OLPH hosts major Catholic and Greek Orthodox prayer service

Cardinal Blase Cupich, archbishop of Chicago, and His Eminence Metropolitan Nathanael, leader of the Greek Orthodox Church in Chicago, will preside at an ecumenical prayer service on Friday at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church in Glenview.

At 7 p.m. on Oct. 22, OLPH, 1775 Grove St., will host the seventh Vespers for the Care of Creation. The service will highlight conservation efforts of the metropolitan Christian community and is open to people of all faiths who are concerned about the environment.

"This annual gathering is an important time for Christians to come together and pray for God's wonderful gift of creation," Cupich stated in an Archdiocese of Chicago news release.

"Pope Francis, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and other religious leaders are urging us to take decisive action to combat climate, and we must do our part to raise awareness about the impact of global warming on all of creation," he said.

In 1989, the late Ecumenical Patriarch Dimitrios I of Constantinople established the Orthodox Christian practice of a world day of prayer for the protection of the environment. In 2015, Pope Francis followed suit with prayer for the "Care of Creation" for Catholics.

Following the prayer at OLPH will be a lecture from Chicago architect Doug Farr titled "The Role of Architecture in Caring for Our Common Home."

The service is open to the public and also will be livestreamed through Our Lady of Perpetual Help's website, www.olphglenview.org, and on Vimeo, vimeo.com/event/162709.