A Week of Prayer for Christian Unity

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity has a history of over 100 years , in which Christians around the world have taken part in an octave of prayer for visible Christian unity.  By annually observing the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, Christians move toward the fulfillment of Jesus' prayer at the Last Supper "that they all may be one."  (cf. John 17:21)

The 2022 theme for this year’s Church Unity prayer is taken from the second chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew - the Epiphany. Each year in January, the Christian Churches recall the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem, highlighting God’s invitation to all of humanity to a new covenant in the Incarnation of Christ. In the Eastern Churches, Epiphany is joined to the mystery of the Baptism of Christ, a baptism all Christians hold in common as testimony to their faith in the Son of God.

Join the many faithful from Christian denominations around the world for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, January 18-25, 2022.

Daily Prayers of the Church Unity Octave

https://geii.org/week_of_prayer_for_christian_unity/prayer_worship/daily_scripture_and_prayer_guide.html

Day 1  Raise us up and draw us to your perfect light. “We observed his star in the East.” (Matthew 2:2)

Day 2  Humble leadership breaks down walls and builds up with love. “Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?” (Matthew 2:2)

Day 3  The presence of Christ, turning the world upside down. “When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.” (Matthew 2:3)

Day 4  Though small and suffering, we lack nothing. “And you, Bethlehem... are by no means least” (Matthew 2:6)

Day 5  Guided by the One Lord “Ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising.” (Matthew 2:9)

Day 6  Gathered in worship around the One Lord “They saw the child with Mary his mother, and they knelt down and paid him homage.” (Matthew 2:11)

Day 7  The gifts of communion. “Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.” (Matthew 2:11)

Day 8  Beyond the familiar routes of separation to God’s new paths. “They left for their own country by another road.” (Matthew 2:12)

Sing Along…. The Church’s One Foundation

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1YBYrJ8Hzg

May We  All  Be  One!

MARTIN LUTHER KING DAY

 

Each year on the third Monday of January we observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and reflect on the work that still needs to be done for racial equality. This January 17, make this National Holiday more than just a day off! Take time to reflect and take action on civil rights issues.  Be of service and make your voice heard!

Days of Service

What will you do?

The Martin Luther King celebrations invite us to consider Service to help raise awareness, mobilize volunteers, and provide individuals with an opportunity to engage and build new connections, and help nonprofits find support for their programs. MLK Day of Service is intended to empower individuals, strengthen communities, bridge barriers, create solutions to social problems, and move us closer to Dr. King's vision of a “Beloved Community.”

This year, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday will mark the 27th anniversary of the National Day of Service. This day was established to honor the life and legacy of Dr. King, and to encourage all Americans to volunteer to improve their communities.

Americans celebrated the first official Martin Luther King Day, which is the only federal holiday commemorating an African-American, on Monday, January 20, 1986. In 1994, Congress designated the holiday as a national day of service, and marking the third Monday in January every year as the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service - a "Day On, Not a Day Off."

Dr. King advocated for nonviolent resistance to overcome injustice as a means of lifting racial oppression. He created change with organized sit-ins, marches, and peaceful demonstrations that highlighted issues of inequality. Dr. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964; he was the youngest person to ever receive this high honor. He followed in the footsteps of his grandfather and father by entering the ministry to become a Baptist minister. On April 4, 1968, at the age of 39, he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee as he stood on the balcony of his hotel. Dr. King traveled to Memphis, Tennessee to lead a march in support of striking sanitation workers.

Ways To Observe Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

   1. Learn MLK’s full history and narrative

Take the time to learn more about MLK in depth. Read his works as well as those of his family to learn more about this remarkable man and the stories as he told them.

 

   2. Support the Black community and racial justice

Make Martin Luther King, Jr. Day more than just a day off. Take time to both understand and support civil rights and the issues facing communities of color. MLK and his contemporaries did a lot for the advancement of civil rights, but there is still much to be done.

   3. Have a conversation

Creating dialogue and having discussions about racial injustice is important. Through conversation we educate each other, share experiences, and work to create a brighter future.

Anti Human Trafficking Month

 

About the month

January 2022 is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, as decreed by presidential proclamation. January is also known as Human Trafficking Awareness Month. It is a key time for us all as individuals to educate ourselves about human trafficking and crucially to learn to spot the signs of trafficking. It is also a time for us take these messages to our workplaces, our churches, our schools, our representatives and everywhere else. 

Hope for Justice, https://hopeforjustice.org/   investigates cases of human trafficking and work closely with law enforcement to rescue victims and ensure evidence is gathered against perpetrators to see them brought to justice. Investigators are drawn from some of the most respected and prestigious law enforcement agencies in the country, such as the FBI and NCIS. 

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, January 2022, culminates in the annual observation of National Freedom Day on February 1, 2022. 

Spot the signs 

If you commit to do just one thing to mark National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January 2022, the single best action you can take is to learn how to spot the signs of trafficking. 

Hope for Justice can help: we have extensive information here on our website as well as downloadable resources like posters and flyers. You can learn to spot the signs of the most common kinds of human trafficking, such as trafficking for sexual exploitation and trafficked for the purposes of forced labor. Some of the signs and indicators of human trafficking might surprise you and there are some myths and falsehoods that exist. To get more information or report a concern, contact Hope for Justice on 615.356.0946 or email info.us@hopeforjustice.org 

If you are part of a business, organization, church or agency that would benefit from more specific education and training, that is something Hope for Justice can offer – use the button below to make a request and we will try our best to help you. 

Read the January Stop Trafficking Newsletter

https://sistersagainsttrafficking.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/2022_01_Stop-Trafficking-EN.pdf

January 3rd Feast Day Greetings!

 

On this feast of your Patron, Genevieve of Paris, your family, friends and Cluny Sisters send special feast day greetings.  May you shepherd the flock entrusted to you as St. Genevieve, the shepherdess did.  Let this day of celebration fill your life with all good gifts of God, especially love, joy, peace  and zeal for God’s mission.  We give thanks for your service as Provincial of the Province of the U.S.A. & CANADA.  

Happy Feast Day, Sister Genevieve!

Litany to Saint Genevieve

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of heaven, have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.

St. Genevieve, who since childhood was filled with God’s grace...                   Response:  pray for us.

St. Genevieve, consecrated to Christ by St. Germane...
St. Genevieve, obedient to the Holy Spirit...

St. Genevieve, zealous defender of the faith...

St. Genevieve, heroically devoted to the Church...

St. Genevieve, whose life is an example how we should live for God...

St. Genevieve, intercessor of the clergy...

St. Genevieve, who suffered for your vocation...

St. Genevieve, who knew about hostility and abandonment...

St. Genevieve, who spent hours in prayer...

St. Genevieve, whose fasts and prayers saved the city...
St. Genevieve, whose prudence guided the leaders...

St. Genevieve, whose strength stood up against the evil doers...

St. Genevieve, who miraculously nourished the hungry...
St. Genevieve, who reconciled sinners with God...
St. Genevieve, who brought back to the Church the lost ones...
St. Genevieve, who cured the sick...
St. Genevieve, who controlled the floods...
St. Genevieve, who restored peace between enemies...
St. Genevieve, who softened the fate of the prisoners...
St. Genevieve, who drove out demons...
St. Genevieve, protector of your devoted people...

Give us, Lord, the spirit of intelligence and love of which you filled your daughter, Genevieve, so that attentive to your service and seeking to do your will, we can please you by our faith and our deeds. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.