The Collect
Almighty Father, who inspired Simon Peter, first among the apostles, to confess Jesus as Messiah and Son of the living God: Keep your Church steadfast upon the rock of this faith, so that in unity and peace we may proclaim the one truth and follow the one Lord, our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
The Psalm
23
The Readings
Acts 4:8-13 + I Peter 5:1-4 + Matthew 16:13-19
He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
~Matthew 16:15-17
This day we remember St. Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ, an essential confession of Christian faith across denominational differences. This day also marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will conclude next week with the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The work of Christian unity can sometimes seem hopelessly fraught in our fractured world, but like all Christian work it must begin in prayer and be sustained by prayer. To pray for unity among the churches is to join Jesus in his own prayer in John 17, wherein he prays to the Father 'that they may be one, as we are one.'
The Psalm
23
The Readings
Acts 4:8-13 + I Peter 5:1-4 + Matthew 16:13-19
He said to them, But who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered him, Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven.
~Matthew 16:15-17
This day we remember St. Peter's confession of Jesus as the Christ, an essential confession of Christian faith across denominational differences. This day also marks the beginning of the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, which will conclude next week with the feast of the Conversion of St. Paul. The work of Christian unity can sometimes seem hopelessly fraught in our fractured world, but like all Christian work it must begin in prayer and be sustained by prayer. To pray for unity among the churches is to join Jesus in his own prayer in John 17, wherein he prays to the Father 'that they may be one, as we are one.'
Let us pray.
Almighty Father, whose blessed Son before his passion prayed for his disciples that they might be one, as you and he are one: Grant that your Church, being bound together in love and obedience to you, may be united in one body by the one Spirit, that the world may believe in him whom you have sent, your Son Jesus Christ our Lord; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
~from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 255
Additional prayers for the unity and mission of the church may be found in the Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 816, especially no. 14 (p. 818), and the final collect for Noonday Prayer (p. 107).
More about this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity here.
~from the Book of Common Prayer, p. 255
Additional prayers for the unity and mission of the church may be found in the Book of Common Prayer, beginning on page 816, especially no. 14 (p. 818), and the final collect for Noonday Prayer (p. 107).
More about this year's Week of Prayer for Christian Unity here.
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