The congregations of several local Christian churches plan to
gather Jan. 20 for an afternoon of joint prayer.
The congregations of several local Christian churches plan to gather Jan. 20 for an afternoon of joint prayer.
The event will be part of an international Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, said Sister Dolores Fenzel of St. Benedict Sacred Heart Catholic Church.
The week of prayer celebrates its 100th anniversary this year.
“For most people (from different denominations), they may have gone grocery shopping with one another, but they hardly ever pray together,” Fenzel said.
Sacred Heart’s Father Rudy Ruiz will give the sermon, but pastors from Abundant Life Foursquare Church, First Presbyterian Church, Hollister United Methodist Church, Trinity Lutheran Church, Tres Pinos Immaculate Conception Church and Mission San Juan Bautista will also attend, Fenzel said.
She noted that religious understanding is particularly important at a time when conflict among different faiths and denominations fuels much of the world’s violence and tragedy.
“If we can at least get to a place that’s not threatened and we can share our communal concepts of life, wouldn’t that be a gift to the world?” Fenzel said. “Of course, we’re not going to solve all of those problems. We’re just going to pray together.”
