Particpants, including Phyllis Miller (center), sing together Friday morning during a World Day of Prayer observance at the First-Faith United Methodist Church in Grand Island. The host country for this year’s service, which was presented by Church Women United, is Cuba, and the theme is "Receive Children, Receive Me." (Independent/Barrett Stinson)
The event was hosted by Church Women United. This year’s theme was, “Receive Children, Receive Me” and the service was open to all faiths.
Organizer Jane Mitchell explained the idea behind this year’s worship service.
“It is about accepting the unacceptable,” Mitchell said, “the ones not big enough to speak for themselves who many have difficulties. They could be crippled. They could be incapacitated in other ways, or they could just be not able to work and do things. It is the little things, the ones that get overlooked. It is the women, children and youth in all places around the world.”
This is the first year the service has been at First-Faith United Methodist Church.
“It is all about worship, so people can think about what they are saying and doing,” Mitchell said.
The service, attended by several dozen people, was all about worship, song and praise.
During the Prayer of Confession, one of the worship leaders read aloud, “Lord, we confess that we are not receiving you when we do not respect children’s rights, nor when we deny children the opportunity to participate in our churches, families and society.”
The faithful responded, “Help us to learn from the children who receive each other openly and do not discriminate that we may seek reconciliation in our communities.”
This year’s hosts for the World Day of Prayer were the women of Cuba.
As President Obama prepares for his historic visit to Cuba, a worship leader read aloud, “We recognize that we did not lift up our voices sufficiently to denounce the injustice of the economic blockade that has affected the Cuban people for more than 50 years, endangering our children’s health and growth.”
Also, a worship leader said, “Forgive us when we do not acknowledge daily violence against women, children and the elderly, at home, at work, in social settings and at church.”
The faithful responded, “Spirit of Life, transform us and give us hope, strength and love.”
To emphasize the “Receive Children, Receive Me” theme, the Bible reading for the service was from Mark 10:13-16, New International Version:
“People were bringing little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them, but the disciples rebuked them. When Jesus saw this, he was indignant. He said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.’ And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”
With the reading came the message that Jesus received the children and did not marginalize them or any of God’s children. Through Jesus, God presented a model of community for all, where children were welcomed and received, as were all accepted into God’s reality.
With the Prayer of Thanksgiving, the faithful read aloud, “Thank you for being a God that brings childlike joy to our midst!”
The worship service came to an end with the Commitment Prayer, where the faithful, as “God’s beloved creation and community” committed themselves to “receiving children as Jesus did, so they may freely dream, laugh, dance and love without discrimination.”
Observed on the first Friday of March, 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 many countries, have a continuing relationship in prayer and service. It is a movement initiated and carried out by women in more than 170 countries and regions.
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