That All May Be One / Fr. Rick Ginther

Pray for unity across faith traditions throughout the world

Burkina Faso. For many, it is a place unknown, but a place currently of division and strife.

It might seem strange that its Christian people were asked to fashion a prayer service for Christian unity.

But this is what the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches asked for 2024.

Burkina Faso, known as “the land of upright people” or “land of honest men,” is a landlocked nation in West Africa. Its neighbors are Mali, Niger, Togo, Benin and Ghana.

Independent since 1960 from French colonial rule, this small country has been plagued by corruption, famine, instability and drought.

Coups have occurred seven times, with two failed attempts.

Burkina Faso and neighbors Mali and Niger all have large swaths of territory overrun by members of the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and militias. They attack the local populations.

Christian churches are common targets. Many have closed or been destroyed. Public worship has been curtailed. Pastors and other community leaders are harassed, some even killed.

Burkina Faso’s population is 26% Christian—20% of them Catholic and 6% Protestant. The rest are Muslim. Sixty ethnicities comprise the population, and 60 languages are spoken. Families are often a mixture of them.

Who better to pray for unity than this small country, which is 105,000 square miles, approximately the size of Kentucky?

There is a degree of solidarity emerging between the Christian, Muslim and traditional religions. Their leaders are working to find lasting solutions for people, social cohesion and reconciliation.

“The Christian-Muslim Dialogue Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Burkina-Niger is making a major effort to support inter-religious and inter-ethnic dialogue and cooperation,” says a resource book created for the Prayer Service for Christian Unity by the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity and the Commission on Faith and Order of the World Council of Churches.

“Following the government’s calls for prayers for peace, social cohesion and reconciliation, individual churches continue to organize daily prayers and fasting,” it continues.

Some Catholic and Protestant churches are “working to assist displaced persons, organizing reflection and awareness-raising meetings. These promote understanding and the value of fraternity. They aid in developing strategies for a return to lasting peace,” the dicastery writes.

“The invitation to work together on the texts for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024 challenged the different churches in Burkina Faso to walk, pray and work together in mutual love during this difficult period for their country,” the document notes.

“The love of Christ that unites all Christians is stronger than their divisions. The Christians of Burkina Faso have committed themselves to walking the path of love of God and love of neighbor.”

The Chemin Neuf community, the Archdiocese of Ouagadougou, Protestant churches and ecumenical bodies in Burkina Faso sent representatives to fashion the 2024 prayer service.

They chose Luke 10:25-37 as the central text (the parable of the Good Samaritan). Pope Francis chose the same text for his encyclical, “Fratelli Tutti: On Fraternity and Social Friendship.”

From Luke’s Gospel, they drew their theme: “You shall love the Lord your God … and your neighbor as yourself” (Lk 10:27).

Their prayer service calls participants to praise and thanksgiving, prayers of confession, Scripture, preaching, intercessions and a commitment to unity.

This same prayer will be the basis for the annual Week of Prayer for Chrisitan Unity 2024 to take place at 7 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2024, at North United Methodist Church, 3808 N. Meridian St., in Indianapolis.

Our world is in the grip of violence, division and polarization. Christianity finds itself a victim of the same circumstances. At times, some Christians are the perpetrators.

It is a good and noble task to pray for the unity of Christians. Our unity can help to bring about some degree of healing and reconciliation to our country and our world.

Come, join the Christian denominational leaders of Indiana on Jan. 23 and many others in such prayer.
 

(Father Rick Ginther is director of the archdiocesan Office of Ecumenism and Interreligious Affairs. He is also the pastor of Our Lady of Lourdes Parish in Indianapolis.) †