I am writing to you to invite you to contribute to our Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service that will be held on the 25th of January, beginning at 12.30pm with lunch followed by a service, at St Barnabas, Langney, who’s home team kindly host us.
This year, the theme is ‘Do you believe this?’, due to the 1700th anniversary of the Nicene Creed. For more information please see here: https://ctbi.org.uk/week-of-prayer-for-christian-unity-2025/
A group of inter-denominational churches in the east side of Eastbourne have been having this service for the past two years. This will be our third year, and we would like to widen the invitation. We have had roman catholics, methodists, anglicans, free-church, united reformed members and more – the more the merrier!
The way we have shared in each other’s gifts and treasures from our different tradition in worship of the one Lord Jesus that unites us all is to create an act of worship made up of authentic ‘parts’ that we stitch together.
You do not need to contribute to the service, and you can simply attend. However, we would love for a wide variety of Christians to share as part of our service. If you would like to contribute we would ask that you consider one of the following:
- A prayer station / installation set up around the room for people to interact with as they wish before and after the service.
- A piece of sung worship.
- A reflection / short preach (5-8 mins or under) on the text of this year’s theme (John 11) or an artwork connected to John 11.
- A short (5-8 minutes or under) prayer time/exercise to lead us in, with guidance, remembering many may not be familiar with your traditions.
When we pray together we fulfil a piece of Jesus’ own prayer that we might be one in John 17. Coming together is pleasing to God and gives him the glory: it is good that we do this! Remember too, that we agree on much more than that which divides us. It’s ok to not participate in a prayer activity if you do not feel comfortable, or if you hear something you wouldn’t hear in your church. We are all contributing in an authentic way, and so we have to be gracious with one another in our difference.
We also like to gather greetings from senior figures in our respective denominations. This year, we think we will publish short letters of greeting in the order of service. So if you can contact your senior pastor / bishop / circuit leader etc ahead of the service for a short epistle of greeting, we would be glad to include it.
Please share the attached poster in your churches, even if you yourself cannot come. It’d be great for many different christians can come along to share together.
If you are coming, it would be great to have a sense of the size of your group if this is possible for catering and such. Please do let me have whatever information you can manage.
I wish you a holy Advent and a very happy Christmas when it comes,
Fr. Danny Pegg
The Revd. Danny Pegg
Associate Vicar for Mission and Discipleship
The Parish of Hampden Park & The Hydneye and The Parish of Willingdon
01323 659993