Week of prayer has done little to unite Christians

Each year, the church sets aside a Week ofPrayer for Christian Unity between the feast days of Peter and Paul.The week begins on Jan. 18, the feast of the Confession of Peter,ending on Jan. 25, the feast of the Conversion of Paul.

Many attest to the remarkable power of prayer, but it has donelittle for Christian unity. An American clergyman, Paul Wattson,started the unity week in 1908, and it has limped along since.

The exercise gained some energy under the ecumenical enthusiasm ofPope John XXIII in the 1960s. No pope has since shown much interestand, despite Protestant protests, little happens across the Christianspectrum unless the pope signs on.

The problem is as old as the faith. Jesus called his followers tobe one, but the apostles fought among themselves in his presence. Thechurch was fighting itself by the 15th chapter of Acts or earlier.

Weakness and poverty are the tools for creating genuine Christianunity. When no one denomination can survive without the other, unitywill come to pass.

The best working example of Christian unity in my experience was abody called Center City Churches in Hartford some years ago. That was aconsortium of a dozen different downtown churches that worked togetherto serve the people of the city.

They did so because each had fallen from its 19th-century glorydays and was losing membership, influence and money in a decaying innercity. They would not have spoken to one another in their heydays but,in weakness, they thrived together.

Sadly, Christian unity has little chance for success. The churchwill not soon choose weakness despite the teaching of Jesus thatweakness was strength.

People of faith have the best reason for blocking the unity their Lord demanded.

Their version of faith tells them they are right and others are wrong. Unity be damned.