Reflections on the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2024

Melanie Carroll • January 25, 2024

The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity - Go and Do Likewise

As members of the Association of Interchurch Families, it feels essential for us to reflect on the the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and understand its impact on interchurch families. The #wpcu2024 provided us with valuable insights and lessons that we can apply to our own lives and within our association too, for we have in some, admittedly smaller but no less real way, been that “other” in some way.

First and foremost, the content of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity emphasized the importance of unity among Christian denominations. It reminded us that despite our differences in traditions, rituals, and beliefs, we are all children of God and are called to come together as one body of Christ, that we are to remember that ‘You shall love the Lord your God… and your neighbour as yourself’ (Lk 10:27). This message is particularly significant for interchurch families, where unity within marriages and families can sometimes be challenging due to differing denominational backgrounds, and where sometimes it has perhaps felt a little like being the Samaritan outsider within our home churches.

One key aspect of #wpcu2024 that resonated with me is the idea of mutual support and understanding. The week-long events and activities promoting dialogue and collaboration among various Christian communities, encouraging us to learn from one another and grow together in faith, to ‘Go out and do likewise’ for and with each other. As the Association of Interchurch Families, we can take this lesson to heart and foster an environment of open communication and understanding not just among our members, but more widely also, as we have always striven to do. By sharing our experiences and challenges, we can continue to provide support and guidance to others in similar relationships and situations to ourselves, but we too can reach further into the world, ultimately strengthening our own relationships and families, and those of the churches and communities around them.

Furthermore, the content of #wpcu2024 also emphasized the need for advocacy and action towards Christian unity. It called for us to engage actively in efforts for reconciliation and building bridges between different Christian traditions. As an association, this is a call for us to play a continuing active role in promoting understanding and acceptance within our communities.

Yes, we can of course organize events, conferences, and workshops that bring together interchurch families and provide a platform for dialogue and education as we have always done, but we can also look to outreach further. By working towards unity again on a local level too perhaps, we can contribute to the larger goal of Christian unity.

But it doesn’t have to stop there, for me this week - and especially the mention on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day of interchurch families - emphasized the significance of interchurch families as witnesses to ecumenism. We have the continuing and growing opportunity to show others that unity between different Christian traditions is not only possible but can also be a great source of strength and enrichment. This realization should inspire us to be more active in our communities, engaging in interchurch - and yes, where we can, interfaith - dialogues and initiatives that promote understanding and collaboration.

As the Association of Interchurch Families, it is crucial that we take these reflections seriously and translate them into action. We should continue to seek opportunities to collaborate with other Christian organizations, fostering relationships and partnerships that promote unity and ecumenical efforts, and furthermore, use our online platforms and social media presence to share our experiences and spread awareness about the realities of interchurch families. By doing so, we can challenge misconceptions, inspire others, and create a sense of belonging for those who may feel isolated in their faith journeys.

In conclusion, reflecting on the content of #wpcu2024 has provided me with valuable insights and inspiration for us as the Association of Interchurch Families. It has spoken to me of the importance of unity, mutual support, and advocacy. I hope together we can take these lessons to heart and actively work towards promoting ever more deeper and valued unity within our families, our association, and the wider Christian community. Together, we can make a difference and create a more inclusive and understanding world for interchurch families whatever they may look like and, as they grow and change, we may need to broaden our vision and our style of doing things but isn't that depth and ability to change as we go exactly what being part of an interchurch family has always had at its heart anyway?

So I hope that we can rally together, drawing on these reflections, and work towards a future where interchurch families thrive, united in the faith and love of their personal relationships, and that we can continue to support and enhance the lives of all interchurch families and contribute to the broader Christian unity movement going forward.

