The Prayer Week for the Union of Christianity events, which are held in January every year, could not be held in churches this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Some churches met online from January 19th to January 25th, based on the prayer theme of the day. Only Christians from different sects in İzmir came together for the Union of Christians on the last day of the Prayer week. The theme of this year was the verse written by St. John: “Stay in my love so that you will bear a lot of fruit” (John 15:11).
‘The 8-day themes of the Prayer Week for the Union of Christians were as follows:
Day: The Call of God; You did not choose me, I chose you. (John 15: 16a)
Day: Inclusion in Maturation; Stay with me, I’ll stay with you. (John 15: 4a)
Day: Being One Body; Love each other as I love you. (John 15: 12b)
Day: Praying Together; I do not call you servants anymore. Because the servant does not know what his master is doing. I call you friends. Because I have informed you of all I have heard from my Father. (John 15:15)
Day: Allowing Change Through God’s Word; You are already clean with the word I have spoken to you. (John 15: 3)
Day: Calling People to God; I appointed you so that you can go and bear fruit, and your fruit will be permanent. (John 15: 16b)
Day: Growth in the Union; I am the vine, you are the branches. (John 15: 5a)
Day: Reconciliation with All Creations; (Stay in my love so that you will bear a lot of fruit. ”(John 15:11)
The prayer “May my joy be in you and your joy be complete”, which is the theme of the last day held at the Santa Maria Church, was directed in Turkish by the retired Archbishop of İzmir, Monsignor Lorenzo Piretto, on Monday evening, January 25, 2021.
The prayer was attended by Archbishop of İzmir Catholic Church Monsignor Martin Kmetec, Anglican Church Priest James Buxton, Yeni Doğuş Protestant Church Pastor Naşit Vural, Buca Protestant Baptist Church Deputy Pastor Mete Baydoğan, Alsancak Protestant Light Church Pastor Ali Öztürk and priests from several other churches.
After the introductory hymn and Monsignor Piretto’s introductory speech, Father James commented on the general theme. Then, after Mete Baydoğan from the Baptist Church commented , he read the letter of St. Paul to the Colossians.
Before reading the “as much as a mustard seed” part of St. Mark’s Gospel by the Deacon Nikola, Father Apollinaire Bahinde, the High Priest of the Church of the Holy Name of the Virgin Mary in Bornova, also shared a comment.
In his sermon, Monsignor Piretto said: “Perfect unity between Christian brothers is possible only based on the thoughts and feelings of the Lord Christ. We, united in prayer today, feel that Christ is not divided; He wants to draw us to himself and to the emotions of his heart. So that He alone can be the source and cause of our unity.
As St. Mark’s Gospel reminds us, we must live in hope. In the parable that Jesus told, the Kingdom of God is compared with a mustard seed. It is the smallest of all seeds on earth; but it grows as soon as it is planted. It grows larger than any vegetable, and its branches are so large that birds flying in the sky can take shelter in its shadow. Every deed of God is like that. It grows by the power of the Holy Spirit” he said.
Then, the participants repeated while Monsignor Piretto and the deacon Nikola was praying for intercession. After the prayer was over, Monsignor Lorenzo lit a small candle from the Easter candle and gave it to the other clergy. Then, one by one, everybody who attended the mass took the fire from the Archbishop and took their place and prayed silently.
After the heavenly Father’s prayer was chanted and the sign of peace was given, Monsignor Lorenzo blessed the participants. The hymn in the introduction, “Prayer to the Holy Spirit” and other hymns were sung by Pastor Naşit on his own guitar.
Except for the closing prayer, all the different congregations prayed separately. (Nathalie Ritzmann / SAT-7 TÜRK İzmir)
