The St. Paul's Evangelical Church in Jamestown and the United Church of Christ in California joined the Taiwan committee to celebrate World Day of Prayer. The gathering was held at two different churches in Moniteau County to show support for Taiwan, highlighting a woman's story and a "taste of Taiwan."
Highlights on World Day of Prayer in Taiwan
According to the California Democrat, the World Day of Prayer offers financial assistance and prayer to women and children in the host nation, which rotates annually. The program that the Taiwan committee developed addresses the history of Christianity in the island nation, various relevant problems in the country, and how faith has assisted the people there. While some women wrote about how their faith helped them to overcome misogyny and discrimination, self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fallout of verbal and sexual abuse, another woman wrote about how the faith of others inspired her to assist in clean-up initiatives to protect the environment.
The day began at St. Paul's Evangelical Church, which welcomed guests from three other local churches; Prairie Home Methodist Church, Moniteau Advent Church, and Grace Methodist Church. Moreover, a special guest speaker, Lailin Wilson, spoke about her experience of being born in China to a facility known as a "baby mill," where she was handled more like an object than a person. During her speech, Wilson discussed how she and several other people were rescued from the facility by a group of humanitarians that included the comedian Bob Hope. Wilson claimed that after she had been purchased in the past and had been restrained with handcuffs.
As mentioned, the children raised in such a facility would be transmitted to the buyer, who would receive three generations: their offspring, grandchildren, and the child. She also asserted that many women, including her biological mother, were treated as "incubators," where their primary task was giving birth before being traded into slavery or human care. On the other hand, the event hosted by the United Church of Christ followed the same schedule as the other one, but there was no special guest speaker. However, the participants were treated to a "taste of Taiwan" in the form of a special supper prepared by volunteers. They served different signature foods in Taiwan to celebrate the World Day of Prayer.
Furthermore, National Today stated that every Friday in March, the World Day of Prayer is held to encourage Christian women to pray on their own and lead group prayers in their mission groups and associations.
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About World Day of Prayer
Based on an article from the World Day of Prayer, everyone listens to the word of God in this event and the voices of other women who share their joys and sorrows, aspirations and fears, opportunities and needs.
An invitation to active listening, which serves as the foundation for prayers, is embedded into the worship service's central subject, "I Have Heard About Your Faith," derived from the letter written to the Ephesians. In the letter (1:15-19), the author commends the church for their faith in Jesus and love toward all saints. The worship service follows this example by contextualizing the testimony of the saints with stories from Taiwan.
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