January 18-25 is known as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Along with praying for and working toward the unity of the church, this is a great opportunity to read and discuss reports from the Baptist World Alliance’s international ecumenical dialogues. These have been completed with Christian world communions such as:
- The World Communion of Reformed Churches [1973-1977]
- The Roman Catholic Church (Phase One) [1984-1988]
- The Lutheran World Federation [1986-1989]
- The Mennonite World Conference [1989-1992]
- The Anglican Communion [2000-2005]
- The Roman Catholic Church (Phase Two) [2006-2010]
- The World Methodist Council [2014-2018]
Additionally, Phase Three of international dialogue with the Roman Catholic Church recently finished its final meeting and is now finalizing its report.
Finally, the World Council of Churches, in consultation with the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, produces a liturgical text and resources for churches in order to encourage prayer and reflection on the need for and the path to the unity that Jesus calls for (John 17:21). Those resources can be found here.