Celebrate WDP 2021 with Women in Vanuatu!

Let us celebrate the World Day of Prayer in 2021 prepared by the women of the Vanuatu islands!   
 
The 2021 theme “Build on a Strong Foundation” is an invitation to return to the foundations of our faith, which can also be expressed as the foundations of the World Day of Prayer--“Informed Prayer– Prayerful Action.”  
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The health situation in each country, each region, each town, and village is still under the impact of the pandemic and the restrictions to slow the transmission of COVID-19. We cannot ignore it, but rather be responsible in our celebrations. ​

We are United in Prayer, Even in the Midst of a Pandemic ​

What have we learned over the year of 2020 that can be used for the 2021 WDP celebrations? 

1. Celebrate WDP at home with your family. Perhaps it will be an opportunity for your family to discover why you are so committed to this prayer movement. 
2. Have a conversation about Vanuatu with close friends, at home, or over the phone. It may become an opportunity to discover how to pray with simplicity like the beginning of the WDP movement. Use the video “Let’s talk with Vanuatu” to prompt the conversation. 
3. In places where physical gatherings are allowed, adjust the activities to follow the local health protocols to reduce the spread of COVID-19. For example, keep the event small, wear a face mask, stay at least 2 meters (6 feet) apart, avoid touching, and wash your hands often.   
4. Connect online to worship together. Each WDP National Committee is offering alternatives to the local groups to celebrate. We invite you to connect with the people you met before during WDP activities, or search the committee’s website for more information, and find out how to get the materials to celebrate in a creative way. Make it simple! Focus on what links us together as #WDPUnitedInPrayer. 
5. Pray with the Vanuatu women and WDPIC Executive Committee by watching the worship service video recording. Visit WDPIC YouTube channel to watch the video online and share it with your social media friends. Have in your hands the order of service published in your language by your WDP committee and join in prayer.  This is another way to encourage prayers with our sisters living in faraway places. 
6. The offering is usually given during the worship service. This year, each National Committee may have created new ways for giving, like online donations via their website or by mailing a check. You are invited to connect with the WDP committee in your country to learn how you can send your offering that will allow WDP to continue its commitment to support the community in need. The WDP offering is a sign of our “Prayerful Action.” 

This is a time to be reminded of at least two of the WDP Guiding Principles. WDP services are an invitation to receive the prayer and to be creative in organizing it accordingly to the current pandemic context we live in. Also, all have something to give and to receive. Through the WDP offering women share their resources with women and children around the world. Be creative and be supportive!  

Final invitation - tell us your story! Email it! Tag @WDPIC on Facebook! Tag @worlddayofprayerinternational on Instagram! Fill out the annual report form! Share your experience so the world may discover the commitment of WDP women in the healing of our communities.  

May the celebration with our sisters in Vanuatu be anchored in the memories that move us to “Build on the Strong Foundation.” 

- Laurence Gangloff, WDPIC Chairperson