Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor Plan Week of Events to Pray for Christian Unity

GARRISON, N.Y. - Jan. 7, 2014 - PRLog -- From January 18-25, 1908, Rev. Paul Wattson, SA, and Mother Lurana White, SA, celebrated the first Church Unity Octave, an eight-day period of prayers and seminars focusing on the cause of Christian unity.  These co-founders of the Society of the Atonement at Graymoor wrote letters and articles encouraging others to pray with them “that all may be one … that the world may believe” (John 17:21).  In the late 1960s, the Octave was joined with other prayer movements to form what is now observed worldwide as the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  Congregations will come together again this January to pray for unity in many countries.  Since their founding by Father Paul Wattson, the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement work year round for reconciliation and healing through “at-One-ment” — the unity of men and women with God and with one another — so that the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” might be fulfilled.

The 2014 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity will take place from January 18, 2014-January 25, 2014. Rev. Thomas Orians, SA, Associate Director of Graymoor Ecumenical and Interreligious Institute (GEII), a ministry of the Friars, explains the theme for 2014. “Being faithful to Christ’s desire for the unity of his disciples has led to this year’s theme which focuses on Saint Paul’s provocative question in 1 Corinthians--“Has Christ Been Divided?”  Christians continue to be divided by doctrine, polity, and practice, and to maintain our own religious identities, yet our pilgrimage towards unity continues under God’s guidance.”

The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement at Graymoor have planned a week of prayer events and speakers at Graymoor and in the Hudson Valley area.

●Saturday, January 18, 2014, 7:00 PM, with the Rev. Dr. Ken Ardrey, who is speaking in the Third Floor Conference Room of the St. Pius X Building, Graymoor, Garrison, NY. He is former Pastor of the Church of the Nazarene in Fishkill, NY, and author of the book When Life Shakes You Up: An On Purpose Faith Response to Crisis.

●Sunday, January 19, 2014, 5:00 PM, with the Rev. Emil Tomaskovic, SA, who will speak at St. Columbanus Church, 122 Oregon Road, Cortlandt Manor, NY.  He is former Minister General of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement and currently ministering in Mission Support for the Friars at Graymoor.

●Monday, January 20, 2014, 7:00 PM, with the Rev. Jay Edward Lewis, who is speaking at St. Christopher’s Inn, Graymoor, Garrison, NY.  He is a Baptist Minister serving as Prison Chaplain in Newburgh, NY.  He also ministers to the men in recovery at St. Christopher’s Inn.

●Tuesday, January 21, 2014, 7:00 PM, with the Rev. Leslie Mott, who is speaking at the Sisters of the Atonement St. Francis Convent, Graymoor, Garrison, NY.  She is Pastor of the First Presbyterian Church in Cold Spring, NY.   Rev. Mott received a Master of Divinity Degree from Princeton University and served as Chaplain at Wilson College in Chambersburg, PA, where she wrote a comparison course on the Bible and the Koran.

●Wednesday, January 22, 2014, 7:00 PM, with the Rev. Anthony Stephens, who is speaking in the Third Floor Conference Room of the St. Pius X Building, Graymoor, Garrison, NY.  He is Pastor of Our Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church in Croton on the Hudson, NY, and Chaplain for the Army National Guard’s 101^st Expeditionary Signal Battalion in Afghanistan, where he served last March.

●Thursday, January 23, 2014, 7:00 PM, with the Rev. Wilfred Tyrrell, SA, who is speaking in the Third Floor Conference Room of the St. Pius X Building, Graymoor, Garrison, NY.  He is Director at the Duchesne Center for Religion and Social Justice of Manhattanville College in Purchase, NY and Lecturer in the World Religions Department.  He also serves as Catholic Chaplain and Interfaith Coordinator at the college and is a member of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement.

●Friday, January 24, 2014, 4:00 PM, with the Rev. Samuel Sanchez, who is speaking in the Third Floor Conference Room of the St. Pius X Building, Graymoor, Garrison, NY.  He is Pastor of the Spanish Tabernacle of Christ Church in Peekskill, NY, and a minister with the Assemblies of God Churches.

●Saturday, January 25, 2014, 7:00 PM, Sister Doctor Lorelei Fuchs, SA, will close the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.  The prayer service will take place in the Library of the St. Pius X building (5^th Fl.), Graymoor, Garrison, NY. Sister Fuchs is President of the North American Academy of Ecumenists, and she holds a degree of Sacred Theology from the University of Louvain in Belgium.  She is a member of the International Methodist – Roman Catholic Joint Commission and a member of the Franciscan Sisters of the Atonement.

All prayer service events are open to the public. For more information call the Graymoor Spiritual Life Center, (845) 424-2111.  Graymoor is located at 1350 Route 9, Garrison, NY 10524.

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The Franciscan Friars of the Atonement are a Roman Catholic order of brothers and priests founded in 1898 by Fr. Paul Wattson, SA at Graymoor in Garrison.  Since that time, the Friars have worked for reconciliation and healing through “at-one-ment” — the unity of men and women with God and with one another —  so that the prayer of Jesus “that they all may be one” might be fulfilled.  Through their mission and ministries they serve people of every race, religion, and walk of life. Their social ministries help the poor, the needy, and the homeless; people living with HIV; frail and elderly in hospitals and hospices; those in prison; and people seeking recovery from alcoholism and chemical addictions.  Their ecumenical work makes them leaders of the international movement to heal the divisions within Christianity and among all faiths.  Through their prayers and pastoral ministries, they bring spiritual renewal, unity, harmony, and reconciliation throughout the world and carry the Gospel message to three continents. For more information about the friars, visit http://www.atonementfriars.org