This year's World Day of Prayer services will be held at the Weyburn Free Methodist Church on Friday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m. The speaker will be Phyllis Winslow and special music will be supplied by Gerald Alexander, Joan Taylor and a men's quartet.
Canadians of many Christian traditions will gather together the same day to celebrate World Day of Prayer. This is a time to strengthen the bonds of Christian unity, share faith in Jesus Christ, be enriched by other faith experiences, pray and take action for social justice. World Day of Prayer affirms that prayer and action are inseparable, and that both have an immeasurable influence in the world.
This year's liturgy was prepared by the Christian women of Venezuela, who tell us that Venezuela is a country of sharp contrasts. Its rich natural splendor is threatened with pollution from oil refineries and gold mining. Its natural wealth, the product of the 1970s oil boom, is no longer sufficient to provide for the health, nourishment and education of its citizens.
Venezuela's debt load and the high interest rates which accompany it mean the needs of the ordinary people are placed second to debt repayment. Rising inflation and devaluation of Venezuela's currency in the wake of the 1998 Asian market crash contribute to the hardship. Tragically, the long-term economic crisis has other pernicious effects: as economic hardship increases, so do homelessness and desperation. And so does violence, particularly against the poor and children. Agencies which monitor human-rights abuses note that Venezuela's human-rights record is deplorable.
These conditions have led the Venezuelan women who wrote the 1999 World Day of Prayer service to focus on the theme, God's Tender Touch. In this liturgy, they offer us the sure knowledge that God wishes us to adopt a "tender touch" - refusal to act with violence - as our way of living with each other and with creation. They encourage us to act fairly and justly in a world that is deeply affected by poverty and violence.
World Day of Prayer services have their roots in the late 19th century days of prayer held by American Presbyterian and Baptist women. The first truly international day of prayer was held between Canada and the United States in 1921. Today, services are held in over 170 nations around the world. In Canada, World Day of Prayer is coordinated by the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada and is celebrated in more that 2,000 communities.
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