Leaders’ Planning Guide for 2022 World Day of Prayer (WDP) Services – prepared by the Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada (WICC)

WDP services have the following four parts:

1. Prayer for the women of the host writing countries for 2022: England, Wales & Northern Ireland;
2. Invitations for others to join your service;
3. An opportunity to donate; and
4. Use of the WDP Service provided by WICC – available in both print and video formats

To create a Coordinator account on wicc.org, follow the Coordinator Login Instructions found at the end of this document. For those without a computer, there is often a friend or relative or team member who can help out.

Coordinator accounts give the leaders the opportunity to download the Worship Service as well as accessing all other WDP materials.  Coordinator accounts are also the best way for WICC to stay in touch.

Become familiar with the Worship Service, country backgrounder, and WDP grant summaries. At least one committee member should be receiving monthly copies of the WICC e-newsletter: We-Connect. Check out the free WDP resources at wicc.org.

Many communities have a World Day of Prayer binder with useful information that is passed along from one coordinator to the next. Please get in touch with the 2021 coordinator or service location to see if such a binder exists.

Watch the 55-minute service video to gain a service overview.  You may want to show this video to make organization simpler. Go to page 6 for information about this resource.

Field Rep Area                             Field Rep                  Email Address                                                            Telephone

BC, AB, SK, YT, NT, NU               Linda Ervin               [email protected]                                                         250-493-5333

MB, ON*, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL   Cathy Tubb                [email protected]                                                           416-450-1027

*Toronto, ON                               Janet MacFadyen      [email protected]                                                647-515-7770

Or contact the WICC office administrator, Nancy Weir, at 416-929-5184 or [email protected]

Service Coordinator/Chair:  _________________                 #/email: _________________

Assistant Coordinator:  ____________________                   #/email: _________________

Treasurer: ____________________                                        #/email: __________________

Other 2022 WDP Committee Members:

__________________________         #/email: __________________________

__________________________        #/email: __________________________

__________________________        #/email: __________________________

NOTE: If you are unable to coordinate the service, please help choose/recommend a backup coordinator, and call or email WICC:  [email protected]; 416.929.5184 with this information. If you cannot find a replacement, please let us know that too.

Date:  _________________

Time:  _________________

Traditionally, World Day of Prayer is held on the first Friday in March. Communities may select a more suitable day for their areas.

Weather in Canada can be unpredictable. Please choose a “rain” date for your service if meeting in person.

Rain Date:

Using the 55 minute service video may provide planning flexibility.

Church/Venue:  __________________________

Address:  ________________________________

(Power) Wheelchair accessible? Yes      No

Audio/Visual equipment available?    Yes    No  (projector screens, laptops, internet, etc; test out in advance at service location)

If your event will be in or connected to a church, contact the clergy person and let him/her know about the World Day of Prayer movement.

Will the service be In Person or via Computer sharing?

Full-length video or live leaders/readers or a combination of both?

A question for consideration:  Is there a place that you can bless by sharing a service and fellowship?

Assign roles for the service: set-up, greeters, readers, leaders, offering collectors; discussion facilitators, refreshments, collection counters and tabulators. These will vary depending on whether or not the service video is used. Have a back-up plan (illness, etc.). At least one committee member or the coordinator should be registered with the Coordinator Login.

The worship service has been organized with 2 leaders and 5 readers. However, please feel free to divide up your reading sections to best suit your group. Another suggestion is to play all or parts of  the WDP Service video produced by WICC at your gathering.

Recruit a technical person to help with any audio-visual aspects including showing the service video, PowerPoint, sound system, Zoom, etc. Electronic equipment you may need for the service:  microphones, projector, screens, laptop. Test them out ahead of time in the place where you will use them.

A WDP packet can be requested by going to the WICC online store: https://wicc.org/wicc-store/

A World Day of Prayer Service Packets contains:

A.  Printed materials: 1 copy of the WDP Service (11 X 8.5; 12 pages); Service Bulletin (booklet form; 1 page; back and front);  country backgrounder; 5 Service envelopes.

B.  Memory stick or DVD with a 55-minute prerecorded WDP service, 5-minute devotional by Rev. Jennifer Goddard-Sheppard, and EWNI music.

