Women's World Day of Prayer 2010 - Epsom Report
Women's World Day of Prayer 2010
Friday 5 March 2010 - Let Everything that has Breath Praise God
Epsom - 10:30am - Venue: St Barnabas Church, Temple Road, Epsom, Surrey
The Speaker was Mrs Trish Heywood (left)
This year it was the turn of St Barnabas Church to host this very special day in Epsom on the chosen theme
‘LET EVERYTHING THAT HAS BREATH PRAISE GOD’
The church was open for the whole day with the main service at 10.30am followed by refreshments.
The Christian Women of Cameroon in West Africa prepared the service and it truly reflected this joyful message. We were encouraged to wear bright cheerful dress which, of course, comes naturally to women in Africa. Our invited speaker was Trish Heywood, who was the Mothers’ Union World Wide President for 6 years before coming to live in Ashtead, a few years ago.
She has visited many countries in West Africa, some bordering on Cameroon but not actually the country itself. However, she wore a splendid blue dress and turban given on one of her visits to West Africa and during the first hymn – “We are marching in the light of God” – everyone involved in the service came dancing in, led by Trish, waving flags, and making joyful noises with a variety of handheld instruments, in a sort of crocodile which wound around the central altar. Anyone who knows “The Transformed St Barnabas” will realise how effective this was, how it echoed the Theme, and made a happy beginning to a truly enjoyable service. We repeated our promenade at the end as we sang “You shall go out with joy”. We were well into our stride by this time!
Although most Cameroonians have little of the luxuries we enjoy in the West, they are a very resilient nation and their faith enables them to praise God, in good and in bad times. Life expectancy in their country is 51 years, a salutary reminder, perhaps, that we too should praise more often!
The attendance in the morning was 77 with 10 children in the Crèche. Not bad considering that although it was a gloriously sunny day, Temple Road was closed all day for road-surfacing. At 3.30pm, Afternoon Tea was served followed by a lively bible study which attracted 17 people. Evening prayers followed at about 5pm and a simple communion service in the Lady Chapel at 7pm. The day closed with Prayer and Reflection led by the Reverend Sue Bull.
This was a truly wonderful day, even the sun went down in a beautiful golden haze, and it reminded us what we can achieve when Churches in Epsom are really Together.
Rosemary Botting
Cameroon
This year material written by the women of Cameroon.
- Background to Cameroon..........here.
Rosemary Botting and our speaker Trish Heywood in traditional West African dress
Women's World Day of Prayer - Epsom Committee
Appointments for 2010
Chairman and Secretary: - Clare Preston from St Barnabus Church assisted by Kathy Appleyard
Treasurer: - Alison Urwin from Epsom Baptist Church
Members
Janet Brooker and Olive Pyett , St Stephens Church
Deborah Burns and Jo Woolfe, Christ Church
Daphne Dawe and Peggy Wilson, Epsom United Reformed Church
Barbara Phillips and Gillian Mead, Epsom Methodist Church
Rosemary Botting, St Martin's of Tours Church
Women's World Day of Prayer 2009 - Epsom Report
A year ago the Epsom Committee of WWDP was somewhat downcast about the future of this annual event in Epsom. It was decided to seek encouragement from the various churches and also Churches Together in Epsom, and to bring our findings to an Extraordinary Committee Meeting. St Martin's were particularly concerned as it was their turn to host in 2009. In the event the feedback was almost unanimously supportive and it was decided to go ahead but with a new format.
The Theme for 2009 - "In Christ there are many members yet one body" was visibly lived out, both in the preparations beforehand, and on the Day itself - Friday 6th March 2009 - As guests arrived they were asked to write their names on a large paper cut-out of a figure Many people had a part to play and there was a great sense of unity between those present, and the communities around the world, all using the same prayers, from first light in the East until the sun set in the West We felt especially close to the Women of Papua New Guinea who had prepared a lovely service.
