SOMETIMES it’s hard reading the news, or watching it on television: so many hateful things done by people with hatred in their hearts.

But how is your history? We don’t have to go very far back, or very far from Bradford, to find stories of Christian people and churches doing just the same kind of hateful things to each other. Yet in 2015, in Yorkshire, such atrocities seem an age away and a world away. Thank God.

Even amongst the bad news, there is much to be thankful for. This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity, and many Christian people will be giving thanks for how far we have come together since the days when our ancestors were persecuting each other. We haven’t got unity completely sorted – there is still much to be done and to be prayed for – but people from most Christian churches will pray together and serve our society side by side.

This prayer and action for unity comes at a time when our society seems to be more interested in pushing division. We hear complaints that one group of people is “not like us”, or that another should go away because they are different, or that there are too many of “them”. No! Look to the churches – we are enriched by Christians of many cultures and nationalities: African Pentecostals, Polish Catholics, European Lutherans, as well as traditional Church of England, Baptist, Methodist and so on. Some of us are planning a public procession to celebrate our unity in diversity (see www.wyec.co.uk for details). If the churches can work together in unity, then we all can.

When you hear awful news stories about terrible happenings, don’t get despondent about the state of the world. It doesn’t need to be like that. It really can be different. Look at the churches; despite our many faults, we whose ancestors did hateful things to each other now pray together, and work closely together to provide shelter for the homeless, food for the hungry and encouragement for the poor in spirit. This week, we pray for the fullness of unity among Christians, and we work for a hate-free world where each of us, with all our differences, is united in our common humanity.

The Revd Dr Clive Barrett, West Yorkshire Ecumenical Council

DIARY DATES

• January 18 – 25: Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. Special services are held, and dialogue on unity is encouraged; some worshippers attend united services, while others may visit each other’s churches or invite preachers from denominations different from their own.

• January 18: The Baha’i faith celebrates World Religion Day - this day promotes interfaith understanding by emphasizing factors common to all faiths.