Christians Uniting in Song and Prayer to hold annual community-wide service

Christians Uniting in Song and Prayer
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HOLLAND — Christians Uniting in Song and Prayer will host its annual community-wide service of song and prayer in observance of the International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 22.

For more than a century, Protestant and Catholic Christians have set aside January 18 (Feast of St. Peter) through January 25 (Feast of St. Paul) to pray together for the healing of divisions. The upcoming service is an opportunity for area Christians to participate in this tradition, held at 14th Street Christian Reformed Church.

Each year, the World Council of Churches and the Roman Catholic Church invite a partner to propose a Biblical theme and scripture readings for the week. This year's partners come from the Minnesota Council of Churches, and the selected theme is "Do good; seek justice" (Isaiah 1:17).

Christians Uniting in Song and Prayer hosts its annual Thanksgiving service in November 2022.
Christians Uniting in Song and Prayer hosts its annual Thanksgiving service in November 2022.

Isaiah lived in an environment of great inequity and disregard for the poor, and he understood the causative relationship between injustice and disunity. Thus, heeding Isaiah’s call to pursue justice is a means of working for unity.

The people of Minnesota know all too well the scourges of injustice and the fragmentation it brings. The members of CUSP add our corner of West Michigan isn't immune to the problems of injustice either, and offer the upcoming service as a means of seeking much-needed healing.

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Rev. Jen Adams (Grace Episcopal) will deliver the sermon and Rev. Dr. Christopher Dorn (CUSP Chair) will preside at the service. Vibrant congregational singing will be complemented by the Holland Ecumenical Choir and the DeSales Brass.

CUSP organizes three events each year: a Thanksgiving service the Sunday before Thanksgiving, a service to observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity in January, and a Taizé prayer the Monday before Easter.

Learn more at cuspholland.org.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Christians Uniting in Song and Prayer to hold annual community-wide service