|PIC1|For more than 75 years, Christians in the UK have united in prayer as part of the Women’s World Day of Prayer, and this year, more than 5,000 services are being planned across England, Wales and Northern Ireland for the occasion on 6 March.

“It’s an enormous chain of prayer that sweeps the world,” says Mimi Barton, Chair of the England, Wales and Northern Ireland Committee. “The first service takes place in Tonga and the last one some 36 hours later off the coast of Samoa. It’s a truly global chain.”

The day of prayer is organised by women with a special focus on their needs, but all are welcome to take part. The point, Mimi stresses, is to bring Christians together in praying for the needs of a particular country as seen through the eyes of the women there. The country of focus changes each year and this time, support material for the services has been produced by Christian women in Papua New Guinea.

“Supporting people in other countries is just such an important thing to do and it is such a wonderful way of getting to know more about other countries, of understanding their needs and bringing their needs before God,” says Mimi.

“We are part of an enormous global community and there is indeed one body, we are all members. But we can be quite insular at times and this is breaking us out of our insular mode and making us look to other people.

“Not only will it make us appreciate how fortunate we are, but from the point of view of blessedness, we need to extend God’s compassion and love and mercy to other countries as well and pray with them and for them.”

In a country as diverse as Papua New Guinea, it’s not surprising that the theme for this year’s day of prayer is: “In Christ there are many members, yet one body.”

She explains: “In Papua New Guinea you have a country that consists of 600 different islands and 800 totally distinct languages. Since Papua New Guinea gained its independence it’s been trying to build one people, one nation, but it is a tremendous task. It is, however, a Christian country and the message we are trying to get across is that they can find their unity in Christ. In all this diversity there is one thing that can unite them, and they should be looking to find their unity in Christ as members of the body.”

The Women’s World Day of Prayer is one of the oldest ecumenical movements in the world, originating in North America in the 19th century when Christian women sought to unite across denominations in praying for their sisters involved in mission at home and abroad. Since then, the movement has spread out to more than 170 countries.

It is traditionally held on the first Friday in March but prayers for the country of focus continue to be said throughout the year. In preparation for this year’s day of prayer, members of the England, Wales and Northern Ireland Committee have been leading workshops on Papua New Guinea and the issues presented for prayer by the Christian women there.

“Each year you learn about another country and its problems and it really brings hearts closer to the country we are praying for,” says Mimi. “We’ve spent time looking at the order of service that the women have prepared, studying the Bible passages and generally trying to get into the mindset of these women so that we are actually praying with them and for them.”

There has been some criticism over the use of the word ‘women’, but the leaders of the movement still feel it is the most appropriate term for this particular day of prayer.

“Sometimes in this country we are looked upon as an old fashioned feminist organisation and we are often challenged over the use of the word ‘women’,” Mimi admits.

“But it’s very difficult to know what else to call it. There are other world days of prayer but in addition to that, some of the women in the other countries taking part are not as fortunate as we are here. They are still very underprivileged.

“So for women in countries like Papua New Guinea, this sense of solidarity with women in other countries is very important to them.”

Justice and peace are two issues that are particularly close to Mimi’s heart, and especially for women in countries where they are undervalued.

“My prayer is that women will be empowered and find their place and feel that they have an important role to play and can feel God’s love around them, supporting them. We’re not looking for instant quick fixes but we do believe we are allowing God’s power and love to flow into their situation and that it will eventually reap results.”


On the web: www.wwdp-natcomm.org