different faiths together,” he said. “We believe in the importance of us working together and showing up for each other,” despite our differences.
“We come together in God’s name, embrace each other as brother and sisters,” said Bishop Burbidge. “We can be sure, I think, the Lord is smiling upon us.”
The theme of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2025 was based on a text from the Gospel of John: “Do you believe this?” (Jn 11:26) The prayers and reflections were prepared by the brothers and sisters of the monastic community of Bose in northern Italy, according to the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity.
The year 2025 is a special celebration that marks the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council. The January dates were first suggested by the Rev. Paul Wattson in 1908. Wattson was an Anglican religious in New York who became a Catholic priest shortly after he started a Church Unity Octave with the support of Anglican and Catholic prelates.
Chapman is a freelancer in Alexandria.