You may want to photocopy the WDP full Service or Service bulletin for in-person gatherings. Remember to encourage online donations and/or provide offering envelopes. You may want to attach envelopes with paper clips or by stapling to Bulletins or full Worship Service.

For a PowerPoint of the full service, log in as a coordinator, email [email protected], or call 416.929.5184.

Note: If you wish to have more than 5 donation envelopes, please order these through the WICC online store: https://wicc.org/wicc-store/

Service Table

It is nice to place a table where it can be easily seen in the worship area. One suggestion is to cover it with a blue cloth to symbolise the sea around the islands), with elements of green for the land and grey/brown for the towns and cities.

On the table are placed a Bible open at Jeremiah 29:11 and seven candles. At various points in the service the candles will be lit. The service will move from ‘darkness’ to ‘light’.

A globe or world map could be placed in the centre of the table, encircled by differently coloured paper figures (symbolising diversity) and symbols and pictures of England, Wales and Northern Ireland could be displayed nearby.

 You might want to display the WDP 2022 ARTWORK featured on the WDP Service cover:

Medium: Textile – Embroidery, Appliqué and Metalwork

Artist Angie Fox used embroidery, applique and metalwork to create several images to depict the theme.

Freedom: an open door to a pathway across an endless open vista

Justice: broken chains

God’s Peace and Forgiveness: the dove of peace and a peace lily breaking through the pavement

Overall, a rainbow which has come to represent all these things from the story of Noah through to the modern day. It is a symbol of the overarching love of God.

Go to https://wicc.org/world-day-of-prayer/how-to-participate/ to download this resource.

As has been mentioned, all World Day of Prayer 2022 resources can be viewed and/or downloaded by creating a Coordinator account.  Other than the Worship Service, most resources can be downloaded at wicc.org by navigating through the WDP section.

Music

The Worship Service does not require certain songs or hymns to be sung. You can choose the music provided by the EWNI writing team (copyrighted for WDP 2022 service) or hymns from common hymn books or decide on a combination of new and familiar songs of praise or consult the list of suggested hymns provided by WICC[URL]. Note any copyright requirements for sharing music.

Recordings, sheet music and lyrics for the EWNI soundtracks, and suggested hymns are available through the Coordinator Login. Discuss with your choir and/or organist about the need to learn any music.

It may be suitable during COVID to use the WDP Service video or have a soloist rather a choir. As well, to abide with COVID-19 precautions, people may choose to hum along to music.

Create a welcoming space.

Greet people as they arrive. If service is in person, you may want to give each person in the congregation a seed or a small packet of seeds.  You may also want to provide pens and paper for the reflection questions.

Check signage for wheelchair accessible paths and washrooms.

For a virtual service, assign someone to admit and/or greet guests as they arrive on the computer screen. (Think about designing a seed package that can be printed.)

Fifty-Five Minute Service Video

This wonderful recording includes:

1. Closed captioning in English for all speaking and singing
2. A message from the EWNI WDP Committee
3. A devotional message from Rev. Jennifer Sheppard-Goddard
4. Background content on England, Wales and Northern Ireland
5. All the prayers, stories from EWNI women and Bible study from the 2022 Service.
6. Children’s story
7. Liturgical dance
8. Opportunities to reflect
9. An opportunity to donate
10. Pictures from across Canada of past WDP services
11. Choir and/or worship team performances

One of the most important roles for a WDP coordinator is the promotion of World Day of Prayer.

• Print posters, forward media releases, send out invitations, supply bulletin inserts to community churches.
• Mention World Day of Prayer when you see people. Face to face invitations can work best.
• Call, email and text friends, neighbours, and community groups. Use Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
• Put up posters in churches, community centers, ice arenas, grocery stores, libraries, post offices, etc.
• Notify community churches with phone calls to pastors, office administrators and contacts for any church organizations. Ask for the service to be marked on church calendars, websites, print bulletins and electronic messaging boards.
• Advertise using free sites such as online community newsletters.
• Contact local, provincial, and federal politicians, and other community leaders to attend.

