CHRISTIANS across the Reading area will be invited to come together to mark the annual Week of Prayer for Christian Unity later this month.
The annual event is a key date in the Church calendar, and every year special services and events are held.
This year’s service will take place in St Matthew’s Church in Southcote, with organisers saying it has enough space to allow the assembled congregation to socially distance.
Organised by Churches Together in West Reading, Tilehurst and Southcote, the event will see worship led by the Salvation Army band, Bible readings from members of different churches, and a sermon from the Revd Dr Andreas Andreopoulos.
He studied in Greece, Canada and the UK, obtaining his PhD in Theology and Art at Durham University. He has been at the University of Winchester since 2010 and is programme leader for the MTh Orthodox Studies.
He is active in the development of a study and research network for the Orthodox Church, and several levels of engagement between Orthodox Christian theology and culture, and Western theology and culture in the UK.
He is a reader in Orthodox Christianity at the University of Winchester.
The service starts at 6pm on Sunday, January 23.
The church is in Southcote Lane and entry is free.
Another event being held to mark the Week of Prayer is an afternoon of three seminars organised by the Open Bible Trust.
Unity in Christ will be held via the Zoom platform on Saturday, January 29, and then uploaded to YouTube afterwards.
It start at 2pm, with an exploration of what unity means, led by Michael Penny, the chair of Churches Together in Reading. Afterwards, there is a session called The Oneness of All Belivers, led by WM Henry.
The next session, at 3pm, looks at Pictures of Unity, and The Unity of Spirit.
The final hour, from 4pm, looks at The Unity of Faith, and the Practical implications of Unity This final session will be led by Andrew Marple
For more details, log on to www.obt.org.uk