The morning service was at 10.30 am followed by coffee: attendance was good 115 present (including a sprinkling of courageous men) and four little ones in the crèche. We abandoned the usual evening service but kept St Martin's open all day with an invitation to come in and pray - ongoing refreshments were available. At 4 pm Afternoon Tea was served followed by an excellent and thought-provoking bible study on passages from the service itself led by Mrs. Pam Buckingham of Epsom Christchurch. Then at 7 pm The Rev Adrian Esdaile of St Martins led a Quiet Reflection to end the Day, by which time we felt well and truly -" One Body
Our Speaker was Mrs. Andrea West from The Brigitte Trust based at Dorking, a charity helping families with life-threatening illnesses. There were several stalls at the back of the church: Including a display about Papua New Guinea and a CD Rom showing the country, Fairtrade, WWD Resources, and The Brigitte Trust. Giving was very generous this year; many supported the Gift Aid provision, thanks to all.Some comments:
"one of the best services ever"
"the whole day felt like a Retreat "
"lovely sense of unity"Our future looks good, we have two new active members on the committee, and even though St Joseph's are not represented, they did take part in the service, so we are still One Body! This was indeed a day of great blessings.
We are grateful to CTiE for their encouragement and support-but after all, that is what the Churches Together in Epsom is all about and long may it continue!Rosemary Botting of St Martin's Church
Women's World Day of Prayer 2008 - Report for Churches Together
This event took place on Friday 7th March 2008 at St Joseph's Roman Catholic Church in the morning and at St Barnabas Church in the evening. Attendances were slightly up on the previous year (141 this year and 117 last year) Donations were also up: and we were able to send £350 to HQ this year against last year £200. For the first time, we had gift aid envelopes available and £208 qualified for this tax relief.
The Women's World Day of Prayer gives annual grants to many organisations in this country and one-off grants to overseas as the need arises and also International Donations.
At the committee meeting afterwards, when we tie up all the loose ends, and appoint a new chairman and secretary, we found ourselves at cross-roads: Our aim is to have two members from each church but one church from CTiE had decided to pull out altogether and others were finding it difficult to recruit new members. A decision was made to go back to our churches to seek support and to hold an extra-ordinary on 21st April 2008, bringing our findings.
Also to seek support from Churches Together in Epsom.
The consensus was that the committee will continue as there are enough committed members, the next Women's World Day of Prayer will be on Friday 6 March 2009 - "In Christ there are many members but one Body" will be held in the morning at St Martin's and the church will be open all day for people to come in and pray and possibly in the evening there will be prayers from the WWDP Service, with refreshments available. Full details with be available later in the year.
What we are asking from CTIE is that everyone will try to promote this very worthwhile event which has a long and valued history in our town.
The worldwide need for prayer is as urgent now as it was in 1938 when the first service was held in our town, in St Martin's Church.
We are extremely grateful to our Chairman Sue Bull and Adrian Esdaile for their supportAnd we hope we can rely on yours. Thankyou
Appointments for the coming year 2008 - 2009
Chairman: - Olive Pyett from St Stephen's Church
Secretary: - Rosemary Botting from St Martin's of Tours Church
Treasurer: - Alison Urwin from Epsom Baptist ChurchCommittee
Clare Preston, St Barnabas Church
Janet Brooker, St Stephens Church
Deborah Burns and Jo Woolfe, Christchurch
Daphne Dawe and Peggy Wilson, Epsom United Reformed Church
Barbara Phillips and Gillian Mead, Epsom Methodist ChurchRosemary Botting
“United Under Gods Tent” 2007
There are miraculous clues to how to live together, beyond oppression and division. The one that strikes me most powerfully is that 90% of the population is mestizo, of mixed Spanish and Guarani Indian descent. In other words, sexual relationships and marriages and families have occurred across cultural boundaries, some violently, some lovingly, but all creating a people who can claim a rich Indigenous and European heritage, as well as take pride in the new kind of people they have become through the genetic integration of people who were once strangers and enemies of each other.
This alone is a lesson we could well learn. Our history includes a fear of such racial integration, and continuing racism based on proportions of mixed heritage in a persons genetic makeup, even though we well know that the C19th scientific theories about the hierarchy of races was just that: theories. Different cultural groups have differences, but they are also intimately connected to each other as Gods children, as people sharing the same country, and, frequently amongst our own community, as sharing joint heritage and creating families that reflect these. In the 1930’s, the Presbyterian missionary at Ernabella JRB Love wrote to John Flynn, and said 'the questions of white and black are wholly bound up in each other', and tried to urge Flynn to extend his mantle of safety to Indigenous residents of the inland as well. Flynn agreed medical care should exist for Indigenous people, but said that his AIM was not the organization to provide it. He argued, in effect, to keep the two races separate. So while the image of a mantle of safety is very much like the idea of a tent, a protective shelter cast over a group, I often think that Flynn’s mantle wasn’t quite big enough to cover all of the Inland. The women of Paraguay remind us today that the tent of God is the place where all people gather together in safety, and in intimate proximity to each other.
In a country like Paraguay (left), despite its history, the Indigenous language is one of the two official languages. Their tent is large enough to embrace all that two languages implies: cultural difference, and respect of cultural heritage.
The Internet we have gives a clue to Paraguay's resources that enable them to share Gods tent together. The society that has been developed through war and violence and poverty has held at its core hospitality, caring and sharing. I remember reading the Grape of Wrath when I was at school,. And being struck by the quote by the mother of the poor and disenfranchised family saying: whenever you’re in need or trouble, go to poor people. They are the ones that will help. Just today in the courtyard, I was talking to one of my Indigenous friends who often spends time on the lawns, and who has at times talked to me about her efforts to get off the drink. She was complaining about a friend who had come to stay with her, ate her food, drank her beer, smoked her cigarettes. She’d seen him again one pay day in the supermarket, and he’d high tailed it the other way, to avoid having to give to her, when she asked him to share his money. That’s not right, she said. She had done the right thing, sharing all she had: now it was his turn to reciprocate. Ask poor people for help: their world depends on sharing with those in need, and the expectation that they will share with you when you are in need. After all, we are all in this life together. We are all intimately connected under the one tent of God; we all have need of each other.
The story we heard of Abraham and Sarah reinforces hospitality as that social glue that keeps us living peaceably together. Abraham did not know it was the Lord. In fact he saw three strangers approaching in the midday sun. He did not baulk: he offered not his lunch leftovers, but the best of what he had to them. Abraham was quick to embrace the stranger, as he had been to embrace Melkizidech in the previous chapter, breaking bread with the priest of another faith, and exchanging blessings. When Abraham and Sarah offer hospitality to these strangers, in return, they offered him a blessing…children to he and Sarah in their old age. Of course Sarah laughed: she laughed at God. Impossible! But the blessing was reiterated: they had opened their home to the strangers, and in return they would become a great nation. They shared hospitality…and a people would be born of the heritage of that encounter.
The implications for us are fairly clear. Hospitality – sharing our homes, our hearts, our families, ourselves – with those we think of as different to ourselves, is the way we manage to live together under the one tent that God spreads over us. Gods mantle of love is wide enough to embrace us all, as vast as the land in which we live, as wide as the sky that covers us all.
When we, or our forebears, came here as strangers to this Arrernte country, it was the hospitality of country and its peoples that kept us here, and bound us into this place and each other. In a very real way, the Arrernte people continue to extend hospitality to strangers here; in return, strangers have become family and together have created a new nation here, that is learning to live together in peace under the one tent. It is not easy, and sometimes it is not comfortable. But we are becoming, with help from the one spirit of God, united under Gods tent. Amen.
With thanks to Rev. Tracy Spencer - Alice Springs, Australia
