The International Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (18-25 January each year) is an annual invitation for all Christians to pray for the unity of all Christians. The worship material for 2012 was prepared by Christians in Poland around the theme ‘We will all be changed’. (1 Corinthians 15:51-58)

To mark the week the multi-denominational Chaplaincy and Pastoral Care team at the Bon Secours Hospital, Cork shared in a ecumenical prayer service with the hospital community. The material from Churches Together in Britain and Ireland was adapted for a hospital setting and relayed live to patients via the hospital television network.

Opening the service Fr Aidan Vaughan reminded those present that the High Priestly prayer of Jesus in John 17 brought with it a “heavy responsibility for all Christians that the world might believe”.

Sharing the reflection Daniel Nuzum spoke of the “change that is part of the reality of time in hospital, change that can be longed-for as illness is cured but also change which can rock us to our very core as illness becomes an uninvited companion on our journey. This time of vulnerability invites us as a team to journey at a level that is deeper and more profound than any denominational division.”