2019 WORLD DAY OF PRAYER JOURNAL Volume XLV—A Publication of the World Day of Prayer International Committee Come—Everything Is Ready WRITTEN BY WDP WOMEN OF SLOVENIA World Day of Prayer Writing Committee, Slovenia SOCIAL MEDIA Contents FEATURES WDP AROUND THE WORLD 03 From the Chairperson Now We All Know the Taste 07 Europe To access the Journal online visit www.worlddayofprayer.net/journals.html of Potica Cake! 17 Africa 04 Worship Service Bible Text Like WDPIC on Facebook at 23 Asia Luke 14:15-24 www.facebook.com/WDPIC 27 Caribbean & North America 05 From the Writer Country Follow WDPIC on Instagram at Come—Everything Is Ready 31 Latin America https://www.instagram.com/world dayofprayerinternational 42 Leading Together 36 Middle East The Asia, Europe and Pacific Regions all 45 From the Executive Director 39 Pacific have Facebook pages too! Around the Table • WDP Asia 49 • WDP Europe WDP at a Glance • WDP Pacific Region Visit the National Committee website by clicking on the link displayed after their report! On the Cover: Artwork by Rezka Arnuš for the program written by WDP Slovenia. World Day of Prayer 2 Journal 2019 FROM THE CHAIRPERSON Now We All Know the Taste of Potica Cake! BY LAURENCE GANGLOFF Dear WDP friends, of Slovenia. “We were very close to the Slovenian women and their concerns.” hope you are sitting comfortably and Iare ready to read over the global pic- Don’t forget to take a look at the “WDP ture of the movement! It is a unique op- at a glance” page. It will give you an portunity to discover how WDP was overview of the global movement we celebrated beyond your region and your participate in. When we think we are country. small, let us remember how big we are, when we are all united in prayer! By reading this entire beautiful maga- zine, you will discover how the program’s In 3 years, we will have the chance to main biblical text, Luke 14:15-24, can be take a global picture of our movement understood in different ways. During under the theme “New Heart. New this years’ Service, WDP groups identi- Mind. Called to Hope” (Ephesians 1,18). fied themselves in the different figures Laurence Gangloff, WDPIC Chairperson The World Day of Prayer International of the parable of the great banquet. For Committee Meeting in Scotland will be some WDP groups, it was obvious that held from June 12 to 19, 2022. Save the we, women, are being called to welcome By reading these pages, you will notice date! Why not to start putting aside £1 everybody like the master of the house. some recurrent terms, like: table, ban- every day to prepare for your commit- For other groups, it was clear that we, quet, delicious potica, “no good excuses”, tee’s participation? women, must act like the servant, con- and of course, many “thank you to the stantly leaving the house, inviting every- Slovenian sisters.” Before I finish with thanking you for body to come, proclaiming that “there is your commitment to WDP, I would like still room.” And finally for others, they The Slovenian voices were heard all to ask you to receive the next worship felt closer to the last guests: the poorest around the world. This is one of the mir- service materials like a gift. They come and vulnerable. acles of WDP! The concerns about being from our Zimbabwean and Ni-Vanuatu foreigners, getting old and being left be- sisters. As you receive these prayerful The master, the servant, the expected hind at the farm, or the integration of gifts, please listen to new voices with guests and the poor and lame new Roma people, the fight against violence recognition. Add a prayer, if needed but guests, are personages in the parable, or drugs and alcohol addiction… it gave do not change the text. whose message is to affirm that nobody us so much reason for rethinking, con- is excluded. When God invites, there is versing, and trying to find a way to lo- Thank you, and be sure, that you are still more room. Amazing how one bibli- cally address some of these challenges. blessed by God! cal text can provide such deep, animated Women all around the world easily and different meanings for everyone. could identify themselves in the women World Day of Prayer 3 Journal 2019 Worship Service Bible Text LUKE 14:15-24* TAIWAN LUXEMBOURG The Parable of the ALBANIA Great Dinner ne of the dinner guests, on hearing Othis, said to him, “Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then Jesus said to him, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for the dinner he sent his slave to say to those who had been in- vited, ‘Come; for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my re- angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at come in, so that my house may be filled. grets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five once into the streets and lanes of the For I tell you, none of those who were in- town and bring in the poor, the crippled, yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them vited will taste my dinner.’” out; please accept my regrets.’ Another the blind, and the lame.’ And the slave said, ‘I have just been married, and said, ‘Sir, what you ordered has been *New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © therefore I cannot come.’ So the slave re- done, and there is still room.’ Then the 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the turned and reported this to his master. master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the Then the owner of the house became roads and lanes, and compel people to United States of America. All rights reserved. World Day of Prayer 4 Journal 2019 FROM THE WRITER COUNTRY “Come—Everything Is Ready” BY WDP WOMEN OF SLOVENIA SLOVENIA SLOVENIA s soon as we heard the theme as- we started visiting some projects for We worked intensely to advertise our Asigned to us, we felt it was very fa- possible WDP support. Some of the events because we wanted as many par- miliar to our context. As Slovenian needs and initiatives taken to meet ticipants as possible. In the end, we people are friendly and open handed, them had not been previously obvious added two more locations, making a the service reflected our feeling that to many of us. total of eight different places following there is a place for everybody at the the WDP program. One of the services table. Everybody is welcome, nobody is The theme was inspired by the Holy counted with the participation of a left aside. The idea of inclusiveness Spirit and it had a great impact on peo- young choir. There were three additional helped people to understand that God’s ple. In the jam-packed Ljubljana’s Cathe- children’s programs, two with Roma chil- invitation is to all, even though it can be dral, the Catholic bishop and the dren and one with children from the accepted or rejected. However, when Evangelical-Lutheran bishop sat to- mothers’ shelter we are supporting. considering the guests we became more gether during the service. Many people sensitive to those around us and our saw in the Bishops’ gesture a sign of a We are thankful to the secular and reli- desire to help grew. We learned the very important ecumenical action. Both gious media for their publications and pressing needs of the community when bishops wrote us a supporting letter. broadcasts. It was quite surprising to see The idea of inclusiveness helped people to understand that God’s invitation is to all, even though it can be accepted or rejected. World Day of Prayer 5 Journal 2019 SLOVENIA SLOVENIA how well the media responded to this SLOVENIA small movement and how well they represented the goals and principles of World Day of Prayer to the general public. It is our hope that this will result in more local groups and children’s programs springing up in the next few years, as well as an increase of ecumeni- cal awareness in our highly secularized predominantly Catholic country. Many WDP women from other countries in Europe visited Slovenia. They came to learn about us first hand, and to experience how much we had in com- our collaboration and networking with WDP known in Slovenia, as well as in mon. We built so many new relation- them all. communicating the situation of Slovenia ships, as people wanted to help us with to the world. How did this experience project support and visits. This gave us To be a writer country was a terrific (and impact us? We realized we can do any- the opportunity to examine our own a tiring) experience. We were not really thing! We managed to be part of an in- country with the eyes of outsiders. They aware of what it implied when we first ternational event! encouraged us, gave us strength and applied back in 2012. But after all, we support to go further with our move- were happy, thankful and quite proud of ment in Slovenia. We want to deepen ourselves! We succeeded in making the World Day of Prayer 6 Journal 2019 Europe ALBANIA ARMENIA ALBANIA AUSTRIA Ready” shows us that on God’s side everything is ready for us and the We felt that the theme this year question for us is - what we have came from one of the most beauti- done for this relationship? We are ful passages in the Bible.