As we begin the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity,18–25 January, 2025 Bishop David lead a prayer service for Christian unity at the Bridgettine Convent in Iver Heath on Monday 20 January.
The well attended service included the Nicene Creed as we commemorate 1,700 years since the Council of Nicaea, Churches Together for Britain and Ireland placed this at the heart of this years worship service.
The Bridgettine Sisters have a special charism of Ecumenism, marked out with dedication to liturgical prayer, daily adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, and hospitality as a service of giving vigour to the apostolic work of the Church. The Bridgettine Sisters live a life of simplicity, combining contemplative prayer with charitable work and hospitality.
St Bridget of Sweden, who founded the order in the 14th century, is a significant figure in ecumenism due to her role in fostering unity among Christians through her spiritual legacy and her dedication to the universal Church. As a 14th-century mystic and founder of the Bridgettine Order, she promoted a vision of Christianity centred on prayer, reconciliation, and devotion to Christ, transcending denominational divides. Her emphasis on Christ’s passion and her deeply rooted calls for reform in the Church resonated across Catholic and Protestant traditions. In recent times, St Bridget has been recognised as a patroness of Europe, symbolising unity within diversity, which aligns with the ecumenical movement’s aims to bridge gaps between Christian communities and encourage dialogue and mutual understanding.
Bishop David said
As our Service today has proclaimed, there is an important bond which unites many Christians in the West and the East. This is the Nicene Creed, painfully won in an ecumenical Council of the Church and after much soul-searching on the part of different Christian parties. We should never lose hope, the faith which brought this statement of faith to birth, will continue to inspire us to overcome the challenges to find ways to work together for the growth of the Kingdom of God within our world.
The theme for this years week of prayer is ‘Do you believe this?’. We are invited to reflect on Martha’s profound confession of faith in Jesus, as told in John 11:17-27. Each of us is called to consider Jesus’ poignant question to Martha: “Do you believe this?”
