WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY,

16^TH – 23^RD JANUARY 2005

 

With a Roman Catholic husband and Methodist parents, I suppose I might be said to have a vested interest in ecumenism and Christian unity. I am certain that the more we get to know and understand one another, and to work together, the more enriched and effective our church life is likely to be.  I have fond memories of an interesting week spent with an inter-denominational group from Bristol University while I was a student, staying in the house of Abbé Paul Couturier, the founder of the week of Prayer for Christian Unity, in central France.

 

So I am sorry that I shall be away for the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity this January – but thought you might be interested to know where I shall be instead, because there is a sort of connection.

 

I shall be in Murren, in Switzerland, skiing with my in-laws (the family of my first husband, David.) My father-in-law, Peter, was 90 in November, and he requested that the official celebration of his birthday should consist of the entire family (twenty-five of us, of three generations, led by himself – still, astonishingly an intrepid skier, and incredibly fit!) taking part in a ski race known as ‘The Inferno’. It is the longest down-hill race in the world, and devilishly difficult in places, I am told – hence the name!

 

My father-in-law’s grandfather, the Rev. Dr. Henry Lunn, was a Methodist missionary (actually an ordained medical doctor), who served for some years in India. While a missionary, he became increasingly concerned about the denominational differences between his various missionary colleagues, and decided that something had to be done to bring about reconciliation between the churches.

 

He therefore arranged a big international conference on neutral ground – at Grindelwald, in Switzerland, just across the valley from where we shall be skiing. This took place in 1892, and leaders from all the mainstream Christian denominations were invited to attend, to consider

 

‘how far the divisions of Christendom were thwarting the Divine purpose, and in what way and how far those divisions could be healed.’

 

Henry Lunn worked hard to bring about the unity of the churches – and in doing so, discovered that he had another skill: as well as his grasp of theology and his medical qualifications, he was also adept at organising foreign trips for groups of people. To his surprise, he found himself ‘in pocket’ after several Grindelwald conferences – and people really enjoyed going to Switzerland!

 

It is, of course, a long story – but it was out of all this that the travel business of Henry Lunn was eventually born, and that winter sports holidays became big business. Henry’s son Arnold was later to set the first slalom course in Switzerland, and his son, my father-in-law Peter, was captain of the British Olympic ski steam in the thirties. Sadly, the travel company of Henry Lunn had fallen victim to the depression in the twenties, so long ago it went out of family hands; otherwise, we might still be getting free holidays! So it will be a low-price Easyjet flight from Bristol for us, and then a huge, cheap and cheerful chalet to fit us all in, in the picturesque village of Murren. It will be fun – but I must admit to being terrified of the ski-race, and I hope you’ll spare a prayer for me crashing down the slopes as you gather in church to celebrate the Christian unity out of which all this was, ironically, born.