Each year, the theme and texts are prepared by an international group whose members are appointed by the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity.

Conscious of the special Jubilee commemoration of the incarnation of the Lord, the group selected the text from Ephesians as a way to emphasize the blessing of our common trinitarian faith, our common gospel and the common call to holiness which we all share.

As individuals, as parish communities and as the Diocese of New Ulm, let us pledge ourselves to continued efforts at prayer, study and conversion, that the third millennium of Christianity may be characterized by a deeper unity, a clearer commitment to one another and a more compelling witness to Christ, shown in works of the Spirit.

Each parish has received a packet of resources for this year’s Week of Prayer, to assist you in designing the most meaningful way for your community to participate in this significant observance. The Diocesan Ecumenical Committee invites you to share your experiences through the Prairie Catholic.

The graphic selected for the Week of Prayer is a cross created by a young Venezuelan artist known as Maga. The women involved in the World Day of Prayer in Venezuela requested Maga to design the graphic for the 1999 International World Day of Prayer theme, "God’s tender Touch." The cross she designed for that occasion is the one also chosen for the 2000 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity.