"In Christ There Are Many Members, Yet One Body."
On March 6th, 2009, millions of women and men from 170 countries and islands will pause to pray, commemorating the annual World Day of Prayer. From sunrise to sunset - the same divine service is celebrated all around our world the same day, the first Friday of March. The same divine service in New Zealand, Australia, Asia; Europe; America right up to Hawaii: A ring of sisters and brothers all around our world - in intercession for solidarity, peace and the unity of Christian people.
Prayers are said in more than 1000 languages with beginning at dawn in Tonga and is finished more than 40 hours later in Alaska.
Why The Women's Day of Prayer? The simple answer is that it began among women and spontaneously has engaged new constellations of women. The Swedish Ecumenical Council of Women has got many evidences of what this community and the following responsibility means for women all over our world, especially for women in the Third World but in our own country too. But the completing name "World Day of Prayer" points to a wider goal than just a day when women are activated. All who are interested are welcome in the community.
The "World Day of Prayer" is celebrated on the first Friday of March every year - a commitment which is growing every year and celebrated in more than 1000 different languages.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER...
is a movement initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions.
is a movement symbolized by an annual day of celebration --the first Friday of March-- to which all people are welcome.
is a movement which brings together women of various races, cultures and traditions in closer fellowship, understanding and action throughout the year.
WORLD DAY OF PRAYER (WDP) is a worldwide ecumenical movement of women of many faith traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year on the first Friday in March.
Throughout the entire day, we collectively pray all over the world, beginning with the first sunrise and ending at the last sunset. Our prayers follow the sun’s path around the globe.
Christian groups of women in one country have the responsibility for the shape of the service. The countries are different each year. Every year there is a new program, mostly in English, which then is translated into different languages, and is completed with local features, for instance propositions of songs and hymns in connection with the subject.
Those programs can give you an idea of the special impression of this day. Each program has an assembling theme and gives proposals of subjects of prayer from the actual needs or Bible passages. They have their root in the situation in the actual country of the year, remind us of the possibilities of prayer, express the gratitude for the worldwide fellowship over all borders of rase, nation and denominations by the community in the overarching faith in Jesus Christ, and finally formulates a willingness to use this day for elevate and strengthen the consciousness of the Christian unity.
It began in a small scale in USA for more than a hundred years when groups of women agreed to regularly meet in prayers for the missions. Sweden joined in 1931.
The Committee of Women’s International Day of Prayer was formed 1968 in Stockholm. It consists of representatives from all Committes for The Women’s International Day of Prayer in the world, is responsible for the basic planning of the Day of Prayer and assembling for considerations every fourth year. At those occasions they determine about the coming years, such as the subjects and the writers of the united program the next years.
In Sweden we celebrate the Day of Prayer in about 400 places. Local Ecumenical Prayer Committees are responsible for the arrangements. The Swedish Ecumenical Council of Women has the international contacts and is responsible for the translation and the distribution of the program of the year.
This year 2009 the program is written by women in Papua New Guinea and the theme of the service is "In Christ There Are Many Members, Yet One Body.".
Bilums are hand-woven bags or baskets which are very common and widely used among Papua New Guinean societies. They are very strong and used to carry everything from food to a baby. Where cultures are so diverse, this simple string bag is common to many.
The WDP graphic brings the symbols of the cross and bilum together. By placing the bilum on the cross, the women of PNG seek a unity where they are not merely held together as though they were gathered into a string bag. They seek a vibrant unity where love is genuine, and where the many, many communities of Papua New Guinea are of one heart and soul.
  Here is a link to information about the hosting country Papua New Guinea.
We consider that the background information is important.
You can find information about history, culture, economic and social circumstances..
Canadian WDP page about Papua New Guinea
 Scotland page about WDP 2009
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The coming years:
- 2010 Cameroon "Let Everything That Has Breath Praise God."
- 2011 Chile "How Many Loaves Have You?"
- 2012 Malaysia "Let Justice Prevail"
- 2013 France "I was a Stranger and You Welcomed Me"
- 2014 Egypt "Streams in the Desert "
- 2015 The Bahamas "Jesus Said to Them: Do You Know What I Have Done to You?"
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