Melanie Carroll
Executive Officer

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One Body, One Spirit: What Interchurch Families Reveal About Christian Unity - An AIF reflection for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity 2026

By Melanie Carroll • January 18, 2026

One Body, One Spirit: What Interchurch Families Reveal About Christian Unity Each January, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity offers the churches an opportunity to pause and reflect on the unity we confess and the divisions we continue to live with. In 2026, the chosen theme — “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4) — names something central to the Church’s self-understanding: unity is not an aspiration we invent, but a reality we are called to live into. For the Association of Interchurch Families, this theme is not abstract. It resonates deeply with the ongoing experience of families who belong, worship, and participate across Christian traditions. Interchurch families do not stand outside the Church’s struggle for unity; they are located squarely within it. Unity as a Given, Not a Goal Paul’s words to the Ephesians do not begin with an instruction to create unity. Instead, they speak of unity as something already given: one body, one Spirit, one hope. The task that follows is not construction but faithfulness — learning how to live in a way that honours what is already true in Christ. This distinction matters. Too often, Christian unity is framed as a future achievement, dependent on agreement, negotiation, or institutional convergence. The 2026 theme gently but firmly reframes the conversation. Unity precedes our efforts. It is grounded in God’s action, not ours. Interchurch families instinctively understand this theological ordering. Their shared Christian life does not begin with the resolution of difference, but with the recognition of a faith already held in common. Difference remains real and sometimes difficult, but it is encountered within an existing bond, not outside it. Living with Difference Inside the One Body The image of the Church as one body has often been used to affirm diversity of gifts and functions. What is less frequently explored is what it means to live with diversity that is shaped by distinct ecclesial traditions — different patterns of worship, authority, sacramental understanding, and spiritual language. Interchurch families live with these realities daily. Their experience highlights something important for the wider Church: difference does not automatically fracture unity, but it does require attentiveness, humility, and patience. These are not optional virtues. They are the practical disciplines of belonging to one body. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity regularly invites churches to pray for deeper mutual understanding. Interchurch families remind us that understanding is not achieved once and for all. It is sustained through listening, mutual respect, and a willingness to remain in relationship even when questions remain unresolved. One Spirit at Work Beyond Boundaries The 2026 theme also directs attention to the work of the Holy Spirit. If there is one Spirit animating the body of Christ, then the Spirit cannot be confined neatly within denominational boundaries. This has implications not only for ecumenical dialogue, but for how churches recognise one another’s faithfulness and fruitfulness. Interchurch families often encounter both hospitality and hesitation within church communities. Their presence can expose unspoken assumptions about belonging: who is fully included, who is seen as peripheral, and whose faith is trusted. The theme of one Spirit challenges churches to look again at how they recognise the Spirit’s work in Christians formed by different traditions. For the Association of Interchurch Families, this is not a theoretical question. It touches pastoral care, sacramental participation, and the formation of children and young people. The lived reality of interchurch families raises questions that cannot be answered solely by policy; they require discernment rooted in the shared work of the Spirit. One Hope, Held Together The final phrase of the theme — one hope of your calling — draws unity beyond the present moment. Christian unity is not sustained by agreement alone, but by a shared orientation towards God’s future. Hope allows Christians to remain connected even when full resolution feels distant. Interchurch families often hold this hope in a particularly grounded way. They live with unresolved tensions not because they minimise them, but because they trust that faithfulness does not require completeness. Their lives suggest that unity can be real, even when it is unfinished. This has something to offer the wider Church during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Rather than viewing difference as a failure to be overcome, interchurch family life points towards unity as something practised patiently, sustained by grace, and entrusted to God’s ongoing work. A Quiet Witness to the Church The Association of Interchurch Families does not claim that interchurch families provide a solution to the Church’s divisions. What they do offer is a witness — often quiet, sometimes costly — to the possibility of remaining faithful to Christ across ecclesial boundaries. The 2026 theme names a truth the Church already confesses. Interchurch families live close to that truth, not by choice or strategy, but through the ordinary realities of shared Christian life. As churches pray together this January, their experience invites a deeper reflection: not only on what unity should look like, but on where it is already being lived. Melanie Carroll - Executive Officer. If you are not already a Member of AIF we invite you to join us at our online Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity as we come together as 'One Body and One Spirit'. Please register below and we will send you out a zoom link to join us.

An Invitation to the AIF Week of Prayer for Christian Unity Service on the 20th January 2026 at 7:30PM

By Melanie Carroll • January 13, 2026

If you are not already a Member of AIF we invite you to join us at our online Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity as we come together as 'One Body and One Spirit'. Please register below and we will send you out a zoom link to join us.

