United Under God’s Tent
On Friday, March 2nd, women representing every Church in Hasbrouck
Heights, organized and conducted a World Day of Prayer (WDP)
Service.
This year’s annual ecumenical service was held at St.
John The Divine Church at 1:00 p.m.
WDP is a worldwide ecumenical movement of women who come together
to observe a common day of prayer.
Throughout the entire day, women (men were also welcome) collectively
pray starting on the west side of the international dateline
at sunrise and ending on the east side at sunset.
The prayers of people from 170 countries and regions follow
the sun’s path around the globe, with the first sunrise
and ending at the last sunset.
Through WDP, women affirm their faith in Christ; share their
hopes, fears, joys, sorrows, opportunities and needs, become
more globally aware, become enriched by faith experiences of
Christians from other countries and cultures; and become aware
of their talents so as to use them in service to society.
The movement brings together women of various races, cultures
and faith traditions in closer fellowship, understanding and
action throughout the year. WDP’s motto is “Informed
prayer leads to prayerful action.” Through World Day of
Prayer, women affirm that prayer and action are inseparable
and that both have immeasurable influence in the world. WDP
reminds us that tens of thousands of people are crying out for
aid because they have been made homeless by natural disasters
and regional conflicts. Participants are encouraged to think
about actions one can take to further support the 2007 theme,
which centers on displaced families and refugees around the
world, as well as in their community.
Each year the ecumenical prayer movement chooses the writers
of a different country to set a theme and develop prayer guides
for the annual event, held on the first Friday in March.
Through preparation and participation in the worship service,
they can come to know how their sisters of other countries,
languages and cultures understand the biblical passages in their
context. They can hear their concerns and needs and can feel
themselves in solidarity with them. In this way, it is possible
to experience the richness of the Christian faith as it grows
deeper and broader in an international ecumenical expression.
The theme this year was “United Under God’s Tent”
(or mantle), and was developed by a group of women from Paraguay.
The Paraguayan committee developed the theme “United Under
God’s Tent” as its theme and the ñandutí,
a classic Paraguayan handcraft based on woven floral patterns
connected by a single thread, as a symbol of that unity within
diversity and is used by women of Paraguay for the prayer service.
It is a way of imagining how God acts. For Abraham and Sarah,
God was like a mantle, protecting them in their call.
“United Under God’s Tent” is not only God’s
promise to us, it is an unmistakable call to work and pray together
for people in need all over the world.
Heights Service
Those attending were invited to imagine the hills and valleys
of Paraguay with its diversity of people and extravaganza
of colors and listening to the Paraguayan harp. Picture the
women weaving spider-web lace called ñandutí.
In the worship’s prelude, the ñandutí
(lace table cloth) is attached to a colored background suspended
from a rustic wooden cross. Nine circles or squares cover
the lace.
Three women came forward carrying a cloth and a pole. They
formed the entrance of a tent by raising the cloth in the
middle with the pole, and holding the ends at two sides. Seven
women spoke during the service. Each voice spoke a sentence
about the women of Paraguay.
Their prayers, presented in sequence by each voice, were a
call to worship, invocation, thanksgiving, confession and
words of forgiveness, Bible readings, offering, dedication,
intercession and concluded with the blessing and sending out.
As each woman finished, she placed a mandala representing
the unity of the whole, the ñandutí. Throughout
the service, several hymns and responses were sung. Several
ladies responded in Spanish.
Light refreshments followed the service.
Worldwide Themes
The World Day of Prayer liturgy was designed by the women
of South Africa in 2006 and the women of Poland in 2005. Future
worship themes include:
• 2008: “God’s Wisdom Provides New Understanding”
--Guyana
• 2009: “In Christ, There Are Many Members, Yet
One Body” -- Papua New Guinea
• 2010: “Let Everything That Has Breath Praise
God” -- Cameroon
• 2011: “How May Loaves Have You?” -- Chile
The first organized World Day of Prayer held nationally in
the United States was in 1920.
About the Art
of Paraguay
God has given us a rich land of many colors. In the art, the
red earth predominates, speaking to us of passion and strength,
like that of our people who have daily worked and struggled
to fulfill their hopes and ideals.
On this earth there grows an abundance of plants and trees,
sprouting with new life, bringing hope and reminding us that
positive change reaches toward the heavens.
The clear sky in shades of blue covers us all in its embrace.
In the center is the ñandutí, a creative symbol
of two cultures—the European and the indigenous—where
designs of nature unique to Paraguay are brought together
using one thread, to create unity in diversity.
Over all is the quiet presence of God, as though it were a
tent, constantly protecting us.
About Ñandutí
Ñandutí (niun-doo-tee) is a Guaraní word
- ñandu (spider) and tí (the last part of morotí—white,
pure). In ñandutí, or spider-web lace, all threads
are united at one point; there are no loose threads. Ñandutí
is woven in various designs and sizes, which implies diversity
as well as unity. To make the ñandutí, a cloth
is stretched over a wooden frame; the frame serves as a support
for the weaving. It is very delicate handwork that requires
concentration and patience; an error can damage all or part
of the woven piece. Once the ñandutí is removed
from the base cloth, the weaving is starched to give it more
body. ###
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