Prayers for Christian unity offered
By Frank Flegel
REGINA — Jan. 18 marked the beginning of the Week of Prayer
for Christian Unity and it turned out to be one of the coldest of the
winter. The evening temperature hovered around -27C with a wind chill
well below that, but it didn’t stop people from showing up for
the prayer service held at First Presbyterian Church. It was the first
event held in the week which ran Jan. 18 - 25.
Holy Cross Roman Catholic hosted a second event Sunday, Jan. 22, with
the weather much more amenable, which probably explains the much larger
turnout. Both services featured Polish traditions.
“Poland has done some remarkable things with ecumenism” said
Rev. 
Trish
McCarthy, pastor of All of Saints Anglican and one of the
organizing committee members. McCarthy was at both services and was
guest speaker at Holy Cross.
The history of Poland’s ecumenical efforts dates almost from
medieval times, but it was in 1946 when the first council was formed
and it spread from there. The country now has a national ecumenical
committee composed of almost all Christian churches in the country.
Jan. 10 was the 50th anniversary of the first ecumenical service held
in a Roman Catholic Church in Poland.
The services in First Presbyterian and Holy Cross featured a distribution
and sharing of the Oplatek, a thin wafer. Each person offers it to
others, who break off a small piece and eat it. “This sharing of the wafer
expresses unity, love and forgiveness,” said the service program.
Both services followed the same program developed by an ecumenical
committee with Rev. Tonny Dizy, chancellor of the Regina archdiocese
and McCarthy as co-chairs. It featured Bible readings, common hymns,
a homily and joint choirs from several churches. Argyle Baptist Church
Choir and First Presbyterian Choir led the service at Firstt Presbyterian
while a choir from St. Anthony’s
Polish Church in Regina performed several Polish hymns at Holy Cross.
Three charities were the beneficiaries of the collection at First Presbyterian:
Habitat for Humanity, Circles of Support and Accountability (COSA)
which provides support for released sex offenders re-integrating into
society, and Plan Canada: Because I am a Girl. Visitation House, a
drop-in centre for women in Regina, received the collection from Holy
Cross.
At the University of Regina, Campion College chaplain Stephanie Molloy organized an ecumenical service to open the week Jan. 18, and Luther College chaplain Rev. Cheryl Toth closed the week Jan. 25 with a service in the Luther College chapel. Both services used a shorter version of the program developed by the ecumenical committee.
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