Love that Bridges Difference

One Body, One Spirit: What Interchurch Families Reveal About Christian Unity Each January, the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity offers the churches an opportunity to pause and reflect on the unity we confess and the divisions we continue to live with. In 2026, the chosen theme — “There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to the one hope of your calling” (Ephesians 4:4) — names something central to the Church’s self-understanding: unity is not an aspiration we invent, but a reality we are called to live into. For the Association of Interchurch Families, this theme is not abstract. It resonates deeply with the ongoing experience of families who belong, worship, and participate across Christian traditions. Interchurch families do not stand outside the Church’s struggle for unity; they are located squarely within it. Unity as a Given, Not a Goal Paul’s words to the Ephesians do not begin with an instruction to create unity. Instead, they speak of unity as something already given: one body, one Spirit, one hope. The task that follows is not construction but faithfulness — learning how to live in a way that honours what is already true in Christ. This distinction matters. Too often, Christian unity is framed as a future achievement, dependent on agreement, negotiation, or institutional convergence. The 2026 theme gently but firmly reframes the conversation. Unity precedes our efforts. It is grounded in God’s action, not ours. Interchurch families instinctively understand this theological ordering. Their shared Christian life does not begin with the resolution of difference, but with the recognition of a faith already held in common. Difference remains real and sometimes difficult, but it is encountered within an existing bond, not outside it. Living with Difference Inside the One Body The image of the Church as one body has often been used to affirm diversity of gifts and functions. What is less frequently explored is what it means to live with diversity that is shaped by distinct ecclesial traditions — different patterns of worship, authority, sacramental understanding, and spiritual language. Interchurch families live with these realities daily. Their experience highlights something important for the wider Church: difference does not automatically fracture unity, but it does require attentiveness, humility, and patience. These are not optional virtues. They are the practical disciplines of belonging to one body. The Week of Prayer for Christian Unity regularly invites churches to pray for deeper mutual understanding. Interchurch families remind us that understanding is not achieved once and for all. It is sustained through listening, mutual respect, and a willingness to remain in relationship even when questions remain unresolved. One Spirit at Work Beyond Boundaries The 2026 theme also directs attention to the work of the Holy Spirit. If there is one Spirit animating the body of Christ, then the Spirit cannot be confined neatly within denominational boundaries. This has implications not only for ecumenical dialogue, but for how churches recognise one another’s faithfulness and fruitfulness. Interchurch families often encounter both hospitality and hesitation within church communities. Their presence can expose unspoken assumptions about belonging: who is fully included, who is seen as peripheral, and whose faith is trusted. The theme of one Spirit challenges churches to look again at how they recognise the Spirit’s work in Christians formed by different traditions. For the Association of Interchurch Families, this is not a theoretical question. It touches pastoral care, sacramental participation, and the formation of children and young people. The lived reality of interchurch families raises questions that cannot be answered solely by policy; they require discernment rooted in the shared work of the Spirit. One Hope, Held Together The final phrase of the theme — one hope of your calling — draws unity beyond the present moment. Christian unity is not sustained by agreement alone, but by a shared orientation towards God’s future. Hope allows Christians to remain connected even when full resolution feels distant. Interchurch families often hold this hope in a particularly grounded way. They live with unresolved tensions not because they minimise them, but because they trust that faithfulness does not require completeness. Their lives suggest that unity can be real, even when it is unfinished. This has something to offer the wider Church during the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Rather than viewing difference as a failure to be overcome, interchurch family life points towards unity as something practised patiently, sustained by grace, and entrusted to God’s ongoing work. A Quiet Witness to the Church The Association of Interchurch Families does not claim that interchurch families provide a solution to the Church’s divisions. What they do offer is a witness — often quiet, sometimes costly — to the possibility of remaining faithful to Christ across ecclesial boundaries. The 2026 theme names a truth the Church already confesses. Interchurch families live close to that truth, not by choice or strategy, but through the ordinary realities of shared Christian life. As churches pray together this January, their experience invites a deeper reflection: not only on what unity should look like, but on where it is already being lived. Melanie Carroll - Executive Officer. If you are not already a Member of AIF we invite you to join us at our online Service for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity as we come together as 'One Body and One Spirit'. Please register below and we will send you out a zoom link to join us.