 REFLECTION /RESPONSIVE ACTIONS

There are several ways this can be done. People could be given pieces of card /paper on which to write their thoughts in the pauses. They could share thoughts with the person sitting next to them or they can simply think and pray silently. It is important to give people enough time in the pauses to think. For virtual services, ideas could be posted in the chat box.

Offering

Give everyone attending a WDP service an opportunity to donate.

Donations support World Day of Prayer grant programs.  A list of 2020/2021 grants can be found at the end of this document or go to https://wicc.org/grant-programs/.

Prepare a COVID-safe method to collect offerings. Distribute WDP offering envelopes before the service begins to give people an opportunity to record their addresses for tax receipt purposes.

Please consider sharing more details about a couple of the grant projects prior to the Offering section. Highlights are included at the end of this document.

Online donations are encouraged for both virtual and in-person services. This will help make sure COVID-19 precautions are followed. It also makes it easier for coordinators.

Participants can use the DONATE button on the WICC website (www.wicc.org/donate). Or use the link:  https://gf.me/u/y3sqi7. Or text 647.953.5557.

Instructions for submitting cash and cheque donations can be found in Step Eleven – After the Service.

 BIBLE PASSAGE

Bible Study – Jeremiah 29:1-14  is the main Bible text for this year’s theme. Verse 11 from Jeremiah is one of hope and hope is the overarching theme of this worship service. To symbolize hope, light is used in the form of candles, and seeds for growth.

Think about the situation of the exiled people of Israel, who were longing to return to their homeland. Think about different forms of ‘exile’ in current countries. Three voices – Lina, Natalie and Emily – name some of them: poverty, fear and isolation. Lina, Natalie and Emily tell their personal stories of how God’s plans for them have worked out in unexpected ways – plans that have brought freedom, justice and God’s peace.

God’s plans for the people of Judah were not the plans they expected, or were looking for, but Jeremiah’s words brought them hope for a future they could not at that moment see.

The service to move from ‘darkness’ to ‘light’ – from negative places to the positive hope we find in God and God’s plans for us.  Seven candles are lit during the service – one for each of the seven regions of the World Day of Prayer family.

A complete version of the Bible study can be found using the Coordinator Login or by clicking on https://wicc.org/world-day-of-prayer/how-to-participate/.

The reading of the main Bible text can be creatively prepared through drama or expressive narrative.

Many attending World Day of Prayer enjoy a time of fellowship after the service.  If permitted, light refreshments could be served.  For virtual services, participants may want to stay after the service to say hello to old and new friends or join a break-out room to create a smaller interaction group.

 The Offering:

A. Fill in the Offering Remittance Form.

B. Fill out the online TAX RECEIPT REQUEST Form.

• • Make sure that your email address is at the top.
  • For all donations of $20 or more, include the person’s name, mailing address and offering amount. Do not include the amounts of people who donate online.
  • Make a photocopy of your completed Tax Receipt Request Form for your records.

C. Gather all the items to be sent.

 Include:

• A copy of the online Tax Receipt Request Form
• A completed Offering Remittance Form to confirm receipt of your remittance. “We will confirm that we have received your offering if you provide your email or mailing address and check that you want us to let you know. “
• Cheques: Individual offering cheques, and a cheque or money order for the total cash offering.

D. Send your Remittance package/envelope directly to WICC:

WICC (Women’s Inter-Church Council of Canada)

47 Queen’s Park Crescent East

Toronto, ON  M5S 2C3

Call us if you have any questions: 416-929-5184

E. For those donating online, a tax receipt will automatically be generated for donations of $10 or more.

F. Complete the Service Evaluation Form online. This gives WICC important planning information for the next year. Include the offering total, number of people who attended the service, and the names of both the 2022 and 2023 service coordinators.

1. Go to web address: www.wicc.org
2. Click the login/ register button on the top right corner of the web browser
3. On the login screen, click “Please use this form” in the register box.
4. Please fill in your information, fields with a * are mandatory (if you are not having a service at a Church just type in online in the * fields). Create a password, confirm password and click the “register” button at the bottom.

Bottom of registration page, enter password and confirm password, click on Register..

5. You will then see this message: Click Login/Register at the top again..
6. After logging in on the left side, this screen appears. Click on Service Coordinators at the top.

International, Canada and Awakening Grants Funded by World Day of Prayer Donations