It’s a very special church service that has people still glued to their seats after an hour and a half – in the evening!
This was the experience of participants in the combined service for the World Day of Prayer (6 March, 2009) in the Brackenridge/Bald Hills area of Brisbane.
“She had us sitting on the edge of our chairs,” said Barbara Masterman, liaison representative for the World Day of Prayer in the Catholic parish of St Joseph’s and St Anthony’s, Bracken Ridge and Bald Hills. Barbara was referring to the guest speaker, Jan of the local Anglican parish, who had lived in the highlands of Papua-New Guinea for many years as a headmistress and the wife of a missionary.
Women forging peace in PNG
Jan told the gathering about the violence perpetrated by warring tribes over many years. On one occasion, she recounted, the women marched through the town, grabbing their men from the different tribes and exhorting them to stop the violence. The bold measure worked, and peace was restored.
Speaking of co-operation between the different churches in PNG, Jan had positive stories to tell. She described to the listeners how well the churches worked together at the local level. For example, when one church building needed repairing, people from other churches would help out. No doubt Jan’s listeners – members of the Anglican, Baptist, Catholic and Uniting Churches – were encouraged by her account, having come together for the service to pray with one voice for the people and country of PNG.
Younger and older together
For Barbara the service was “wonderful – so moving and uplifting”. This year the senior choir of the school of St Joseph’s was invited to participate. Not only did this give the children the chance to help shape an ecumenical service and to hear about Papua New Guinea, but it also meant that their parents also attended. The regular attendees were getting older, said Barbara, so inviting the choir turned out to be a great way of reducing the average age of participants!
Because the song suggested for the entrance in the official World Day of Prayer liturgy was unfamiliar, Debbie from the Baptist Church made up a tune using the words in the booklet, with actions. The children of the choir taught the actions to the whole gathering. After the address, the children then sang their school song, “Jesus in Each Other”. The interaction of young and old was very fitting, given that in PNG culture the generations still have much more to do with each other than is generally the case in Australia.
Hospitality
After the service, people stayed on for supper, prepared by the Welcome/Hospitality group of the Catholic parish. This gave everyone a chance to talk about the service and get to know each other better.
Feedback
A few days after the service, Barbara received an email from someone in the Anglican parish:
“Hi Barbara,
Thought you should know I got really good feedback about last Friday. The choir was really amazing, the friendly atmosphere most enjoyable and the programme appreciated that so many could actually be involved… Some of the Anglicans present were from our Sandgate and Brighton congregations who do not usually attend the evening programme.”
Next year it will be the Uniting Church that is hosting the World Day of Prayer. Those who attended this year’s service are already eagerly awaiting the service in 2010.
******
Would you like to share with others your impressions of your local World Day of Prayer service? We would love publish them on the website. Don’t forget to send us photos if you have some.
