Above, worship leaders pray the closing liturgy: (l-r) Deborah Appler, Rhonda Robinson, Cordelia Miller and Sharon Brown.
Above and below, Sharon Brown leads the group in song.
|
“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord,” was the theme of the ecumenical worship service celebrating World Day of Prayer held at Moravian Seminary on March 5, 2010. Sponsored by Church Women United, three members of the Seminary community served as guest speakers and shared their experience of prayer and praise traditions from around the world.
Deborah Appler, associate professor of Old Testament, witnessed to the extemporaneous and exuberant expressions of praise and prayer that she experienced while teaching at a Moravian seminary in Mbewa Tanzania.
Sharing vivid memories of growing up in the African American church, Sharon Brown, director of Institutional Diversity, spoke about the songs and prayers of black women. She recounted her experience as a small girl worshipping with women whose songs and moans of praise and deliverance came from deep in within their souls. Today, she recognizes that same source of praise in herself which finds expression in dance, movement, song, and prayer.
Moravian MDiv student, Rhonda Robinson, was raised in a Moravian household in Nicaragua that shared family prayer every morning and before bedtime. She was taught by her mother that any menial task, such as washing your family's clothes on a washboard, should not be done in frustration, but should be used as a time to pray for each of your family members.
The uplifting service also included liturgy, prayer and song led by Steve Simmons, director of Continuing Ed at MTS. The service and fellowship time was planned by local Church Women United organizers, Cordelia Miller and Molly Santee, in collaboration with Steve Simmons.
World Day of Prayer is a worldwide movement of Christian women of many traditions who come together to observe a common day of prayer each year, and who, in more than 170 countries, have a continuing relationship in prayer and service. It brings together women of various races, cultures, and traditions in closer fellowship, understanding, and action throughout the year. World Day of Prayer is symbolized by an annual day of celebration, the first Friday of March, to which all are welcome. |
   
|
