Leaders from several churches and faith organizations — including Elder Steven R. Bangerter, a General Authority Seventy and first counselor in the Church’s Philippines Area presidency — came together recently in Manila, Philippines, during the 2022 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which was Jan. 16-22.
They worshipped together during a liturgical celebration hosted by Archbishop Jose Cardinal Advincula, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Metropolitan Manila, at the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros, Manila, on Jan. 19, the Philippines Newsroom reported. The celebration was both in person and livestreamed.
“The need for Christian unity has never been more profound than in our day. It is in our striving to come together that we most perfectly respond to the Savior’s prayer, rendered amid His apostles during the Last Supper. There, He pleaded with God that His disciples ‘may be one, even as we are one’ (John 17:22),” Elder Bangerter said of the event. “The Savior’s prayerful pleading for unity became the hallmark of his intercessory prayer and, therefore, should be at the heart of our lives. That effort was tenderly and warmly manifest as leaders from all major Christian churches throughout the Philippines came together for an evening of prayer and worship. I will forever be grateful for that sacred experience.”
The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is an annual event put on by the Episcopal Commission on Ecumenical Affairs of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and the National Council of Churches in the Philippines. This year’s theme was “We saw the star in the east, and we came to worship him” (Matthew 2:2) about the journey of the Wise Men who were seeking the baby Jesus.
The Rev. Father Reginald R. Malicdem, rector of the Manila Cathedral, said during his opening remarks: “Drawn from different cultures, races and languages, Christians share in a common search for Christ and a common desire to worship him. The mission of the Christian people, therefore, is to be a sign like a star, to guide humanity in its hunger for God, to lead all to Christ and to be how God is bringing about the unity of all peoples.”
The event on Jan. 19 included sharing scriptures from Isaiah’s prophecies about the Savior’s birth to Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in Bethlehem.
Elder Bangerter also said how prayer is a uniting influence.
“The invitation to participate demonstrates the growing bonds of love, unity, understanding and cooperation between leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and leaders of all other prominent Christian faiths in the Philippines,” Elder Bangerter said. “These bonds of friendship have grown significantly as we have come together through the challenges posed by a worldwide pandemic, earthquakes, volcanic [eruption], efforts to enhance education, and in all other ways serve the needs of the poor and downtrodden.”
Those at the event were from the Roman Catholic Church, National Council of Churches in the Philippines, Episcopal Church in the Philippines, United Church of Christ in the Philippines, Iglesia Filipina Independiente, United Methodist Church, Charismatic Episcopal Church and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
This year’s event also celebrated 500 years of Christianity in the Philippines, according to the Philippines Newsroom.
