Riding Mill Parish News #515
Dear Friends
The month of March always begins for me with the World Day of Prayer (formerly Women’s World Day of Prayer) which is normally held on the first Friday of March.
It is always a wonderful opportunity to gather for worship, to find out about some fascinating part of the world through the prayers and readings prepared, and to think how we respond to the needs of others as well as remembering them in prayer.
This year the service has been prepared by the Christian women of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, so for a change, I already know the community which it comes from… or do l?
As ever the World Day of Prayer material challenges me to think, not only of those that I can identify with, be it through faith or gender or experience, but also those whose experience of life is different because of circumstance, background or the struggles they have faced.
The service introduces us to the stories of three characters representing people of our society who experience the challenges of poverty, domestic abuse and disability.
It broadens my understanding and widens my vision of people from across the globe, across all spectrums of society and experience.
The theme for this year is taken from the book of Jeremiah, chapter 29, when the prophet declares the word of God:
I know the place I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.
I believe that as we widen our knowledge and understanding of our world and both of people we can identify with and those whose experience of life is very different to our own, then together we can discover that plan God has for all of us, to give us all a future with hope.
You will be most welcome to join us for the World Day of Prayer service which will be held in Riding Mill Methodist Church in Broomhaugh at 2pm on Friday 4th March.
With every blessing,
Marie Beard
Originally published in the Riding Mill Parish News #515 – March 2022