Happy New Year! January —The Courage to Begin Again

By Melanie Carroll • January 1, 2026

JANUARY — The Courage to Begin Again January is a month often framed by fresh starts, renewed hopes, and the desire to step into the year with intention. For many interchurch families, however, the idea of “beginning again” is not simply about turning the page on a calendar; it is a rhythm woven into their very way of life. Interchurch families live at the intersection of traditions, expectations, and identities. As a result, the courage to begin again is not seasonal — it is habitual. Yet January gives us an opportunity to name that courage, honour it, and recognise the spiritual depth it carries. Beginning again may be as practical as shifting Sunday worship patterns because a child’s schedule has changed, or as emotional as revisiting conversations about belonging that have long been sources of tension. It may involve addressing unresolved experiences from last year — a moment when a priest or minister misunderstood your family dynamic, or when extended family expressed opinions about your choices to raise your children in both traditions. For some, beginning again may be choosing to return to church life after a season of being stretched thin or feeling spiritually exhausted. The idea of “courage” can sound dramatic, but for interchurch families it is often quiet, steady, and almost unnoticed. It is the courage of showing up in a church that is yours but not fully yours. It is the courage of continuing to pray for unity when you feel the strain of disunity most sharply. It is the courage of teaching children that they are not divided but doubly enriched, even when the world struggles to understand that reality. January invites us to reflect on the difference between courage as a moment and courage as a practice. A single moment of bravery can be powerful, but interchurch life asks for something more: a patient, ongoing willingness to step forward, again and again, even when the way is uncertain. Beginning again in this context is not naïve optimism; it is a spiritual discipline rooted in hope. For many interchurch families, hope is what sustains the courage to begin again. Hope that the churches we love will continue to grow closer. Hope that our children will be able to live out their faith identities freely and fully. Hope that our own callings — lay or ordained, formal or informal — will be recognised and supported in both of our traditions. January reminds us that these hopes need tending, and tending requires courage. Scripturally, we often turn to passages that speak of new beginnings — “Behold, I am doing a new thing” or “His mercies are new every morning.” But for interchurch families, it may be equally valuable to reflect on the stories where God’s people must take small, faithful steps into uncertain territory. Abraham setting out “not knowing where he was going.” Peter stepping onto the water with trembling confidence. The disciples returning again to the upper room to pray and wait when they did not know what God would do next. These moments resonate deeply with interchurch experience. Beginning again is not about control; it is about trust. It is about trusting God with your family’s decisions, your children’s spirituality, and your own dual belonging. It is about trusting that unity is not only a prayer but a promise — one that will unfold over time, even if we do not yet see the full picture. January also encourages us to reflect on the internal dimension of beginning again. Many interchurch families carry memories of past experiences — some beautiful, some painful. The courage to begin again includes the courage to forgive, to heal, to remain open. Unity in the home requires unity of heart, and unity of heart requires the bravery to keep loving generously across difference. Perhaps you find yourself this January feeling hopeful, or perhaps tired. Perhaps you are longing for clarity about church commitments, or simply grateful for the stability your family has found. Whatever this year begins with for you, hear this blessing: Your courage is seen. Your hope is holy. Your faithfulness is part of the very story of Christian unity that the whole Church longs for. As we enter 2026, may you find the gentle strength to begin again — not because January demands it, but because God is already ahead of you on the path, welcoming you into the year with grace. Melanie Carroll - Executive Officer

A Christmas & New Year Prayer

By Melanie Carroll • January 1, 2026

Eternal God, at Christmas we give you thanks for the gift of your Son, born among us to bring light into the world and to draw all people into your reconciling love. As the Association of Interchurch Families, we come before you as those who live daily across Christian traditions, seeking to hold together faith, family, and unity in Christ. We give thanks for the churches and friends who walk alongside us, support us, and share in this calling. At this turning of the year, we pray that the light of Christ, first seen in the manger, may continue to shape our shared life. Grant to your Church and all people a generosity of spirit, patience in difference, and a deepened commitment to the unity we share through birth and baptism. As one year ends and another begins, renew our common resolve to listen well, to learn from lived experience, and to bear faithful witness together to the truth that unity in Christ does not require uniformity, but is grounded in Love. May the joy and hope of Christmas remain with us in the year ahead, strengthening our partnerships, guiding our discernment, and drawing us ever more deeply into your peace. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, the Word made flesh, the light of the world, now and for ever. Amen.