Whether you are a regular churchgoer or not, all you are welcome to attend
Every year, the women from local churches in our area team up to host the annual World Day of Prayer service. This year, the ecumenical service, which brings together people from many churches in the region, is taking place on March 6 at 2 p.m. at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Selkirk.
“It’s a global event. It’s usually the first Friday in March and celebrates women around the world, and highlights their struggles and issues. It’s coordinated by the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada, and it’s been around for a long time. It’s been around for almost 100 years in Canada,” said Kathryn Kunkel, who is the World Day of Prayer Coordinator from this year’s hosting church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Selkirk.
Though the service for the event has been created by women, the service itself is for everyone in the community, as it is a time when people come together in prayer and learn about the lives of people in different parts of the world.
“It’s quite awesome to think about the fact that often it’s on that same day, at that same time, depending on where you are in the world, people are gathering to focus on the needs of that one place,” said Kunkel.
This year’s service is written by the World Day of Prayer’s Nigeria Committee. The World Day of Prayer service is written by a different country every year and showcases important issues in that country, asks for prayers of support for challenges that they face, and also shares about the lives and culture of the people there.
“They’ve written it, and then it’s been distributed through the Toronto office of the Women’s Inter-Church Council. It is really well prepared, and then we get to bring our own twist to it,” said Kunkel.
The service isn’t all prayer, however, one important part of the service is learning about the lives of people in the host country, in this year’s case, Nigeria.
“There’s stories by three individual women highlighting the burdens that they carry in their life, and how they overcome it or deal with it through their faith,” said Kunkel.
The service also has a guiding verse, which this year comes from Matthew 11:28-30.
“Our theme for the World Day of Prayer from the committee of Nigeria is, ‘I will give you rest: come’,” said Liz Bennett, Member of the World Day of Prayer Selkirk Committee, as well as a representative from Knox Presbyterian Church in Selkirk.
World Day of Prayer isn’t just about coming together in prayer but is also a fundraising event for causes around the world.
“Part of the event is also to fundraise through the offerings. The fundraising goes directly back to the community, some for the running of the program, but a lot of international and national organizations and committees apply for funding,” said Kunkel.
Some of the many causes that last year’s World Day of Prayer fundraising supported in Canada were a young women’s housing support project in Kamloops, B.C., human trafficking prevention in North York, Ont., and the prevention of sexual exploitation and aftercare for exploited youths’ program in Nova Scotia.
Beyond fundraising for good causes, World Day of Prayer is also a pretty unique local event because it sees members from many local churches coming together, something that doesn’t happen very often but that Kunkel and Bennett enjoy.
“(We find) new friends, and you keep in contact with people. This year, there’s quite a few new people on our committee that I personally didn’t know, but now I do,” said Kunkel.
Something that’s also unique about this year’s service is that Kunkel will be bringing her experience, having grown up for eight years in a West African country near Nigeria in her youth. Because of this, the fellowship and refreshments that will follow the service at Lutheran Hall will have jollof rice, which is eaten throughout the region. Residents will also be happy to know that the jollof rice being served won’t be spicy, though some versions of this meal do include spice, depending on the chef’s preference. This is good news for those of us who don’t have as high a spice tolerance thanks to traditional Canadian meals.
Kunkel would like to invite anyone, church-goer or not, who is interested in this event to stop by.
“Some people take time off work to come. Last year, there was a whole crowd, and the church got full. We were at Little Britain, and sometimes you think it’s just going to be the people from the congregations, but (we’ve noticed) there’s more and more people walking in from all over who’ve seen the poster, younger and older. I’m always impressed when all of a sudden you see younger, working people, taking the time to come in for the event and learning about the issues of the country,” she said.
They both hope to see a full church again this year.
“Come and get some refreshment, and just spiritually open your mind, and your heart to hear the stories,” they said.
