The communion service at the ministers' conference included a sermon on the third section of Jesus' High Priestly prayer.  Central to the sermon was the fact that of all the things he could have prayed for in looking to 'those who will believe through them', Jesus chose unity.  Not, the preacher observed doctrine.  This gave me something to ponder over in the light of a worldwide church where doctrine and practice seem to have the power to divide and divide again.  It also made me wonder what, if I was to pray one thing only, for the 'church of tomorrow' it might be?

Right believing?  whatever that might mean.

Right living? ditto

Right loving? ditto again

Unity is an ambiguous request.  It can be heard as uniformity, but so to do would deny the inherent diversity of Jesus' prayer - that they may be one just as we are one.  However we mangle our understanding of the trinity, it is not a monochrome uniformity, so Jesus presumably did not imagine a uniform church but he did pray for a united one.  It seems to me a hard prayer to beat (is that heresy that someone might come up with a 'better' prayer than Jesus?!) but one that contains within it acceptance that we don't really know what its answer might look like.

So, your one prayer request for the future church is...