This is the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity and the Christian churches in Malta have chosen the theme "Unusual Kindness" - inspired by the shipwreck of St Paul, as recorded in the Bible (Acts of the Apostles Chapter 27 vs 18 to end, and Chapter 28 up to vs 10) When Paul and his companions were washed up onto the shore of Malta, the people of the island immediately helped them - with food, shelter and even fresh supplies when they were able to set sail again - even though they had absolutely no idea who these unfortunate strangers were. The people who showed "unusual kindness" to Paul and the other victims of the shipwreck did not know Jesus Christ, yet, through their "unusual kindness" a divided people were drawn closer together.

Will our own Christian unity be discovered through loving encounters with those who do not share our language, culture or faith ?

On PRAISE today, I'm joined by Louise Whitelegg and Rev'd Alex Brown who each bring stories of "unusual kindness" and share their thoughts on how this could be a route to global unity - and ultimately - peace.

And there are some great 'unity' hymns in there, too!