Corriere Cesenate: The ecumenical prayer meeting organized by the Diocesan Ecumenical Commission in collaboration with the representatives of other Churches was held on Friday 20 January at 18.00 in the Church of S. Anna and Gioacchino in Piazza del Popolo. Present were: Monsignor Douglas Regattieri from the diocese of the Catholic Church of Cesena-Sarsina, Elder Giovanni Benini from the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Fr Silviu Sas from the Romanian Orthodox Church, Fr Michele David from the Romanian Eastern Rite Catholic Church, for the Ukrainian Eastern Rite Catholic Church Fr Vasyl Romaniuk.
The participants of the various communities, in relation to the size of the church of S. Anna, were numerous. Among them were also several representatives of the city institutions: the deputy mayor Christian Castorri and the councilor for social services Carmelina Labruzzo, as well as some municipal councilors. A participation that goes in the direction of an ever greater collaboration between the variegated religious and civil components of our city.
This year’s moment of prayer, centered on the theme taken from the verse of Isaiah 1.17 “Learn to do good, seek justice”, proposed by the Council of Churches and elaborated by an ecumenical group from Minnesota which proposed the subsidy, saw some lay faithful as protagonists who expressed testimonies of dialogue and integration experienced in our social fabric. The celebration ended with the symbolic construction of “bridges” made up of stones carried by each participant towards the altar and placed on the banner with the inscription Peace and Justice, to underline everyone’s commitment in this direction.
At the end of the liturgical meeting, those present were invited to move to the adjacent rooms of the cultural association “N. Lucchi”, made available by the sculptor Leonardo Lucchi for a convivial moment that would allow dialogue and mutual understanding to continue. A photographic exhibition proposed by the Ukrainian community had been set up there. The exhibition entitled, The price of freedom illustrates the damage caused by war to people and things and will continue until February 3rd.
Our Comment:
What are SDAs doing here?
Prophetic Link:
“The wide diversity of belief in the Protestant churches is regarded by many as decisive proof that no effort to secure a forced uniformity can ever be made. But there has been for years, in churches of the Protestant faith, a strong and growing sentiment in favor of a union based upon common points of doctrine. To secure such a union, the discussion of subjects upon which all were not agreed—however important they might be from a Bible standpoint—must necessarily be waived.” Great Controversy, page 444.2.