Women's World Day of Prayer 2009
What is the Women's World Day of Prayer?
The Women's World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer on the first Friday in March every year.
This year's day of prayer falls on 6 March.
The service is written by a different country each year and that country then becomes the focus of the world's prayers on the day itself, which begins as dawn breaks over the islands of Tonga in the Pacific and continues across each continent until the last services of this special day are held back in the Pacific,on the islands of Samoa, circling the world in prayer for 36 hours.
Christians from over 170 countries and islands will unite in praise, worship and prayer.
This year's theme
‘In Christ there are many members yet one body'
Papua New Guinea
The theme chosen for Women’s World Day of Prayer 2009, “In Christ There are Many Members Yet One Body”, is very appropriate for Papua New Guinea (PNG) as the country has many languages, cultures, traditions and beliefs.
Although the people are different in many ways they continue to experience the spirit of unity in diversity.
Catholic heroines: Mary Ward
Mary Ward was born in 1585 and belonged, like fellow Yorkshire woman Margaret Clitherow, to an underground Catholic network, working collaboratively with itinerant priests to maintain the persecuted faith. In the absence of clergy she and many recusant women exercised spiritual and practical authority within their communities.
Despite the Council of Trent’s ruling that all female religious should be enclosed, Mary became convinced that God was calling her to another way of life unheard of in the church. In 1609 she led a group of young women to Flanders to begin a consecrated life on the Jesuit model.
Image
Mary Ward sisters from Kenya
© James Postlethwaite
National Board of Catholic Women
In 1939 Cardinal Hinsley asked the Catholic Women's League, Union of Catholic Mothers and Catholic Girls Association to work together to co-ordinate their war effort. This became the National Board of Catholic Women. In 1989 a Golden Jubilee Review highlighted the need to widen the networks to all Catholic women, not only those in organisations.
The National Board of Catholic Women is a consultative body to the Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales and has consultative status with the United Nations (ECOSOC).
What does it do?
- Works nationally and internationally to challenge discrimination and promote a woman's right to gender justice.
- Actively promotes the presence, participation and responsibilities of Catholic women in the Church and society.
- Represents the views and concerns of Catholic women to the Bishops' Conference and to the government.
- Works ecumenically, with women of other faiths and with secular groups.
Read/download
Grassroots
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland there are more than 3,000 Women's World Day of Prayer branches holding around 5,000 services - involving thousands of women, men and children.
Nuala Garvey is married with three children and lives in Surrey.
Nuala will represent St Margaret's of Scotland Catholic Church in Carshalton on the Women’s World Day of Prayer.
In line with this year's theme, her prayer partner will be a woman from Papua New Guinea. In Nuala’s local area, there will be an ecumenical service at the Baptist Church in the afternoon and later that same evening, a prayer service hosted by the local Methodist Church. Each member church will take part in the prayers and read a passage from Scripture.
Nuala speaks about the importance of being able to share ‘prayer time’ with other women.
Download/listen:
Nuala Garvey on one parish's Women's World Day of Prayer celebrations (mp3)